This delicious vegan Almond Cake is infused with almond and citrus flavor, and a touch of aquafaba makes it light and airy. The cake is also gluten-free and soy-free, making it everyone-friendly.
Here's a gorgeous glutenfree 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.
More glutenfree desserts:
- Gluten-free Berry Almond Cake
- Vegan and Glutenfree Italian Amaretti Cookies
- Vegan Almond Flour Cookies
- Vegan Pumpkin Praline Tart
- Gluten-free Vegan Almond Flour Chia Seed Muffins
More vegan cake recipes:
- Vegan Zucchini Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze
- Vegan Brown Sugar Pound Cake
- Vegan Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Oreo Cake
- Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake, Whole-Wheat
- Gluten-free Vegan Skillet Cornbread Cake
Vegan Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups superfine almond flour
- ¾ cup all purpose glutenfree flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup aquafaba (chickpea brine)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (I used turbinado which gives a darker crumb. Use white sugar for a lighter color)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (I use avocado, any flavorless oil is fine)
- ¼ cup vegan yogurt
- 1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur (or 1 teaspoon almond extract)
- Zest of 2 lemons and one orange
For the almond topping:
- ½ cup blanched almonds
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
- 2 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients for the topping and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch cake pan by spraying with oil or cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Place the aquafaba, sugar and vegetable oil in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 2 minutes until well mixed and fluffy.
- Add the yogurt, amaretto and the zest and continue mixing for another minute.
- Dump in the dry ingredients -- the almond flour, all purpose gf flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Start the mixer on slow speed to allow everything to start mixing, and then mix on medium-low speed until the batter comes together. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and ensure everything has mixed. Your cake batter will not be as runny as an average cake batter, but that's exactly how you want it.
- Scrape out the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake and place the cake into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 30 minutes on a rack before unmolding. Run a knife along the sides of the cake if needed. Carefully invert the cake onto a plate, then invert it again and allow it to continue cooling on a rack before slicing.
Lindsey
I'm really interested in making this can I use applesauce instead of aquafaba?
Vaishali
Hi, yes that should be fine.
Mythili
The recipe steps don't include the amaretto/almond extract! So I forgot it, just realized but it's too late (the cake's in the oven).
Vaishali
It goes in with the zest and vanilla.
Jan
Lovely!
Is it possible to substitute sugar with monk fruit or stevia or another non sugar product?
I and many others cannot have sugar because of health concerns.
Wonderful to have gluten free, vegan recipes that are so inspiring.
Miraculous to have sugar free!
You are amazing and inspiring!
Thank you!
Vaishali
Hi Jan, you can try it with stevia but since sugar is a wet ingredient in baked goods, you might need to add some moisture-- I'd add an additional 1/2 cup of applesauce.
Stephanie Marder
Because I have had great success with all the recipes on your site, I made this for the book club. They had bought a chocolate - blue butter cream icing with confetti cake as a birthday surprise and I had no idea what would be in that cake so I brought the "Citrusy, Vegan and Gluten free Almond Cake." The batter was very thick and I had to work to get it flat in the pan. But no worries, I enjoyed licking both the specula and mixing beaters and the bowl. YUM.
I made the citrus topping and poured it on. I looked at the liquid-y topping and was worried what was going to happen. I cooked it 15 minutes more because the under side seemed gooey but I now
understand was suppose to be that way. I had a little bit of trouble transferring the cake it but it glued itself back together. Next time I would cut back on the sugar. The citrus made it sweet and tangy and the almond was delightful.I loved it. The 6 member book club loved it. The hostess said that I could cut myself a piece and take my plate home but the rest was staying with her. Thanks so much for another unique and wonderful success.
Vaishali
Hi Stephanie, so happy to hear you enjoyed the cake. Licking the batter off the bowl is my favorite part too. 🙂 I think you could certainly experiment with less sugar because this is a sweet cake -- perhaps a little sweeter than most I try. Jay loves it the way it is, so I indulge him, but less sugar could work.
Carmelita
Vaishali, sounds delish. I only bake gluten free and need certified GF because of severe wheat allergy in the family.
I normally use Namaste and everything always comes out great!
What almond flour brand do you recommend?
Plus how can I sub the Aquafaba with egg?
Also I don’t have stand mixer. What are my options? But I do have what we call in India, an egg beater.
Vaishali
Hi Carmelita, I use the Kirkland brand flour-- I linked to it from the ingredients. On the egg, I can't really advise very well on this, because I don't bake with eggs anymore and haven't for many years now. 🙂 My guess is that you might need one or two to make up for the quantity of aquafaba. You could also just use flax eggs -- use 1 tbsp flaxmeal whisked with 4 tbsp of water for this recipe.
Jennifer Bliss
That looks great! LOVE that it features the mighty ALMOND! Nice!