(Serves 8)
Almond cake is one of those things that can be enjoyed any time of day. With a cup of coffee for breakfast… yes. With a cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon… yes. With a cup of coffee (decaf) after dinner… yes. I have tested many recipes for different kinds of almond cakes, but this French style almond cake is by far the best. It took me some time to get this recipe just right. Some tests didn’t have enough almond flavor, and many sank in the middle. Ok, they were still delicious since the dent just made a place for the glaze to pool and then slowly soak in, so maybe not a bad thing after all, but I wanted it to be perfect. After reviewing many articles on why my cakes were sinking, I made some adjustments and finally have a winner. I’m not a huge cake fan (sorry mom) but this one… this one is fabulous. It’s always a big hit with company and looks fancy even though it’s super easy to make.
You Will Need:
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons almond paste
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the topping:
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch cake pan with baking spray, set aside.
- Put the sliced almonds on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toast almonds for about 15 minutes, stirring/shaking the pan every 5 minutes. The almonds should be golden brown. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the cake batter. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat together the yogurt, sugar, almond paste, oil and eggs in a large bowl. Beat for 1 ½ to 2 minutes until the almond paste is broken up and incorporated so there aren’t any large chunks. When adding the almond paste, break it up with your fingers or grate it into the bowl before beating with mixer to help it incorporate more easily.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the AP flour, almond flour, baking powder, salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the extracts and stir. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and extracts until smooth. I like to make this in a measuring cup as it makes it easier to pour.
- Cool cake in pan on cooling rack for 20 minutes before turning out onto plate. Pour the glaze on top of the cake. Then top with the toasted almonds and sprinkle with more powdered sugar.
