Lemon Almond Cake Recipe: How to Make Lemon Almond Cake

Lemon almond cake is a citrusy twist on a basic almond cake. This delicate, not-overly-sugary cake has a tender crumb and a subtle-yet-fragrant flavor from almond paste and fresh lemon zest and juice. Meyer lemons—which are sweeter and less acidic than regular lemons—add extra brightness.

This easy recipe—a fusion of lemon and almond cake—comes together quickly enough to make on the day of a celebration. Here are some tips for making a smooth, luscious, and flavorful cake batter.

1. 1. Keep it fresh. Use fresh lemon rather than lemon extract or bottled lemon juice to increase the lemon flavor. You will notice the difference.
2. 2. Break out the food processor. A food processor is essential for breaking up the almond paste, and you can make the cake batter inside of one. If you don’t have a food processor (or if it’s on the smaller side), use an electric mixer, a hand mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. It may take longer to break up the almond paste (even at high speed), but the process is the same.
3. 3. Use almond paste, not marzipan. Almond paste is a paste made from ground almonds and sugar. It’s easy to get almond paste and marzipan confused because they contain the same ingredients, but the former is much softer, allowing it to blend into the cake dough.
4. 4. Choose your citrus. To jazz up a lemon almond cake, try swapping regular lemons for Meyer lemons. Regular lemons are incredibly acidic and sour. Since Meyer lemon is a hybrid between a lemon and a mandarin orange, it has a mellow, sweet flavor. Whichever variety you choose, always wash your lemons well before zesting them, and select unwaxed lemons whenever possible. Turning this cake into a multi-citrus almond cake also works beautifully. Simply combine lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit juices and zests—or your preferred variety—and garnish with fruit slices (candied or fresh).
5. 5. Make the cake vegan. For a dairy-free lemon and almond flour cake, swap in extra-virgin olive oil for butter to heighten the Mediterranean flavor—or use vegan butter. A flax egg will work well in place of regular eggs.
6. 6. Make it flourless. A gluten-free version of an almond lemon cake uses almond flour (also known as almond meal) instead of wheat flour, though the cake will rise less. Learn how to make almond flour at home.
7. 7. Choose your garnish. There are many options when it comes to garnishing a lemon almond cake. Serve your almond cake simply with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, or top it with candied orange peel or lemon peel. You can also make a more elaborate layer cake or bake almond cupcakes and frost them with lemon buttercream frosting or lemon cream cheese frosting. Try spreading lemon marmalade between the layers of a cake for extra lemon flavor.