Keto Almond Cake Recipe (Easy 1-bowl Butter Cake)
This keto French almond cake is a moist, buttery almond cake made of almond flour.
Bonus, this easy French-style almond cake is also gluten-free, sugar-free with a dairy-free option, and only 3.6 grams of net carbs per slice.
As a French person on a keto diet, sharing a version of the popular French almond cake is a must! A buttery, moist cake with a delicious almond flavor.
What’s A French Almond Cake?
A French almond cake is a typically French butter cake served as a tea cake and perfect to pair with a cup of my bulletproof coffee. It has a moist, buttery crumb with a delicious almond flavor.
But a typical French almond cake would contain more than 30 grams of net carbs per slice! Far from keto-friendly.
How To Make Keto Almond Cake
This keto cake with almond flour is a very easy 1-bowl keto cake recipe using only almond flour. No need for coconut flour or other keto flours in this keto cake recipe.
This keto recipe is the easiest cake recipe to start your keto baking journey. All you need is one bowl and the ingredients below.
Ingredients
To make the most delicious, moist, and soft almond flour cake without sugar or gluten, you need:
- Almond flour – this refers to ultra-fine almond flour. It’s different from an almond meal. In fact, almond meal is coarse, dark in color, and adds a gritty texture to cakes. That’s why you must use golden, thin almond flour to make a delicious, moist, soft almond flour keto cake recipe. For more on Keto flours, read my guide on keto-friendly flours!
- Erythritol – that’s my favorite keto-friendly sweetener in keto cake recipes. You can use it as a 1:1 ratio replacement to sugar, and it has no carbs or calories. Other options are xylitol or allulose if you don’t like the cooling effect of erythritol.
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract – a must-add to boost the almond flavor of your cake.
- Melted unsalted butter – if you are dairy-free, use melted coconut oil. The color of the cake won’t be as gold, but the texture will stay unchanged.
- Large eggs – at room temperature
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Baking powder
- Sea salt
Measuring the almond flour precisely
The key to success when baking an almond flour cake is first to measure your flour with precision. You can use a kitchen scale or measuring cups.
But, if you choose to use measuring cups, always use the scoop-and-level method.
It means you scoop the almond flour from the bag, then level the top of the measuring cup with a knife to remove excess.
Combining wet to dry ingredients
First, in a large mixing bowl, combine the beaten eggs with melted butter, almond milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, baking powder, and salt.
In fact, beating the baking powder into the liquid ingredients activates the powder and makes the cake texture softer.
Then, gradually stir in the almond flour using a wooden spoon to incorporate the flour into the bowl without forming lumps.
Don’t use an electric beater to make this low-carb almond cake recipe. It will add too much air to the batter, and it won’t form a buttery, packed crumb, as you see in my pictures.
Greasing the pan
I won’t repeat this enough. Almond flour is different from wheat flour. It forms a thicker cake batter that sticks easily to your pan.
So always double-grease your pan to prevent the cake from sticking to the bottom or side of the pan.
First, grease a 9-inch springform pan with coconut oil or butter on the sides and bottom.
Then, add a circle piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan and grease the paper again generously.
Finally, pour the almond cake batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Smoothen the top of the cake with the back of the spatula.
Finally, sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the cake and slightly press them into the batter with your hands.
Bake the cake
Place the cake pan on the oven’s center rack and bake at 325°F (160°C) for 30-45 minutes.
You know the cake is ready when the top of the cake is slightly golden brown, and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a little to no crumb on it.
Cool down on a rack for at least 3 hours or overnight. The longer you wait before slicing an almond cake, the better the texture will be.
Finally, slightly run a knife around the cake and release the cake by opening the sides of the springform pan.
Cool the cake on a cooling rack for 30 minutes or overnight before slicing.
For a different perspective on this recipe, watch my step-by-step story about making this ridiculously easy keto cake!
Serving Almond Cake
A French almond cake is typically served with a dash of powdered sweetener on top.
First, wait for the cake to reach room temperature.
Then, use a small sieve to sprinkle powdered erythritol on top of the cake. Never add the powder sweetener on top of a warm cake, or it gets reabsorbed by the cake crumb.
Finally, cut the cake into 12 slices and serve each cake slice plain or with a dollop of keto vanilla ice cream on top.
Storage Instructions
This keto almond flour cake can be stored for up to 4 days in a sealed cake box in the fridge.
I recommend storing the cake unsliced to preserve all the moisture in the crumb. Then, slice the cake just before serving.
Freezing keto cakes
Of course, this is a large keto cake, and you can also freeze slices of cake for later.
It’s very convenient to thaw on a plate at room temperature when your cake craving hits you. Thaw the cake slice on the kitchen counter overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does it taste?
This almond flour keto cake has a buttery, moist and sweet crumb with a strong almond flavor. The crumb is as buttery as my keto lemon pound cake recipe, but the texture is way more light and fluffy.
The moist, buttery crumb balanced very well the crunch of the toasted sliced almonds on top.
Can I use coconut sugar?
No, coconut sugar is not a keto-friendly sweetener, so I don’t recommend using this option in my keto cake recipes.
However, if you are not on a keto low carb diet, simply looking for a paleo almond flour cake or gluten-free cake that uses almond flour, then coconut sugar or any sugar is great to swap erythritol.
Can I Add Cocoa Powder?
I don’t think it would work well. If you want a chocolate cake, make my keto chocolate cake.
7 tips for baking cakes with almond flour
It’s very different to bake with almond flour than other regular flours like wheat flours or other keto flours.
In fact, almond flour is very low in carbohydrates because it’s a non-starchy flour made of grounded almonds.
As a result, almond flour is less liquid absorbent than wheat and creates thick, slightly gritty cake batter. Below I listed 7 tips to help you make a cake with almond flour if it’s your first time baking with almond flour:
- Choose ultra-fine almond flour – never use ground almonds or almond meal in an almond flour cake recipe. These other terms refer to a coarse ground of almonds with their skin on it. It results in a grainy, heavy cake texture with a dark crumb color.
- Weigh your flour with precision – almond flour cakes are very sensitive to quantities. If you add a little too much, the cake ends up very dry and dense. Scroll down to read my tips to measure flours with measuring cups or a kitchen scale.
- Don’t thin out the batter – almond flour cake batter is thicker, and that’s how it should be. Don’t try to adjust the batter, adding more liquid to mimic a wheat flour cake batter.
- Use large eggs at room temperature – many almond flour cake recipes use eggs as a binder, and there is a reason for that. Since almond flour has almost no starch, it requires a binder. Eggs are the key to binding almond flour and creating fluffy, moist cakes. That’s why you can’t use egg replacer in almond flour cake recipes.
- Don’t overmix the batter – always add your almond flour into the liquid ingredients gradually and stir gently with a spoon. This technique prevents lumps in the batter and avoids adding too much air to the batter which can make the cake super dry.
- Double-grease the can pan – almond flour cake batter stick to the cake pan easily. That’s why you must you a non-stick can pan, preferably springform, for an easy release. Then, generously grease the pan with butter on the sides and bottom. Finally, add an extra piece of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan and grease the paper as well. This prevents cakes with almond flour from sticking to your pan.
- Bake at low temperature – almond flour burns very fast. Always bake your cake around 160C (325F) to prevent the cake’s top from browning too fast. Also, you can tent the cake pan with a piece of foil to diffuse the heat properly and avoid burning the flour. Be patient, bake the recommended time and keep the cake in the oven until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake come out almost dry.
So, to sum up, baking cake with almond flour is easy. But like everything new, baking with almond flour requires practice, patience, and precision.
Give yourself time to learn to bake almond flour cakes. And if something doesn’t work at first, try other almond flour brands and stick to the 7 rules above.
With time, practice, and precision, you will make the most delicious almond flour cake keto-friendly!
More Keto Cake Recipes
I am a keto cake fan, and there is never a week without a cake in my house. Below I listed my favorite keto cake recipes for you to try.
Did you try my gluten-free almond cake recipe yet? Share a comment or feedback below. I love to connect with you.
XOXO Carine
Recipe Card
Keto French Almond Cake
Nutrition
Want My Kitchen Equipment?
Ingredients
- 3 large Eggs beaten, at room temperature
- ½ cup Erythritol
- ⅓ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Almond Extract
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter or melted coconut oil
- 3 cups Almond Flour scooped and leveled
To decorate
- ⅓ cup Sliced Almonds
- 3 tablespoons Sugar-free Powdered Sweetener
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease a non-stick 9-inch springform pan with butter or coconut oil. Add a circle of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan and grease as well. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a manual whisk, beat eggs, erythritol, unsweetened almond milk, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract, and melted butter. Make sure the melted butter is not too hot, or it can cook eggs and form lumps.
- Gradually pour the almond flour into the liquid ingredients and stir until it forms a thick, slightly grainy cake batter.
- Pour the cake batter into the greased pan and sprinkle sliced almonds all over the top of the cake. Slightly press the almonds into the batter to stick to the top.
- Bake cake for 40-45 minutes in the center rack of your oven. I recommend tenting the cake pan with a large piece of foil after 25 minutes to prevent the cake's top from burning.
- After 30 minutes, insert a skewer in the center of the cake, and if it comes out with almost no crumb on it, the cake is ready.
- Cool the cake on a cooling rack for at least 3 hours before slicing.
- When the cake has reached room temperature, sieve powdered erythritol on top of the cake.
- Slice into 12 even slices.
Storage
- Store the cake in a sealed cake box in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Freeze cake slices in airtight ziplock bags or a box and thaw at room temperature the day before serving.
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About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I'm passionate about sharing easy, tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweetashoney. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
Browse all my recipes here.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweetashoney!
Posted In:
Clean EatingDairy freeGluten freeKetoPaleoVegetarianAlmond FlourAlmond MilkEggBakingDairy-Free OptionGluten-FreeKetoLow-CarbVegetarianDessertIntermediateDisclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only. The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized. You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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This was amazing! Light, fluffy, perfect hint of almond and not very sweet – which I love! Great recipe!
Can I use date paste instead of erythitol? If so, how much paste should I use?
Probably didn’t try that because it’s a high-sugar option.
I just made this cake today, followed the recipe exactly. It is so delicious. I just love anything with almonds and this cake does it. Thank you for this recipe.
Would this recipe work if I replaced the butter with almond butter or almond oil?
I would rather use coconut oil, it can be very dense with nut butter
I tried and it was good. I didn’t have the extract though and I only used 2 cups of flour.
Loved it!
I just made 2 Substitutions:
1: used erythritol+ monkfruit sweetener, instead of 100gr I used 60gr as we are not used to eating sweet.
2: used avocado oil instead of butter, I only had salted butter. But I will bake it again with butter, it will most probably taste even better.
Thank you for the lovely recipe
I would like to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday, but she’s allergic to eggs. Can I replace the eggs?
The recipe won’t work egg free or with egg replacer I am sorry
A must do recipe
Made it….yummmm..perfect receipe!
I made this cake tonight and I just want to say I loved it!!! 🙂
Can I use regular milk instead of almond milk . Thanks
Sure
Malkah – I am a bit confused your recipe calls for 3cups of almond flour or 300gr.
My source said 1cup = 120gr. So 3x120gr=360gr. So mine are 60gr more??
Thanks
It pretty much depends on how you pack the flour in the cup and the texture of the flour too. If your almond flour is ultra thin, you fit more in the measuring cup and even more if you pack it
Can I use plain sugar for sweetness
Sure, it works but it won’t be sugar-free anymore
Cake came out good!
But did you know how many almonds you eat each time you eat apiece of an almond cake?
I did not know my self until me and my boyfriend we got seek on overdosing on almonds. Too many almonds are toxic , look into it before you eat an almond cake light that!☹️
Can erythritol be replaced with Stevia?
Probably, but in a very small amount as stevia is extremely sweet
Can I use a Bundt pan for this. Very tasty. I put strawberry’s on for short cake
I guess it will work, feel free to experiment
This is such a delicious cake. So moist Andrya a tender crumb. I think I’ll add more allulose next time. I wonder if I added to little. It is just barely sweet and though I don’t prefer it to sweet, I feel it needs more.
Added extra almond extract because I love it.
Thank you for sharing
Why doesn’t it say how many eggs to use?
I think you miss the recipe card, it’s just above this comment section, there’s the amount of each ingredients showing and instructions
If you don’t have a springform pan can you use a 9 or 10in round pan
Sure
This was SO good! I didn’t even tell my family it was made with alternative ingredients, and apparently no one could tell! I think it would pair deliciously with a cherry or orange reduction.