Growing up, Sundays almost always meant there was some sort of glorious cake sitting on the kitchen counter. My family firmly believed that no meal was truly complete without dessert—and honestly? Not much has changed. That little habit is (still) deeply-entrenched into how I eat.
During the week, dessert was usually something simple: creamy rice pudding, pineapple jam thumbprint cookies, lemon Jell-O, or a big platter of freshly-cut seasonal fruit after lunch and dinner. Nothing fancy, just a little sweet ritual to close out the meal. To this day, my parents still need “a little something” after eating, and somewhere along the way, that tradition quietly became part of me too.
But then on Sunday, dessert always looked like true-blue, good ‘ole dessert. As much as I love those simple everyday desserts, Sunday was always reserved for cake. It didn’t need layers, fancy frosting, or a special occasion. Just something homemade, sliced generously, and shared around the table with the people you love.
There were warm, fudgy brownies enjoyed with old-fashioned creamery style vanilla ice cream. Mom also made a killer, gooey apple pie with the best from-scratch crispy crust. But what we ALL (truly) looked forward to was her Lemon Delight Cake. In fact; this is my third citrus-recipe inspired by that mythical cake. It was THAT good and everyone who tried said cake, still remembers it with a ton of nostalgia.
I drew inspiration from that cake to create this one- but I wanted to make it accessible to most people who have to eat grain-free or gluten-free, for whatever reason. Simple ingredients like- Meyer lemons, almond flour, eggs, coconut oil and honey, come together to give this cake the perfect crumb and right dose of tangy, sweet goodness.
This Honey Lemon Almond Flour Cake reminds me exactly of Sunday. It’s bright, fresh, incredibly moist, and just sweet enough thanks to a generous drizzle of honey and plenty of fresh lemon. The almond flour gives it the most tender crumb, making it naturally gluten-free without sacrificing an ounce of flavour.
There are eggs, but let me remind you that eggs are dairy free. Often times the audience gets this confused- while adding eggs doesn’t make it plant-based, it’s still dairy and gluten-free.
You want to make it an orange cake? Add orange zest and orange juice in the exact same measurements as the lemon zest and lemon juice requirements in the recipe.
Lemon Cake: 2 Tbsp of lemon zest + 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Orange Cake: 2 Tbsp of orange zest + 1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
For the topper- there is no glaze or icing.. none of that this time. This cake shines so brightly; all we need on top are some macerated berries right before serving! Read: macerated berries= berries that have been mixed and tossed with sugar (stir occasionally for 35-45 mins) and watch them transform into a gorgeously plum and juicy sauce. OR, do what I did: sprinkle some free blueberries with icing sugar and voila; you’ve got the best fruity topper without having to resort to icing.
Honey Lemon Almond Flour Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (180 g) superfine blanched almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 4 large eggs, separated
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- 2 Tbsp runny honey
- zest of 2 lemons
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- powdered or icing sugar (for sprinkling)
- ~1/2 cup of blueberries (cake toppers)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a 7 or 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper (I like to grease the sides with cooking spray, high-heat avocado oil or a bit of coconut oil dabbed over a paper towel.)
- In a bowl, use a large fork OR mixer to beat together: sugar or honey, the 4 yolks, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until nice and well-combined.
- Whisk together dry ingredients: almond flour, sea salt, baking powder and then add to the yolk, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest mixture.
- In a separate bowl, use a mixer to beat the four egg whites until you’ve got nice, foamy peaks and a nice lift. Gently fold the egg white mixture into the cake batter (I do it in three stops, as to not to add them all at once).. This is what gives this simple cake that gorgeous lift and light + airy crumb. The egg whites are truly the secret behind the texture! Rest the batter for 5 minutes before baking.
- Transfer batter to a pan and bake at 350F for ~30-35 mins.. *The first time I made it, I used a larger pan.. the cake was a little flatter. For a nice, tall, build- use a smaller springform pan.
Notes:
This recipe ONLY works with almond flour.. it behaves differently from standard flour and along with the separated eggs; does not quire oil or butter of any kind.
By: Aleyda/ The Dish On Healthy
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