Coconut Almond Cake is the perfect combination of sweet and nutty flavors, with a delicate texture that is sure to please your sweet tooth cravings. Not only is almond cake delicious, but it’s also packed with nutrition. It’s suitable for a gluten-free diet too!
We love to serve this almond cake with a homemade drizzle of Coconut or Pumpkin Caramel Sauce.
⭐ Looking for more simple desserts that are also gluten-free? Hop on our Dessert collection and start with our readers' favorite Apple Crumble, Mango Mousse and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
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Why It's Yummy
- Moist and delicate inside with a tender crumb. This cake literally melts in your mouth! It’s fluffy and buttery inside, with crisp toasted golden brown almonds on top.
- Easy and Quick. Everything is mixed and made in ONE BOWL.
- It has good for you ingredients. Almonds are a great source of protein, healthy fats, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin E, which makes this cake an extra delicious and guilt-free treat.
- Great for special occasions or just snacking. With its nutty flavor and light, texture, it's the perfect pick-me-up whenever you need it.
- Naturally gluten-free. The only flour used in this recipe is almond flour, which is naturally gluten-free and made with ground almonds. The flavor, smell, look and feel - everything about this cake looks fabulous! Your guest will never be able to tell that it is gluten-free.
Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
- Almond extract or almond paste - adds an extra nutty flavor and a delicious aroma. Use natural extract whenever possible without any fillers. If you have only vanilla extract, that's fine too.
- Lemon zest - or orange zest or lime. You can skip it but you'll be surprised how much citrus zest actually elevates the flavor of the entire cake. Total game changer.
- Eggs - medium or large. Eggs act as a binder ingredient and are an emulsifier. We use plenty in this recipe to get that light and fluffy batter.
- Butter - we like to use unsalted butter as many brands add different amounts of salt according to their brand recipes. It is best to use unsalted and add salt yourself.
- Baking powder - increases the volume and lightens up the texture of baked goods.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 8-inch round cake pan or line it with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, and lemon zest. Whisk until just combined. Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, combine and whisk together almond flour, coconut, salt, and caster sugar.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl.
Beat on low with a handheld electric mixer or in a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
The batter should be more on the wet side, not very thick but pourable.
📋 JULIA'S TIP Don't overmix. I prefer a handheld mixer for this so there's less probability that I will overmix the batter which is crucial here. If you overmix the cake it will be flat and less moist.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Sprinkle generously with almond flakes on top and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few bread crumbs.
As this cake is quite moist, it is normal to have a few breadcrumbs on toothpicks when testing.
However the batter should not be wet inside, if it is, you’ll have to bake for a little longer.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.
Serve the cake with dusted icing sugar on top, custard, or dollop of your favorite ice cream and coulis or berry jam.
The cake is sweet, fluffy and tender inside. I love how the toasted almond flakes create a delicious nice crunch to the overall moist cake.
Is It Healthy?
Thanks to almond flour being a nutritional powerhouse food, it is healthier than baking with wheat flour.
However, we do add a cup of white sugar here that can spike up your blood sugar levels.
Like with any baked goods, consume in moderation.
What Is The Difference Between Almond Meal and Almond Flour?
Almond Flour VS Almond Meal - Explained
- Almond meal - coarser in texture. Made with raw unpeeled/skins on, whole almonds are processed into a coarse powder. This technique produces a more grainy and gritty consistency. The color of the almond meal is typically brown/yellow, which will change the look of the almond cake too.
- Almond Flour - is made of blanched almonds (skins removed), that are processed into a very fine powder-like consistency - almost like regular flour. It is very light in color and is typically used for many baking goods.
More Must-Try Recipes With Almond Flour
Where are common almond flour and almond meal uses?
Both products are used in baking recipes.
Almond meal is coarser which makes it great for baking bread, and cookies, crumbly coating instead of breadcrumbs, topping veggies for frying, and for the crispy top layer in casseroles.
Almond flour is simply finely ground almonds that are the main ingredients used in Macarons, pancakes, cakes, cookies, quick breads.
It can be confusing sometimes to differentiate between the two because almond flour is often labeled as an almond meal or powder.
You can definitely make the almond meal yourself at home but making fine powder like almond flour is more difficult due to the special equipment needed.
The bottom line - you can still use almond meal and almond flour interchangeably in recipes.
What Is The Secret To Baking With Almond Flour?
📋JULIA'S TIP Baking with almond flour is different than any other traditional flour. The key is to follow the recipe instructions and only use almond flour in recipes that actually is designed to be made with almond flour.
From my experience, here are three things you should know:
- Baked goods made with almond flour are generally moist and very tender. However this flour absorbs more liquid than regular flours, and that's why in this recipe, we add melted butter to ensure the cake is moist and tender in the end.
- Baking with almond flour is usually shorter, and it is important to watch the baking times closely.
- Store it properly. This flour does not stay fresh for long and needs to be refrigerated after opening.
Does almond flour bake differently than regular flour?
Yes. Typically, any dessert made with almond flour bakes quickly and can become brown or dry easily. It is always best to use this flour in recipes that call for almond flour and not using it as a substitute in any other recipes.
Recommended Equipment
No fancy equipment is needed. Here are the basics:
- Springform pan - a good nonstick metal round pan with a removal bottom is preferred rather than using ceramic ones. Even if you grease ceramic one there's a higher probability that the cake edges will stick to the pan.
- Standmixer or hand mixer and mixing bowl
Tips
- The cake batter is easy to handle even for a total beginner. However, if you are not an experienced baker, allow some extra time for prepping.
- If you have a good trusted metal nonstick cake pan you don't need to add parchment paper. Just make sure to grease it well with oil or butter at the bottom and sides of the pan.
- Let the cake cool before cutting. If you cut it while it's still warm the slices will not be even and the cake will be rather crumbly than spongy.
- Measure your ingredients correctly (scoop and level method) or use kitchen scale for more precise measurements.
- Oven and oven temperatures vary, check the cake with a toothpick towards the last 20 min of baking.
- Baking with almond flour and eggs helps with moist cake texture but it won't give you significant almond flavor like almond extract would. So don't skip it.
- The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- You can make your own almond flour by using blanched almonds and pulsing them together in a food processor or grinder until very fine texture. This will result in fresher-tasting almond flour but it won’t give you fine powder-like consistency. Store everything in the fridge as almond flour doesn't last long. If you have flour leftovers, make my Thumbprint cookies or crunchy Buffalo Cauliflower.
- Mix-ins - chopped nuts, dried berries, or frozen berries (toss these in almond meal first before adding to the cake) will add freshness and flavor.
- If the almonds are becoming too brown during baking, it may be the oven, a higher temperature than needed, or particular almonds used. If this happens, loosely cover the cake with a piece of aluminum foil, but don’t reduce the heat and check the cake for doneness earlier.
🥶The cake freezes beautifully, for up to 2-3 months. Slice it and wrap individual portions with plastic cling wrap or an airtight container, or ziplock bags and freeze. Let thaw in the fridge.
Serving Suggestions
Essentially, you can never go wrong with a simple confectioners' dusting on top and some fresh fruit or berries.
- If you have more prep time, make my Caramel sauce, maple cream cheese frosting, regular or chocolate whipped cream (either store-bought or homemade), and chocolate syrup to serve with the cake.
- Ganache would work here too. Let the cake cool first before adding any frosting or ganache. Top with sliced almonds.
- Blueberry compote, and berry coulis - add these right before serving. The addition of fruits gives it a new spin and more refreshing taste.
Freezing, Storing and Reheating Instructions
- To store. This cake should last moist for 2-3 days. Store it at room temperature in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic cling wrap.
- To freeze. Let the cake cool to room temperature and wrap it with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw it at room temperature, you don't need to reheat it but you certainly can do it in the oven at lower temperatures about 250-350 degrees Fahrenheit.
FAQs
Yes, you certainly can add dark chocolate ganache once the cake is cooled completely. In this case, bake the cake without the almonds on top and add them later on top of the ganache.
No, desiccated coconut and coconut flour are two different things and textures.
Adds moisture and makes perfect spongy textures in cakes and muffins. The baked goods are generally denser than those made with regular flour or gluten-free blends.
It adds a delicious natural nutty flavor thanks to ground almonds.
Almond flour is made with whole almonds that are grinded into flour consistency. It looks almost like regular flour but has a slightly yellow hue to it and has some grittiness to it. Even when produced with professional equipment, it will still not have a smooth fine powder consistency like for example wheat flour. And it is normal because grittiness is what makes baking with almond flour so special and desserts moist.
There can be several reasons for this. The most common mistakes beginner make is overmixing the batter, wrong measurements of the ingredients, underbaking, or improper oven temperatures.
Almond flour is high in fiber and it is a natural occurrence that it will absorb more liquid. The right combination of almond flour, eggs, and butter is what creates the perfect moist and fluffy cake.
Almond flour is not like any other regular flour because it is made out of nuts. There is no gluten in it and even when using leaveners like baking powder, or baking soda it will still not rise too much. It just produces completely different baking results.
No. Eggs are necessary to help the cake rise as it has no gluten or leaving agents in it. Almond flour has a different structure and is actually heavier and denser than regular flour.
Generally, no, which is why I suggest making a recipe that already calls for almond flour.
More Gluten Free Desserts
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💗I hope you'll enjoy this almond cake recipe, please leave a rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo of your food and tag me on Instagram @theyummy_bowl. I love seeing your creations! 💗
Happy Baking,
Love,
Julia
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Recipe
Coconut Almond Cake (Gluten Free)
INGREDIENTS
- ¾ cup butter unsalted (melted and cooled slightly)
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups fine almond flour
- ⅔ cup desiccated coconut
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon flaked almonds
- 1 cup caster sugar (not icing sugar)
- Icing sugar for decoration (optional)
- 1 teaspoon pure natural almond extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8 inch round cake pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract and lemon zest. Whisk until just combined. Set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine and whisk together almond flour, coconut, salt and caster sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl. Beat on low with a hand mixer or standmixer. The batter should be be more on the wet side, not very thick but pourable.
- Pour the batter in the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle generously with almond flakes on top and bake for 50 minutes or until a totohpick insertd into the center comes out clean or with a few bread crumbs.
- As this cake is quite moist, it is normal to have breadcrumbs on toothpick when testing. However the batter should not be wet inside, if it is, bake for a little eonger. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Serve cooled and with icing sugar.
NOTES
- Depending on serving slice, this cake can be served for up to 10-12 people.
- Why is almond flour so gritty? Almond flour is made with whole almonds that are grinded into a flour consistency. It looks almost like regular flour but has a slightly yellow hue to it and has some grittiness to it. Even when produced with professional equipment, it will still not have a smooth fine powder consistency like for example wheat flour. And it is normal because grittiness is what makes baking with almond flour so special and desserts moist.
- Why did my almond flour cake sink in the middle? There can be several reasons for this. The most common mistakes beginner make is overmixing the batter, wrong measurements of the ingredients, underbaking, or improper oven temperatures.
- The cake batter is easy to handle even for a total beginner. However, if you are not an experienced baker, allow some extra time for prepping.
- Let the cake cool before cutting. If you cut it while it's still warm the slices will not be even and the cake will be rather crumbly than spongy.
- Mix-ins - chopped nuts, dried berries, or frozen berries (toss these in almond meal first before adding to the cake) will add freshness and flavor.
- The cake freezes beautifully, for up to 2-3 months. Slice it and wrap individual portions with plastic cling wrap or an airtight container, or ziplock bags and freeze. Let thaw in the fridge.
PRIVATE NOTES
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
This recipe was inspired by Bake Play Smile.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
For an extra sweet treat, enjoy this cake with berry coulis or chocolate ganache
Elizabeth Kerr
Can I skip the coconut?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Update: Did you try without coconut yet? I tested without and the cake is not the same, you still need coconut for texture.
Elaine
This is a nice recipe. I followed directions and added some frozen blueberries. It was moist and made a nice dessert. I recommend this to friends that cannot eat flour baked cake.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
delicious Elaine, will try this next time with blueberries too! Thank you!
Kari
Can you use a substitute sugar such as Splenda or Stevia for the caster sugar? Thanks.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Hi Kari, I don't know because never made it with these. The thing I'm worried about would be the texture if not using regular sugar.
Angela Jones
Do we have to read a whole book before we finally get to the recipe? Ridiculous!!!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Hello Angela,
for those who not interested in tips and mastering the recipe, there is a special button above the post and it literally says: SKIP TO RECIPE, if you click that you land right on the recipe. This button is not new and is on most of the recipe blogs.
Pam Halpert
I didn’t make this cake yet. I just came to say: Angela, do you not know how blogs work?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you!
Christine Kenealy
Can you use an egg substitute or egg whites only?
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Christine, you could try but I haven't made it with those swaps yet.