Almond Flour Chocolate Cake has a fudgy texture and is packed with chocolate flavor. Almond flour adds mild nuttiness, and makes this recipe completely gluten-free!
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, and no frosting required!
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Why Make This Recipe
- So Fast: This easy almond flour cake recipe has a short list of ingredients, and doesn't require a mixer.
- Dark and Delicious: Rich chocolate flavor that needs only a sprinkle of powdered sugar to serve.
- Gluten-Free: This cake uses almond flour instead of regular flour, making it gluten-free. But all you'll taste is your new favorite chocolate cake.
- Great Shelf Life: Using almond flour in your recipe adds fat, which adds richness and also extends the shelf life of your baked goods.
1-Minute Video for Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
🥗 Ingredients for Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
- 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. As a result, I always prefer to bake with fine-ground almond flour.
- Cocoa Powder: This cake shines with a very high-quality cocoa powder. I love a deep, dark cocoa powder like my favorite Valrhona Cocoa Powder. But you can use whatever unsweetened cocoa powder you like best, and both regular cocoa powder and dutch processed cocoa powder work just fine.
- Sugar: My recipe calls for regular sugar, but several people have made this cake with sugar substitutes such as coconut sugar and have reported back that it works quite well!
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
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. 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 your dry ingredients: 1.5 cups almond flour, ⅓ cup cocoa powder, 1 cup sugar, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt in a large mixing 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 ½ cup of chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Use a rubber spatula to scrape into prepared cake pan.
Bake for 25 minutes, or 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 your Chocolate Almond Flour Cake with powdered sugar to serve, if desired.
🧐 FAQs
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.
Yes! 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.
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.
Though this is a gluten-free chocolate cake, it is not a keto chocolate cake. Using almond flour does reduce the carbs in this cake, compared to making it with regular all-purpose flour. But it still contains more carbs and sugar than you'd like if you were practicing a strict keto diet.
Yes! Easily done. Just replace the butter you would use for greasing the pan with a non-dairy baking spray or margarine. And, make sure the chocolate chips you use are also dairy-free. Many brands are, though some are not. The cake itself is totally dairy-free!
👩🍳 Expert Tips for Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
The easiest way to line your pan with parchment paper is to put your cake pan down on the parchment paper, then trace around it. Remove pan and cut out the circle, then press it onto the buttered bottom of the pan.
Sometimes a whole cake is too much, and you want a single serving size. In that case, check out my recipe for this Chocolate Almond Flour Mug Cake. Same fudgy flavor, but made in 60 seconds in the microwave!
Want more ideas about how to top this fudgy almond flour chocolate cake? You can top it with sweetened whipped cream and berries, or double down on the chocolate by making a ganache to pour or spread over the top. To make a ganache, just heat cream and chopped up dark chocolate in a 1:1 ratio until smooth (add more cream if you want to easily pour it). You can even double it up to make a layer cake, or bake it in cupcake tins.
Baking with Almond Flour
Wondering what else you can do with almond flour? Almond flour is used in many French desserts—try making macarons or making a frangipane base for a tart. Almond meal can also make a delicious crumble topping for a fruit crisp, crumble, or tart when mixed with flour, sugar, and butter. You can also try using almond flour instead of breadcrumbs to coat chicken or tofu—just pay attention because it can burn faster than regular breadcrumbs.
You may also want to play around with using almond flour as a replacement for all-purpose flour (or for some of the flour) in other baking recipes. In some cases you can replace all-purpose flour with almond flour on a 1:1 basis. 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. 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.
Other Delicious Almond Flour Recipes
If you enjoyed this chocolate cake with almond flour recipe, you might also want to check out this round-up of my favorite Almond Flour Dessert Recipes. Here are a few favorites:
If you try this Almond Flour Chocolate Cake recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe Card
Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
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!
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing pan
- 1 ½ c. (150g) almond flour (packed)
- ⅓ c. (38g) cocoa powder
- 1 c. (217g) sugar
- ¾ t. baking powder
- ½ t. kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3 oz. (89ml) vegetable oil
- 2 t. vanilla extract
- ½ c. (90g) chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar, if desired, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
- Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla extract.
- Stir egg mixture into almond flour mixture until well-combined, then stir in chocolate chips. Batter will be thick.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape into prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or 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.
Notes
Ingredient Tips: This cake shines with a very high-quality cocoa powder. I love Valrhona Cocoa Powder, but there are other great options too.
Expert Tips: Note that metal cake pans, like the one I used in this recipe, tend to bake more quickly than glass cake pans. You may need extra time if you use a glass pan.
Make-Ahead Tips: 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.
Non-Dairy Version: To make a non-dairy version of this cake, just replace the butter with non-dairy cooking spray or margarine and make sure that the chocolate chips you choose are also dairy-free.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount 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.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Emelb says
I can't wait to try this! I've never used chocolate chips and wondering what it is they are suppose to do in this recipe: are they meant to stay firm or melt? I am wanting to make a sugar free version and wondering if I can use cocoa nibs, which apparently don't melt in baked goods. Any tips?
Chef Molly says
Cocoa nibs would work fine! The chocolate chips in this recipe melt a tiny bit but mostly stay firm--like in a crunchy chocolate chip cookie. I love cocoa nibs too--there's a recipe on here for Cocoa Nib Hazelnut Cookies that you should check out if you love them too. Would love to know how your sugar-free version works out!
Emelb says
Great! thanks so much for the tip 🙂
Emelb says
Made it with erythritol, turned out great!
Chef Molly says
Awesome! I will make a note of that if anyone asks in the future. Thanks so much for letting me know.
Journa Liz Ramirez says
Can't get enough of this healthy chocolate cake! My kids love it also. Highly recommended!
Chef Molly says
Me too! So glad you enjoyed it.
Gen says
This is a wonderful recipe with clear directions and a lovely balance of sweetness - thank you!
Chef Molly says
Thanks so much!
Emily says
wow! Just wow! This was so decadent and chocolaty and super easy to make! Thanks
Chef Molly says
Exactly! So glad you enjoyed this.
Mackenzie says
My favorite gluten free cake. It was so soft and flavorful.
Chef Molly says
Thank you! This is one of my favorite cakes of all time.
Luisa says
Delicious !
I've made this at least twice. I halved the recipe (just two of us here) and used a 6.5" springform pan. Husband's birthday so making it again today. Cooling now...
Chef Molly says
So glad to hear it! I bet this is adorable in a small pan. Happy bday to your hubby!!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
This looks absolutely fantastic! I love baking with almond flour, and I really love your tip for how to easily make your own almond flour at home!
Chef Molly says
Yes, it's surprisingly easy to do!
Gina Bingham says
I’ve also made this cake several times now, and since I used an 8” cake pan, seemed it needed an extra 10 min or so to set up to a drier crunchy we liked best (not such a gooey center). One time I made two layers with strawberry jam between the layers, and strawberry slices on the top. Perfect combo of sweet & tart. It’s my fav now!!
Chef Molly says
Ooooh, a layer of strawberry jam and strawberry slices on top--sounds absolutely delightful! Thanks for the idea!
Alex says
This cake is DELICIOUS. I replaced the oil with butter, and baked it in a round silicone pan. It turned out perfectly, and was moist and chewy. I only had kosher salt but it was actually nice with the odd crunch of salt. I definitely recommend!
Chef Molly says
So glad you liked it! I actually love the combination of chocolate with big grains of salt. So good!
Holly says
This was delicious! However, I used a 9in glass pan and needed to bake for an extra 10+ more minutes. I wonder if it’s due to the pan I used? Otherwise, great recipe!
Chef Molly says
Hi Holly, thanks for commenting! Yes, my guess is that the glass pan doesn't get as hot as the metal pan that I usually use. Metal definitely conducts heat better and can cook things more quickly. I will make a note of that in the recipe!
Arlene says
This was absolutely amazing. Will definitely be a favourite ♥️
Chef Molly says
Thanks so much, Arlene! I'm so glad you liked it. One of my favorite all-time recipes!
Sharon says
Could I use swerve sweetener instead of sugar? I’m diabetic.
Chef Molly says
Hi Sharon, I haven't tested this recipe with a sugar substitute, but I think it would work. I know someone else tried it with a low-sugar substitute, and was happy with the results. Please try it and let us know! 🙂
Glenda says
Hie Sharon
I always substitute with coconut sugar and it taste great.
Chef Molly says
Good to know! Thanks for posting.
Corinne says
Holy Moly, this was good! I took some of the comments into consideration and reduced the sugar to 160g and it was PERFECT with a little bit of whipped ganache and berries! Will absolutely be using this as my go to almond flour cake and play with the spices and toppings 😀
Curious if you are in France also (I'm in Paris)? I see the Franprix amandes en poudre in your photo!
Chef Molly says
So glad you liked this, and thank you for commenting! Yes, I'm living in Boulogne-Billancourt right now. 🙂