Do you have a birthday coming up, or a party to go to? Or do you just feel like baking a cake or cupcakes? In any case, I’d love your help with this one.
I’ve found the yellow cake recipe using almond flour to be a bit finicky, which is partly due to the nature of “souffle-type” cakes. To remedy this, I’ve been testing various versions of this recipe, with interesting results. My conclusion is that whipping egg whites is fun and brings air and height to the cake, but also brings a degree of difficulty to a recipe that I’d rather not have if I don’t need it.
So the recipe below does not require egg-white whipping. The cake might be less spongy, but I love the flavor and consistency. It may not be as light as a yellow cake layer using all-purpose flour, but the flavor makes up for it (in my opinion) but I’d love your opinion, if you’re up for it. And if you are diving in, this recipe is for one yellow cake layer, or one round of cupcakes, because I think they’ll make great cupcakes as well. For a layer cake, just double the recipe and pour into two baking pans.
One minor snafu I’ve had that you want to be aware of. I’ve been so heads-down testing that I didn’t realize I had run of out of blanched almond flour. I thought I had one bag left, but when I opened the box from Honeyville, it was almond meal. I mistakenly ordered almond meal instead of blanched almond flour. Bad timing. So, I’m taking a little brake from testing almond flour recipes.
Simple Yellow Cake and Cupcakes {using almond flour}
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup of honey (or other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
- 1/3 cup of oil
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of blanched almond flour
Method
- Preheat your oven to 325°F/165°C.
- Prepare an 8-inch round cake pan by rubbing oiling on the inside, and then trace and cut out a circular piece of parchment paper the size of the baking pan. Place it on the bottom of the pan. This allows you to remove the cake from the pan without it sticking. To yield the circle size I need, I place the cake pan on a piece of parchment paper and trace a circle around the pan.
- Combine all the wet ingredients in a bowl and blend with a fork or whisk.
- Add the dry ingredients and blend with a fork or whisk.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and shuffle it a bit to even it out.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the center is not wiggly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake and gently run a knife along the outer edge of the cake to make it easy to remove.
Makes one layer cake or about 6 cupcakes
Vanilla Frosting {dairy-free}
- 1/2 cup of Spectrum Shortening
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- splash of almond milk or other dairy-free milk
Whip all the ingredients together until well-blended. Use frosting at room temperature.
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Oh! I’ve been ordering Honeyville through amazon, but it’s labeled as “almond meal flour” Is that the wrong thing? Now I’m confused. Please take a look. If there’s a different product from Honeyville that I should be using, I’d like to know.
I’ve made your yellow cake before and it never looked like your picture. This may explain it. Or it may be as you say, “finicky”
http://www.amazon.com/Blanched-Almond-Meal-Flour-lb/dp/B0006ZN538/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352029709&sr=8-1&keywords=honeyville+blanched+almond+flour
The recipe is finicky because whipped eggs (and eggs in general) are sensitive to deflating (losing air while baking or after), especially if they can’t keep the structure with other ingredients in the batter, which is why you sometimes see deflated muffins, etc.
It looks like you’re using blanched almond flour, which is correct (as opposed to almond meal).
Hi Bernadette,
You can also try using blanched almond flour sold by Anthony’s Almonds:
http://www.amazon.com/Anthonys-Almonds-Blanched-Almond-Pounds/dp/B0055IRNAC
It’s great almond flour!
- Linda
i actually prefer almond meal and make all your recipes using that. they don’t turn out as pretty as yours, but to me they taste better.
good to know. almond meal works well in the bread and muffin recipes, but many prefer the lighter, finer grind of blanched almond flour for cakes and cupcakes (so that they’re similar to all purpose flour cakes).
Try using a little xanthum gum. It acts a little like gluten to stabilize the almond flour/meal. This allows for a bit more rising of the cake (but not much).
Thanks. Gums are not legal with SCD, but if you’re not following SCD, then sure. Have you tried it? I avoid additives like gums. Here’s why (from Wikipedia): Xanthan gum may be derived from a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, such as corn, wheat, dairy, or soy. As such, persons with known sensitivities or allergies to food products are advised to avoid foods including generic xanthan gum or first determine the source for the xanthan gum before consuming the food.
FYI – this post on xanthum gum is illuminating as well: http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2013/02/lets-talk-gluten-replacers-in-gluten-free-baking/#more-2683
You could also try arrowroot for a bit of extra binding/rising power. I’ll try it with a batch and let you know how it turns out.
SUPER TASTY! Thank you for this recipe. I am a typpe 1 diabetic always on the hunt for low sugar, no flour ( besides almond and coconut) recipe’s. This is a new favorite! I am going to put together a low sugar cream cheese frosting for the topping
Thanks for testing it! can you share your frosting recipe? Another reader is interested.
This looks really good! I’m going to try making it for a birthday. Do you have a recipe for a frosting?
I do have a few scattered around the site.
Search for frosting:
http://comfybelly.com/search/?cx=009337755317460624453%3A5pjupgghsym&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&q=frosting&siteurl=comfybelly.com%2F&ref=&ss=940j149200j8#.UJb-84Y3D3A
one more, just a basic, dairy-free white frosting, but I haven’t tested this well (maybe someone can try it if they’re interested):
1/2 cup of Spectrum Shortening
1/4 cup of honey
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
splash of almond milk or other dairy-free milk
Whip all the ingredients together until well-blended. Frost at room temperature.
Thanks for this – I actually have tried your other recipe with whipping the egg whites and found it to be a bit too spongy for my taste so am excited for this version. As I’m just trying out baking with almond flour, I have noticed that sometimes it feels like my baked goods turn out too moist/oily … I have not tried reducing the amount of oil/butter called for in some recipes yet, but do you think that might be a good solution? I know nut flours are higher in fat, so I wonder if reducing some of the other fat would help balance it out …
I think you could go down to 1/4 cup of oil, but I haven’t tested it. I’m curious though, so I might test it later this week (when I get another shipment of almond flour). If you try it, let us know how it goes. Thanks!
I definitely prefer blanched almond flour to almond meal for baking. And I just got my five pounds of Honeyville almond flour so I will definitely try your recipe. Thanks!
i made the cupcakes using almond meal. frosted them with chocolate cream cheese frosting. kids and hubby gobbled them up very fast. i plan to double the recipe and make more tomorrow.
yum to the cream cheese frosting! good to know this works with almond meal.
Can I replace the honey with Splenda, and if so, what would be the conversion?
I don’t know offhand, but I would imagine it’s whatever sugar conversion you use plus the added measurement of moisture from the amount of honey added.
This recipe was just in time for my birthday party. I have made your previous ylow cake/refrigerator cake recipe and loved it. This recipe was simple and so easy. The cake had a really nice lightness. I was surprised how much the cupcakes rose. Great recipe!
Yeah! Thanks for trying this. And Happy Birthday!
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This is exactly what I came to your site looking for. The fair trade and organic coffee shop near my office had this pound cake that they make in house (using flour) that is beyond flavorful. I splurged some calories and purchased one. I came here knowing I could find simple cake recipe that utilized alternative ingredients better suited to my diet and preferred food choices. Thanks.
Thanks. Which pound cake? I’m curious
Made with almond flour?
I made this and it turned out amazing per my husband! I am always trying to make recipes more healthy without losing the wonderful flavor. What do you think about replacing the oil with unsweetened apple sauce?
Has anyone tried any other sweetners besides honey?
Thanks
Excellent recipe! I would like to add this advice, though: If making cupcakes, the yield is more like 8-10 cupcakes (even with large liners), and liners should be filled only 2/3 full. Otherwise, they will not fully cook in the middle and spill over the edges. Thank you again!
good tips! thanks.
@Shelby, I used light agave instead of honey.
I just made this yellow cake. It is now cooling down. So far it looks perfect. Hope it holds up together. I love baking with almond flour.
The only thing i added to this recipe is a teaspoon of my favorite sweet liquor called “Stega.” My mother used to put it in her yellow cakes when we were growing up. I also added a little bit of lemon zest. The middle of the cake is darker than the the outer layer, wonder if it’s the liquor that made this happen, but it looks great!
Liquor is called Strega.
Yay….THANK YOU!! I have been looking for an almond flour cupcake recipe for my daughter’s first birthday (we are a GAPS family.) This looks lovely. I am going to do a drained yogurt frosting and top with berries…should make for some lovely smash photos, and a happy older brother who will be able to eat his baby sister’s first birthday cake! Thanks again!
Quick question- it just says oil in the ingredients. Can this be any oil (I was planning on using coconut oil)
Yes, it should be fine (but I haven’t tried it). You may want to melt the coconut oil before adding it to the batter.
Awesome! Thanks for getting back to me! What type of oil do you use?
I usually use either cooking oil or melted butter.
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Hi…I would like to make a cake or cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday tomorrow. Do you think I could throw some berries in the batter or would that throw it off? It seems like it would be fine. Any other ideas of how to decorate it that would be SCD legal? I’m new to this…
Thanks!
I think it would be fine. Happy Birthday to her!
does the recipe require eleven half cups of almond flour or 1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1 and 1/2