French Almond Cake (Amandier)
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Do you know the Amandier ? It is a French Almond Cake. This French cake is completely gluten free as it is made with ground almonds instead of flour. This really moist cake is a treat to serve as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee.
One other particularity of this cake is also made without baking powder which is ideal for people who can’t stand baking powder.
Table of content
- What is an Amandier?
- List of ingredients
- How to make this French almond cake?
- Géraldine’s tips
- Frequently asked questions
What is an Amandier?
Amandier means in French almond tree. In pastry, the Amandier is a French cake super soft as its name suggests based on almonds. In some French regions, it is known as namandier.
If you’ve ever tried financiers, small, buttery French almond tea cakes with a delicate texture or the Galette des Rois (French King’s Cake), a flaky puff pastry filled with rich almond cream traditionally served for Epiphany, this cake will instantly bring back that same luscious frangipane flavor.
List of ingredients
To make this flourless almond cake, you only need a few easy-to-find basic ingredients.
- Ground almonds – The base of the cake. Buy pre-ground or grind blanched almonds yourself. You can swap some for hazelnuts or flour, but then it’s not gluten-free.
- Eggs – Use fresh large eggs; no need to separate them.
- Sugar – White granulated works best, but cane sugar, brown sugar, honey, or a bit of vanilla sugar (or vanilla extract) are fine.
- Butter – Unsalted, preferably European style (82% butterfat). For dairy-free, use margarine or mild olive oil.
- Crème fraîche – Makes the cake moist and light. Sub with heavy cream, yogurt, plant-based cream, or mascarpone.
- Bitter almond extract – For strong almond flavor. If unavailable, use almond extract, vanilla, or orange blossom water.
- Lemon zest – Optional for freshness; orange zest also works.
- Sliced almonds – Sprinkle on top; they’ll toast golden in the oven.
You will find the exact quantities in the recipe card.
Recipe Card
French Almond Cake (Amandier)
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Equipment
- 1 8-inch round springform (20 cm)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups almond flour almond meal – about 250 g
- 5 large eggs
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar about 120 g
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter about 80 g
- ¼ cup crème fraîche or heavy cream, full-fat yogurt, or plant-based cream – about 60 g
- 2 tsp bitter almond extract or regular almond extract if that’s easier to find
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ½ cup sliced almonds for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottom of an 8-inch round springform pan with parchment paper and lightly butter the sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until pale and foamy.
- Stir in the almond flour.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave on low heat. Add the melted butter and crème fraîche to the batter and mix until smooth.
- Add the bitter almond extract and grated lemon zest; mix again.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle evenly with the sliced almonds.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the springform and cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
Géraldine’s tips
- I used a relatively small springform pan (20 cm) because I wanted a higher cake. This cake may look small but since it has a pretty intense flavor, it can feed 6-8 people.
- Make sure to adapt the cooking time to the size of your cake pan: the larger the cake pan, the shorter the cake need to bake. As mine was quite high, you might need less time.
- You can also make individual portions and pour the cake batter in muffin tins or financier molds.
- Turn your oven off 5 minutes before the end of the baking, don’t open the door and leave the cake inside. It will save some power and it is better for the environment. Your oven is still so hot so it will have no impact on the baking time.
- You can decorate the cake with icing sugar.
More French Cake Recipes
- Homemade Croissants (French recipe)
- French Galette des Rois
- Rose Apple Tart
- Strawberry Tartelettes with Crème Pâtissière
- Geometric Rhubarb Tart
Frequently Asked Questions
Personally, I prefer to eat this cake at room temperature.
This cake can be kept for up to 5 days. To keep it moist, cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and leave it at room temperature.
Yes, you can replace the butter with margarine, olive oil or any kind of vegetable oil and the crème fraîche with a plant based yogurt or cream.
My favorite technique for keeping the cake from sticking to the pan is to cut out a circle of parchment paper about the same size as the cake pan. I place the circle in the bottom of the pan to protect it well and butter only the sides of the pan with a pastry brush.
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Excellent recipe – easy, simple and delicious.
Dina
A favourite in my household and I keep coming back to this same recipe. So easy and so tasty! So many tips as well which I love. Thank you!
Thank you so much Eleanor !
Easy recipe, tastes amazing
Thanks, Maha!
Everything
I loved this cake, exquisite almond flavour with the mild sharpness of the lemon zest. Perfect companion to coffee or tea
Thank you so much, Angela!
Very tasty, not too sweet and simple to make. Definitely going to make again, best to use the 20cm recommended size pan, I only had a 24cm and it made the cake a little flat worth buying the correct size this cake has become a favourite. Used regular almond extract as we don’t seem to get a bitter version in New Zealand.
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you loved the amandier cake. Great tip about the pan size, and regular almond extract works perfectly! 🤗
Very fluffy, not too sweet and very tasty. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you like it Mariette 🤗
I made a mistake by using extra large eggs instead of medium size eggs so I ended up baking for almost an hour (did cover it with foil to prevent excessive browning). At the end of an hour, it did come out as a moist and fluffy cake, not too sweet but sweet enough to cure a craving for sweets. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Best almond cake recipe
Delicious! Recently diagnosed with wheat intolerance, I am learning a whole new food regime and making wonderful food discoveries. Made old-fashioned fairy cakes with this mixtur.
Thank you Eleanor! So happy I could help you find new recipes compatible with your wheat intolerance 🤗
My cake is out of the oven and looks delicious. Cannot wait to taste it tomorrow at office potluck. But my almonds didn’t brown. I used raw sliced almonds. Wonder if I should have used a different type.
I eat gluten free as much as possible but love cake…this is a winner! I used orange instead of lemon zest but otherwise made exactly as written and the result was vraiment délicieux…merci for this wonderful recipe.
Made it in a heart springform pan. Came out not only delicious but beautiful! Thank you!
Can I brown the butter for the batter?
Made this today and it was so delicious!
Excellent cake! Had only 200g of almond flour, so added AP flour to make up the difference. Baked in a 24cm pan so it was a bit thinner than shown – but very delicious!
Can regular almond extract be used?
Sure, it works too!
What are the units for the crème fraîche? The recipe just says 60.
It’s 60 g (sorry, I forgot the “g”). I will change it right away. Thank you for the comment.
Is there any chance you have an option of showing the recipes in US measurements? I know as a good cook I should be switching myself over to weights but I haven’t figured out a convenient way to do this. Maybe even post in your blog the easiest way to convert to you measurements?
I haven’t confirmed these measurements by actually using them in this recipe but it should be close. Also, I would just suggest to invest in a digital kitchen scale to get best metric measurements.
250 g almond meal is equivalent to approximately 2 1/2 cups in US volume measurements.
120 g of sugar is approximately 2/3 cup.
80 g of butter is approximately 1/3 cup.
60 g of crème fraîche is approximately 1/4 cup.
How many large sized eggs would you recommend?
Any substitute for bitter almond extract and crème fraiche
Yes, it’s in the ingredient list: amaretto (with alcohol) or vanilla extract for bitter almond extract. Vanilla will give the cake another taste but it’s fine and sour cream or greek yogurt for crème fraiche.