This cake is lovely; dense but not heavy, moist with a tender crumb, aromatic, and flavorful. It’s the sort of cake that’s perfect to serve to friends over coffee, and it is paleo, too.
By Faith Gorsky
Lemon-Vanilla Almond Cake
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 1-8" cake 1x
Description
This cake is lovely; dense but not heavy, moist with a tender crumb, aromatic, and flavorful. It’s the sort of cake that’s perfect to serve to friends over coffee, and it is paleo, too.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites
- 1 cup (192 g) coconut palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 8 oz (227 g) almond meal
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Other
- Butter, for the pan
- Almond meal, for the pan
- Coconut “whipped cream” or regular whipped cream, for serving (optional; see Note below)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8-inch springform pan and add a sprinkling of almond meal; rotate the pan around to coat the inside and tap out any excess.
- Use a handheld electric mixer to beat the egg whites in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks; set aside for now.
- In a separate large bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean paste, almond extract, and lemon zest about 3 minutes, or until it’s pale-colored and falls off the beaters in thick ribbons.
- Add the almond meal, salt, and baking powder to the egg yolk mixture all at once, and stir to combine (the batter will be very thick at this point).
- Add 1/4 of the egg whites and stir to fully incorporate them. Add the remaining egg whites 1/4 at a time, stirring the batter with a rubber spatula only in 1 direction and being careful not to over-mix. (Seeing some streaks of egg whites in the batter is better than over-mixing.)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until it’s golden, and feels springy to the touch, about 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake.
- Cool completely; serve with a dollop of coconut “whipped cream” or regular whipped cream if desired.
- Whipped Cream for Serving: To keep this paleo-friendly, be sure to use coconut “whipped cream”.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Baking
