Here’s a gorgeous gluten-free and vegan Almond Cake that’ll make you want to eat dessert at breakfast, lunch, dinner and all times in between. The cake is moist, tender and it is infused with citrus flavor from lemons and oranges. There’s also a glug of amaretto in here that adds amazing flavor. I love baking glutenfree treats because they taste incredibly amazing – and because they are so darn easy to put together. I usually mix the batter up in the food processor or in one bowl, making it convenient too. This way, if my little one asks for something sweet– and he unfailingly does–I can offer him something I know is healthy enough to go into his tummy and satisfy his sweet tooth. It takes less than 15 minutes to put this batter together. I do it in the stand mixer because my food processor is not large enough to hold the batter. You can use either.
How to make vegan almond cake
This batter is made mostly of finely ground almond flour, for the best almond-y flavor, but you also need some gluten-free all purpose flour. I use the King Arthur gf measure for measure flour. I use turbinado sugar which gives the cake’s crumb a darker hue. If you want a lighter cake, use white sugar. You can use maple syrup which will make your batter a little more fluid, but it should bake up just fine. I infuse this almond cake with citrusy flavor at two stages. I add the zest of one orange and two lemons into the batter, and then I mix up the blanched almonds that are scattered on top with the juice. Amaretto adds wonderful almond flavor and the baked cake is not at all boozy because the alcohol cooks out. But if you’d still rather not, use 1 teaspoon of almond extract. The batter might seem a little drier than average cake batter does, but that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. Be sure to smooth the top before baking, and everything will even out as the cake bakes.
Let’s get baking. If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know in the comments below. Or if you’re on Instagram, post a photo and tag it @holycowvegan. You can also follow me on Pinterest for my latest recipe updates. Check to get new recipe updates by email.