My love for lemon desserts goes wayyyy back. When I was a kid, I used to ask for a lemon chiffon cake for my birthday every year. What kid even knows what a lemon chiffon cake is? This year for my birthday, I made this lemon almond cake. It’s very reminiscent of a dessert that used to be served at The Ivy, a popular restaurant in Los Angeles. I also opted for this cake because it’s dairy and gluten free. Even though our “healthy” September is over, I wanted to ease back in to the reintroductions.
This cake is nice and light and just sweet enough to make you believe it might be good for you. I actually ate half the cake by myself on my birthday because I’m a champ like that.



Lemon Almond Cake
Equipment
- 8-inch round pan
Ingredients
- 4 eggs whites and yolks separated
- 2 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar divided
- 1½ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- Pinch of salt
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a 8 or 9-inch round baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks, lemon zest, and 1/4 cup sugar until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, ground cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat until well combined.
- With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they start to foam.
- Add the vinegar, and gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
- Stir about half of the beaten egg whites into the almond mixture until well combined. Then, gently fold the remaining whipped egg whites into the batter, a large scoopful at a time.
- Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert the pan to release the cake.
- Move cake to a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Recipe inspired by Simply Recipes.