Recipes // French Almond Cake (2024)

I am so excited about sharing this cake recipe with you guys. I have had this recipe pinned for some time now, always telling myself that I'm going to make it in a few days. And then a few days turned into a few months until I completely forgot about it. Until I got the itch to bake and decided that I would definitely make it.

There's a somewhat funny story behind baking this cake. Remember when I had to go on a dairy & soy free diet for Vivi's sake (she had food allergies)? Well, it was during that time that I had found dessert recipes using almond flour and so I had a bunch of almond flour left over from that time. I realized a month ago that we still had some in the pantry and I didn't want it to go to waste so I found this French Almond Cake recipe to use the flour up. Well, it wasn't until I was organizing all of my ingredients to bake this cake, that I realized that I couldn't locate the almond flour in the pantry! To say I was stumped would be an understatement. I mean, I got other ingredients (like oranges and plain yogurt) to make this cake and now I can't find the one ingredient that got this whole thing started?? Yea, so it turns out that Steve had cleaned the pantry out of all things passed due and the almond flour was a victim of his clean-out.

So the whole point of me baking this cake (having almond flour or at least thinking I had it) was completely negated and I had to go out and buy almond flour because I had been craving this cake and wasn't going to let this stop me from baking it.

I am so glad I did because this is one of the best things I've ever made! I mean I would probably love anything with almonds in it or almond extract at the very least, but this is just an amazing cake. It is SO good and is SO easy to make. And it's elegant enough to serve at your next fête. I plan on making this all the time, it's that good. If me telling you that you'll love this cake isn't enough, just check the photos, I bet they'll convince you!

Ingredients
Recipe is by The Cafe Sucre Farine.

¾ cup plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup almond flour (meal)
3 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla
¾ cup sunflower oil, grape seed or canola oil

For the glaze:
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
¾ cup powdered sugar plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cups sliced almonds

Directions
I followed the directions to a T and it came out beautifully!

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper and spray parchment paper lightly. Set aside.
2. Place almonds in a small baking pan. Spread to a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes or until just beginning to turn pale golden brown, stirring every 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
3. Combine the orange zest, orange juice, powdered sugar and extracts in a small bowl for the glaze. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Cover and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, and eggs, stirring until well blended.
5. Add the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt and extracts. Stir to combine.
6. Add the oil and stir well. Don’t worry, at first it will seem to separate, but keep stirring till smooth. This might take 2-3 minutes.
7. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake feels springy to the touch in the center and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil if getting too brown near the end and cake is still not done*. Be careful not to over bake. Cool cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes; then turn it out of the pan onto the rack.
8. While cake is still warm, using a pastry brush, gently pat the glaze all over the cake. Just keep going over the cake till the glaze is gone. Some of it will drip off, but most of it will soak in. Sprinkle almonds over top of cake while glaze is wet and pat gently. Allow cake to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Here's a little video of how easy it is to whip this cake up!