This is the perfect lemon almond cake recipe for summer gatherings! Bursting with refreshing, lemony flavor and nuttiness, this super tender, light, and moist cake keeps well and is freezer-friendly.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
This lemon almond cake is one of our readers' favorite lemon recipes, besides our lemon blueberry cake and lemon loaf cake with icing. It's very straightforward, and you can't go wrong with it. Here's why our readers love it so much!
Flavorful—This delicious almond lemon cake boasts a burst of fresh, tart lemon flavor and nuttiness, perfectly balanced with sweetness. It's a refreshing bite of summer, just like our fantastic no-bake lemon cheesecake!
Tender and moist—It's tender and super moist due to our secret ingredient, sour cream, and drenching it with lemon syrup. Although it has almond flour, it's so light and spongy!
Easy—It's much easier than you think to make with easy-to-find ingredients. Prepare this almond and lemon cake a day before and serve it to your loved ones at your next gathering.
Ingredients For This Recipe
Almond flour—This recipe's distinct nutty and sweet flavor is due to almond flour, and it's light and spongy, like our gluten-free Spanish almond cake! We don't recommend using all-purpose flour as a substitute because almond flour has different binding properties and a higher moisture content. However, oat flour can be used as an alternative, although it won't be exactly the same.
Lemon—We're using a generous amount of lemon zest to give this lemon almond cake a vibrant flavor. Not only that, we will use lemon juice in our syrup to drench the cake, enhance the refreshing lemon taste, and get a moist lemon almond cake! If you love lemon, see how to make lemon curd that's so easy and delicious!
Sour cream—Our secret to making this lemon cake with almonds moister and richer! If you haven't started using it in baking, you should. Our chocolate sour cream bundt cake and devil's food cake with sour cream chocolate frosting are must-try. and If you don't have it, use full-fat Greek yogurt instead.
Almond slivers—Add a contrasting texture to this fantastic cake, apart from reinforcing the almond flavor. You also have to admit, they make the cake look so fancy!
See the recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Almond Flour vs Almond Meal
Almond flour and almond meal are both made by grinding almonds but differ in texture and color. Almond flour is made from peeled or blanched almonds and has a finer texture and lighter color. Almond meal is made from raw, unpeeled almonds and is coarser in texture and darker in color due to the skin.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients—Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) without the fan. Butter and line a 9-inch (23cm) round pan. Add all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar—Add butter and sugar into the standing mixer bowl. Whisk at medium-high speed, using paddle attachment for 10 minutes or until you get a pale mixture. From this onwards, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl now and then for better mixing.
3. Add eggs and dry ingredients—Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, and one egg at a time, mixing everything well after each addition.
Add half of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing the batter on the lowest speed until everything is well combined. Do not overmix the batter from this point onwards.
4. Add sour cream and lemon juice—Mix in sour cream with lemon juice.
5. Bake—Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with almond slivers. Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Lemon syrup—Heat sugar and lemon juice in a pot and stir until sugar dissolves. While still hot, poke all around the cake with a toothpick and pour the lemon syrup evenly on top. Let it cool completely in the pan before serving. Enjoy your lemon almond cake!
Recipe Expert Tips
If you're going to make this almond lemon cake recipe, make sure to follow these top tips!
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. Do this now and then. This will help the ingredients to mix better.
- Don't overmix. Once dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients, make sure not to overmix the batter. This prevents gluten from forming, avoiding a dense and hard cake.
- Pour lemon syrup while the cake is still hot. The cake will absorb the amazing tangy lemon syrup better.
- Serve at room temperature. The fridge's cold temperature hides the wonderful tart flavor and makes the cake seem dense. It tastes so refreshing at room temperature!
How To Store And Freeze
Store—This fantastic lemon almond cake can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for three days. It lasts longer in the fridge for up to five days. Let the cake reach room temperature before serving. Cold temperature masks the amazing tart flavor and makes the cake seem dense.
Freeze—Place it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before serving.
Recipe FAQs
You can perfectly use full-fat Greek yogurt.
We haven't tried it, but one of our readers said she successfully used half of Stevia for baking and half of sugar.
Yes! We made it one day before serving it to our family and friends, and it was delicious, if not even more! In our opinion, cakes always taste better the next day.
More Lemon Recipes
If you tried this Lemon Almond Cake or any other recipe on our website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the comments below!
Watch How To Make It
📖 Recipe
Lemon Almond Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (70 g) almond flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter , softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoon lemon zest , or zest of 3 lemons
- 3 large eggs , room temperature
- ½ cup (125 g) sour cream , room temperature
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping
- ⅓ cup (25 g) almond slivers
Lemon Syrup
- ⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) without the fan. Butter and line a 9-inch (23cm) round pan.
Dry Ingredients
- Add all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Mix well with a spoon and set aside.
Wet Ingredients
- Add butter and sugar into the standing mixer bowl. Whisk at medium-high speed, using a paddle attachment, for 10 minutes or until you get a pale mixture. From this onwards, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl now and then for better mixing.
- Add lemon zest, vanilla extract, and one egg at a time, mixing everything well after each addition.
- Add half of the dry ingredients at a time, mixing the batter on the lowest speed until everything is well combined. Do not overmix the batter from this point onwards. Mix in sour cream with lemon juice.
Bake
- Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with almond slivers. Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Lemon Syrup
- Heat sugar and lemon juice in a pot and stir until sugar dissolves. While still hot, poke all around the cake with a toothpick and pour the lemon syrup evenly on top. Let it cool completely in the pan before serving. Enjoy your lemon almond cake!
Notes
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. Do this now and then. This will help the ingredients to mix better.
- Don't overmix. Once dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients, make sure not to overmix the batter. This prevents gluten from forming, avoiding a dense and hard cake.
- Pour lemon syrup while the cake is still hot. The cake will absorb the amazing tangy lemon syrup better.
- Serve at room temperature. The fridge's cold temperature hides the wonderful tart flavor and makes the cake seem dense. It tastes so refreshing at room temperature!
- Use the spoon and level method if using cup measurements, to avoid using excessive flour, making the cake dense. We highly recommend using a kitchen scale as it's more precise.
- For an accurate oven temperature, use a portable oven thermometer as all ovens are different.
Nutrition Facts
The nutrition facts provided are an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Originally published on Feb 1, 2020. Updated with improved text and pictures on Apr 25, 2024.
Marcelle Batticci says
I made this cake for my husband's birthday and it was PERFECT! Thank you so much. The addition of the lemon syrup made the cake so beautiful and lemony. I would recommend this cake to anyone - it was absolutely delicious!
Bea & Marco says
Yay! We're excited to hear that, Marcelle! It's an easy recipe with a delightful reward. If you love baking with lemons then perhaps you'd also like to try one of our readers favorites, lemon loaf cake. Thanks for leaving your feedback!
Chris says
Forgot to give 5 stars
Bea & Marco says
Thanks! Leaving star ratings really helps us more than you think. We appreciate it so much!
Chris says
I made this cake a 2nd time. This time I doubled the recipe using 2 small pans.
It came out perfect - I am again blown away by the flavor & texture of this cake. My family loved it . Next time I will try it in my large bundt cake pan.
What time & temperature do you suggest?
Thanks again for sharing this recipe- I feel it's a plus for diabetics and people watching their carb intake but would still like to have a piece of cake.
Bea & Marco says
Hey ya, Chris! We're happy to hear that everybody loved it. For a 10-inch (25cm) bundt pan, I'd say make 1.5 batch, I worry if doubling the recipe would be too much batter for the pan. Bake at 320ºF (160ºC) for more or less 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If you're looking for more recipes to watch carb intake, do check out our Spanish almond cake, which is also delicious. Thank you so much for leaving your comment here!
Chris says
I made this cake and it was amazing. I was able to sub 1/2 cup Stevia (Stevia for baking) for 1/2 cup sugar with no problem. The texture was perfect and the taste of the cake was delicious. My family really enjoyed it. It's rare that a cake made with almond flour comes out so light and spongy.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. Will definitely make it again and encourage everyone to try it out.
Bea & Marco says
Yes, working with almond flour isn't that easy and we're happy that you and your family enjoyed it. There's another recipe (a traditional one) using almond flour only that perhaps you'd like to give a try, it's our Spanish almond cake. Being a traditional recipe, it does have a different/unique texture. Thank you for your feedback, Chris!
Cornelia says
very delicious cake - simple to make, very moist and lemony, almost like a dense brownie texture. I would recommend massaging the lemon zest in the sugar prior to using - it releases the oils and makes for easier distribution of the zest -ie, avoids clumping. I simmered the lemon juice with sugar for a few minutes till it became syrupy before spooning over the warm cake. I will definitely make this again.
Bea & Marco says
Happy to hear that you loved it, Cornelia! Thanks for sharing your recommendation and your take on it!
Kelly W says
I made this cake today and swapped vanilla Greek yogurt for the sour cream because I had it on hand. I added a dash of almond extract as well because I had no slivered almonds. It was AMAZING!
Bea & Marco says
Yay! Happy to hear that you liked it. Thanks for your feedback and sharing your twist on it, Kelly!
Zareen says
Tried this yesterday. Used yoghurt instead of sour cream. next time thought could add a bit of Limoncello to either the batter or the syrup on top
Abs delish, moist and kept well too
thanks so much
Bea & Marco says
I'm happy that you liked it, thanks for your feedback, Zareen!
Mirjam says
Fabulous cake! The only thing I'm puzzled about is the "no fan" comment - I baked it in a fan oven and it was perfect.
trisha says
so moist and so refreshing. The lemon flavour is perfect for any family gathering summer and winter. I 100% recommend this recipe works super well each and every time!!! Good job guys:)
Bea says
Right? I agree, lemon desserts are for the whole year! Thank you so much for your feedback, Trisha!
Maureen says
Just made and had some slices of this delicious cake, thanks so much Bea for sharing the recipe…