In like a lion, out like a lamb is the single best way to generally describe the month of March. With it being a seasonal transition month, it’s a time to dust off the ends of the bitter cold and fist bump the start of spring. To celebrate this glorious (and my all time favourite) season, we’ve baked this simple, naturally sweet, dairy-free, and gluten-free Flourless Almond Cake made with olive oil, lemon and ginger, then topped with blueberries and sliced almonds.
Moist, nutty, fluffy and light, this naturally gluten-free cake is a lovely foundation that can be topped with all your spring time favourites including mascarpone, meringue, or fruits like strawberries, plus you won’t even miss the flour. Perfect for brunch, milestone showers or Sunday desserts, this flourless almond cake recipe is a must-try to celebrate the season.
How to Make Our Flourless Almond Cake
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 325°F and grease a spring form pan (affiliate link) lightly with olive oil.
Make the Batter
In a small mixing bowl, whisk the almond flour, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. In a larger bowl, whisk the olive oil, honey, lemon juice and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined, then stir in the lemon zest.
Bake and Eat
Pour the batter into your greased spring form pan and place in the oven to bake for 50 minutes. Check the doneness by sticking a knife in the centre. If it comes out clean, it’s ready, if not then cook an additional 5 minutes. Top with fresh blueberries, slivered almonds and a sprinkling of icing sugar.
Bon appetit xo
Chef Sous Chef
Helpful Tools and Ingredients for this Recipe
Below are affiliate links to products that will assist you in making gluten-free cake. If you purchase an item through the links, Chef Sous Chef Inc. will receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you.
Thank you for helping support us through these purchases. If you have made this recipe, please let us know in the comments below!
PrintFlourless Almond Olive Oil Cake
Moist, nutty, fluffy and light, this naturally gluten-free cake is a lovely foundation that can be topped with all your spring time favourites including mascarpone, meringue, or fruits like strawberries, plus you won’t even miss the flour.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 cake 1x
- Category: Food + Drink, Brunch, Dessert
- Cuisine: Dairy-Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup light olive oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 tbsp almond slices
- 2 tsp icing sugar
Instructions
No. 1 | Preheat oven to 325°.
No. 2 | Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
No. 3 | In a larger bowl, whisk together the olive oil, honey, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add eggs and beat until incorporated.
No. 4 | Mix in the dry ingredients with the wet. Add lemon zest and give a quick stir to incorporate.
No. 5 | Pour the batter into a greased spring-form pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Test doneness with a toothpick or knife.
No. 6 | Allow to cool and top with fresh blueberries, almond slices and a light sprinkle of icing sugar.
Notes
We used a 7″ spring-form pan for this recipe. If using a different size, adjust cooking time accordingly.
Keywords: gluten-free cake recipe, almond cake recipe, easy cake for brunch
22 Comments
Jess Kwan
November 20, 2017 at 11:28 pmThis is my new favourite cake. Simply beautiful and delicious!
★★★★★
Carly
January 22, 2018 at 10:25 pmNice crumb, but too oily for my taste.
Chef Sous Chef
January 23, 2018 at 8:47 amHi Carly,
Thanks for the feedback! I’m sure you could reduce the oil slightly and still get a great result.
Erin
April 3, 2018 at 8:11 pmWhat size spring form pan did you use?
Chef Sous Chef
April 3, 2018 at 9:56 pmHi Erin,
We used a 7″ pan for this recipe. I guess that would be helpful information to have…we have now added it to the notes. Thanks!
Erin
April 4, 2018 at 5:17 pmGreat, thanks! 🙂
Nahida
July 20, 2018 at 7:38 amIt is delicious I replaced half of the oil with apple sauce, the result yummy
Chef Sous Chef
July 20, 2018 at 1:38 pmHi Nahida, We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Great tip for replacing some of the oil with apple sauce. That is something my mom used to do with lot’s of baking recipes.
Liz
February 22, 2020 at 2:35 pmI made this cake and once cooled I added a lemon glaze using only lemon juice and confectioners sugar. Then added the almonds and blueberries-it was delicious!
★★★★★
Chef Sous Chef
February 23, 2020 at 6:55 amWe’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe. We always encourage people to put their own twist on food so we’re glad you made it your own. All the best!
Steph
November 19, 2018 at 12:22 pmThis cake came out perfectly. I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 and used a 9 inch spring form pan. It served 10 comfortably. Next time, I will add more ground ginger; the taste of it was lost. Served it with almonds, blueberries and powdered sugar as per the photo. Got rave reviews.
★★★★★
Chef Sous Chef
November 19, 2018 at 11:21 pmHi Steph! Thank you so much for trying the recipe and sharing your results. We so glad everyone loved the cake! Always appreciate the feedback.
Clara
January 5, 2019 at 11:57 amThank you Nahida for the tip of replacing 1/2 the oil with apple sauce. I also substitued the ginger with cardamom. So yummy!
★★★★★
Jane
January 6, 2019 at 10:50 pmWonderfully quick and easy to make. Delicious to eat. I replaced the honey with pear juice concentrate and added crushed walnuts. Family loved it!
★★★★★
Chef Sous Chef
January 7, 2019 at 12:21 pmAmazing! We’re so glad your family loved it. Thanks for letting us know the substitutes/additions you made.
erica w
April 22, 2019 at 8:26 amHi! I made this for passover this year and it was really delicious. I sprinkled the bottom of the pan with turbinado sugar and then put a layer of blueberries down, then added the batter. It made for a very dramatic presentation when served. I had a taller, wedding cake-style 8″ pan (I’m a professional chef and ridiculously don’t have a springform at home!) so i scaled it up with another egg and an additional 1/4 cup almond flour, and a 1/4 tsp more baking powder, in order for the batter to fill it enough to make a taller cake. It was great, and a big hit. Oh also, I didn’t have any honey (and I’m also a BEEKEEPER!) so I used organic sugar instead. I served it with whipped cream and a blueberry-lemon compote. Definitely a keeper and perfect for passover and gluten-free baking. Thanks!
Follow me @ericaswides and @funnypeoplemakingfood Also check out Funny People Making Food on YouTube!
★★★★★
Chef Sous Chef
April 23, 2019 at 10:21 amHi Erica! Thanks so much for stopping by. Your adjustments sound absolutely delicious and I have them saved to try sometime. Heading over to your YouTube now to check out a few videos!
Patty
May 23, 2020 at 11:34 amInstead of honey could you use maple syrup or coconut sugar? And what would the ratio be?
Chef Sous Chef
May 24, 2020 at 9:25 amHi Patty. Maple syrup can be used in the same ratio. We haven’t tried it with coconut sugar, so we can’t speak to how the crumb will be, but you would require 1/2 cup in place of the 1/3 cup of honey.
Mary
November 26, 2020 at 4:09 amThis sank significantly in the center. Followed recipe exactly and am an experienced baker, but not sure what to think since the ratio of wet/dry and egg in this is pretty unusual. Any idea why the center fell?
Philip + Mystique
November 26, 2020 at 10:30 amHi Mary, we do find that the centre sinks. The eggs used are too ensure it holds the almond flour together and while the centre sinks, we don’t feel it affects the flavour so it isn’t something that concerns us too much, especially since we top it with berries.
Mary
November 26, 2020 at 1:15 pmSwell! It smells great and I’m hoping it’s enjoyed by family we’re gifting it to (she is DF and has celiacs so we’re always excited for a good GF/DF cake recipe).