Almond Flour Chocolate Cake

A deep, dark chocolate cake is definitely a desert island food for me. Despite the fact that I trained as a pastry chef, I will choose a simple chocolate cake over much more complicated desserts every.single.time. But—it has to be perfect. Moist and fudgy, and never ever dry. Ever since I started experimenting with using almond flour instead of regular flour in cookies, I’ve been wanting to try an Almond Flour Chocolate Cake recipe. After a few rounds of testing, I came up with a version that is very easy to make, and has a perfectly tender texture. Super delicious too—no frosting required!

This easy almond flour cake recipe has only 10 ingredients, and does not require a mixer. You simply mix dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, then combine and pour into a cake pan to bake. The resulting cake is dark and chocolatey, and needs only a sprinkle of powdered sugar to serve. And, this cake is completely gluten-free. Not that anyone would know—my two little cake monsters devoured this cake in seconds and wanted more. 

How do you make Almond Flour Chocolate Cake?

First, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. (To do this easily, put your cake pan down on the parchment paper, then trace around it. Remove pan and cut out the circle.) Pour a small amount of cocoa powder into your buttered pan, and tap and turn the pan until the cocoa powder coats the sides. This will help the cake unmold easily. 

Whisk together 1.5 cups almond flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder*, 1 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, 3 ounces of vegetable oil, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Stir egg mixture into almond flour mixture until well-combined, then stir in 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Use a rubber spatula to scrape into prepared cake pan.

Bake for 25-28 minutes until top is springy when touched, and cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes, then cover with a cutting board or plate and flip over.

Remove pan, then parchment paper, and cover with serving platter. Then flip over again. Dust with powdered sugar to serve, if desired. 

* This cake shines with a very high-quality cocoa powder. I love Valrhona Cocoa Powder, but there are other great options too.

Can I freeze Almond Flour Chocolate Cake? 

Yes, almond flour cakes freeze quite well. They also keep well for a few days covered or in a plastic container at room temperature. To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. 

Almond Flour Nutrition Facts

Almond flour, since it is made just from raw almonds, is quite healthy for you. Almonds are low in carbs and high in fiber, protein, manganese, magnesium, and Vitamin E. They are also high in omega-3 fatty acids. Adding almond flour to a recipe adds fat, which adds richness to a recipe and can extend the shelf life of your baked goods. 

Almond Meal vs. Almond Flour

Almond meal and almond flour are terms used for the same thing—both mean finely ground almonds. The majority of almond flour products are made by finely grinding blanched almonds (almonds where the skins have been removed). Almond meal can mean finely ground blanched or unblanched almonds, and almond meal may be a coarser grind than almond flour.

How to Make Almond Flour

You can easily make your own almond flour with the help of a food processor. Just take a quantity of blanched almonds (you can often find these as blanched, slivered almonds in the grocery store) and blitz in a food processor until they are finely ground. Just make sure you stop as soon as you see the texture you want—if you grind for too long, your almond flour will turn into almond butter. 

What else can you use almond flour for?

Almond flour is used in many French desserts—try making macarons or making a frangipane base for a tart. You can also use almond flour as a replacement for all-purpose flour (or for some of the flour) in regular cake or cookie recipes (see below). Almond meal can also make a delicious crumble topping for a fruit crisp, crumble, or tart when mixed with flour, sugar, and butter.

Finally, you can replace breadcrumbs with almond flour when you are making breaded chicken or fish—though almond flour will burn more quickly than traditional breadcrumbs. For more information about substituting some almond flour in your baking recipes, consult this almond flour baking guide from King Arthur Flour. It’s a great resource that shows you exactly how different kinds of recipes react to almond flour.

How do I substitute almond flour for regular flour?

Substitution for regular flour really depends on the recipe. In some cases you can replace all-purpose flour with almond flour on a 1:1 basis. (So, if the recipe called for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, replace with 1 cup of almond flour.) However, for other recipes, a 1:2 ratio is better—using twice as much almond flour as all-purpose flour. In addition, almond flour won’t develop gluten as all-purpose flour will. Many recipes will increase the number of eggs used to help bind the ingredients together and create structure.

Also, it should be noted that almond flour is not a magic ingredient for gluten-free baking. There are several wonderful gluten-free baking guides out there like this one that have much more information on how to get the texture you are looking for when using gluten-free ingredients for cakes, cookies, breads, and more.  

Can you freeze almond flour?

Yes! And since almond flour is expensive both to buy and to make, you should definitely freeze any leftovers for your next batch. According to Bob’s Red Mill, you can even freeze almond flour for 4-5 months after its sell by date, as long as you keep it in an airtight container. You can also keep it in the fridge if you prefer, and in fact, if you are planning to store almond flour for over a few weeks, you should keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. Almond flour (and other nut flours) can turn rancid more quickly than traditional flour. 

Other Almond Flour Recipes

If you enjoyed this Almond Flour Chocolate Cake recipe, you might also want to check out my Almond Flour Chocolate Cookies, my Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies, my Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies, and my Lemony Almond Flour Muffins. I also use almond flour in my French Yogurt Cake with Almonds recipe. If you’re looking for other delicious desserts, don’t miss my Ultimate Blondies with Chocolate Chips, my Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls with Apple, my Peach Blueberry Crisp, and my Mango Coconut Yogurt Parfaits. 

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Almond Flour Chocolate Cake

Yield: Serves 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Almond Flour Chocolate Cake has a fudgy texture and is packed with chocolate flavor. Almond flour adds mild nuttiness, and makes this recipe gluten-free! Perfect sprinkled with powdered sugar for an afternoon pick-me-up.

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Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing pan
• 1 1/2 c. (150g) almond flour (packed)
• 1/3 c. (38g) cocoa powder
• 1 c. (217g) sugar
• 3/4 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3 oz. (89ml) vegetable oil
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. (90g) chocolate chips
• Powdered sugar, if desired, to serve

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
2. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. Pour in a small amount of cocoa powder and tap and turn the pan until the cocoa powder coats the butter-covered sides. This will help the cake unmold easily.
4. Whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
5. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.
6. Stir egg mixture into almond flour mixture until well-combined, then stir in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.
7. Use a rubber spatula to scrape into prepared cake pan.
8. Bake for 25-28 minutes until top is springy when touched, and cake tester comes out clean.
9. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes, then cover with a cutting board or plate and flip over.
10. Remove pan, then parchment paper, and cover with serving platter. Then flip over again.
11. Dust with powdered sugar to serve, if desired.

Notes

This cake shines with a very high-quality cocoa powder. I love Valrhona Cocoa Powder, but there are other great options too.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 242Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 239mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 5g

Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.