If you’re searching for an easy French dessert that feels elegant but requires no pastry chef skills, the French Almond Cake (Amandier) is a must-bake. This moist almond flour cake is naturally gluten-free, deeply nutty, and delicately flavored with orange zest.
It’s a classic French cake recipe to impress guests, or a simple treat to enjoy with coffee or tea on your own.
What is an Amandier (French Almond Cake)?
The word Amandier means “almond tree” in French, and this classic french cake celebrates the nut in all its glory. Made with almond flour, eggs, butter and just a touch of citrus, it bakes up into a moist, tender crumb, finished with a delicate crunch from the sliced almonds on top.
This has been one of my go-to cakes for years—not just because it’s naturally gluten-free, but because it feels effortless and unfussy. No intricate layers, no elaborate frosting—just pure, honest almond goodness. A light dusting of powdered sugar right before serving is all it needs to look and feel special.
What I also love about this cake is that it seems to get better with time. By the next day, the flavors have deepened and the texture turns slightly chewier and denser – even more delicious and satisfying! And if you would like to cut cleaner slices, I recommend waiting until the next day too.
The French Almond Cake (Amandier) is a true classic: a moist almond cake that’s both rustic and refined. Whether you’re new to French baking or already love traditional recipes, I hope this one will become a favorite in your kitchen too!
Ingredients you’ll need for this authentic French Almond Cake
- Sugar. You need ¾ cups (150g) of white sugar for this cake. I have tried the recipe with a lower amount of sugar, but the texture wasn’t right. Because this is a gluten-free cake, we need at least ¾ cups of sugar to help create the structure of this cake.
- Orange zest. It adds freshness and brightness. And orange pairs wonderfully with almond!
- Eggs. We need 5 large eggs (at room temperature) to create structure and richness.
- Almond flour. The star of this almond flour cake! You can use blanched or unblanched. Choose a high-quality source such as Bob’s Red Mill. You can also use almond meal which in comparison to almond flour, is slightly coarser (not as finely ground). Almond meal is also often made from raw unpeeled almonds resulting in a brown-speckled mix, while almond flour is made from peeled almonds.
- Butter. Melt the butter (in a sauce pan or a microwave) 15 minutes before you start, as it needs to be slightly cooled before it gets added to the batter.
- Crème fraiche. It adds richness to the texture and a slightly tang. You can find crème fraiche in most grocery stores, next to the heavy creams.
- Almond extract. To bump up the almond flavor.
- Sliced almonds. They get sprinkled on top of the cake before baking to create a delicious, crunchy bite.
- Icing sugar. For dusting before serving.
Step-by-step instructions
Here is a quick rundown of how this cake is made. This is basically 3 simple steps : making an orange-zested sugar first, then mixing the batter and finally assembling the cake. You can find the detailed instructions and ingredient list in the recipe card below.
- Make an orange sugar: Rub together with your fingers the sugar and orange zest until moist and fragrant.
- Mix the batter: Whisk eggs and orange sugar until foamy, then stir in almond flour, salt, melted butter, crème fraiche, and almond extract.
- Assemble the cake : Pour batter into the pan and sprinkle sliced almonds on top before baking.
- Finish: Once the cake is baked and completly cool, dust it with icing sugar.
This cake is best made in a 8″ circular pan. It also works in a 9″ pan but the cake won’t be as tall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the French almond cake gluten-free?
Yes! This almond flour cake recipe contains no wheat flour, making it naturally gluten-free.
Do I have to use orange zest?
Orange zest adds brightness and pairs wonderfully with the almond taste. But you can skip it or swap it for lemon zest.
Can I substitute crème fraiche?
In my opinion, crème fraiche yields a distinctive richness and tang to this cake so I recommend sticking to it. But if you really can’t find it, you can use Greek yogurt, skyr or quark instead – the texture of the cake will be a little less dense. Crème fraiche yields a rich texture while yogurts create more of a “bouncy” texture.
How long does Amandier cake keep?
It stays fresh for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can refrigerate it for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze French almond cake?
Absolutely! Once the cake is completely cool, wrap slices in plastic wrap, store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw before serving.
I hope you’ll enjoy this French Almond Cake (Amandier) recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment. Happy baking and bon appétit !
More French Cake recipes to try:
- Classic French Apple Cake
- Chocolate Moelleux Cake
- Blueberry Bundt Cake (Tourte aux Myrtilles)
- Coffee Walnut Cake (Gâteau Grenoblois)
- French Magic Cake (Gâteau Magique)
- Apple Crinkle Cake (Gâteau Froissé)
- Invisible Apple Cake (Gâteau Invisible)
- Chestnut Cream Cake (Gâteau Ardéchois)
12 comments
I’m cooking for two these days. Will the structure of the cake remain the same if I bake in 4″ pans?
Hello, Mark. I couldn’t give you an honest answer on that, as I’ve not tried it in anything but the 8″ pan. But it does freeze well, to keep half for another time! That said, I genuinely think it would work in a 4″ pan, but the cooking time would be all guess work!
I tried this recipe for a potluck, and it’s definitely a keeper! The cake was not too sweet, and the orange zest added a wonderful brightness that paired perfectly with the almonds. Everyone loved it—it was the only cake on the table that completely “vaporized.”
Disclaimer: I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, so I swapped almond extract for orange extract and used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of cream. Both substitutions worked really well, but next time I’ll make the effort to run to the store tp follow the recipe as written.
Glad you enjoyed the cake Cecile, and even happier it was enjoyed by the guests! Your subs sound wonderful, no doubt it was delicious. But when you get to try the cross of orange and almond (the next time) it might be even better 🙂 But great use of what you had on hand, this is the most important thing.
Would love to try this but almond flour is ridiculously expensive around here. Can i use homemade almond meal?
That should work, Kat. But I would try to get it as fine as I could before using it.
For your French Almond Cake, would you reduce the over temp of 180 degrees to 160 degrees to accommodate a Fan oven?
Using a fan can be tricky with baking, but if there is no choice available (I know some ovens are fan only) I would definitely drop the temp to about 165, and start checking as soon as 10min earlier in the event you’ll need to drape some foil over top of the cake due to overbrowning. Best of luck, should still come out great, Michael!
Martin
By reading the comment from Micheal below regarding oven temperatures, I take it that you show oven temps for a conventional oven (non-fan) in your recipes.
Can you please confirm this for me, as this is an ongoing thing of confusion with recipes.
Cheers,
Martin
Hello Martin!
Unless otherwise clearly stated, all my recipes are provided using a conventional (non-fan) oven. Hope this helps, and please enjoy 🙂
– Audrey
Could I bake this in a square pan, maybe 8×8?
I’m sure it’s possible, Christina! I don’t know the cooking time though, but same rules apply – I’d start checking with a toothpick around the 35min mark. It’d need to stay in the pan as well, I don’t think it’d be easy to remove. Please enjoy!