Oh hey, spring! Look who finally showed up to the party.

You may not know this about me, but I am a lover of all almond-flavored desserts. Ice cream, croissants, baked french toast — like, can’t live without them. And there’s this almond cake at Whole Foods that holy moly I cannot get enough of. I’ve gotta try my hand at recreating that next…

Needless to say, both almond paste and extract are staples in my pantry (I’ll link to the brands I use below). And spring is the perfect time to showcase their delicate flavor.

This cake is perfect. Not too dense, not too sweet, and easily adaptable in terms of toppings.

I will fully admit that my youngest took one bite of this, scrunched up his face, and puckered his lips as if I had just made him suck on a lemon — because basically, I had. The lemon curd was a little too tart for my kids (not the oldest — he loves lemons!), so I scraped it off, dusted a generous amount of powdered sugar on top, and all was right in the world again. So hi! Yes, you. If you’re not a fan of lemon curd, simply omit and dust with powdered sugar instead. Because this is all about the cake. Which is utterly fabulous.

I buy my almond paste at Whole Foods, but you can make your life simple and snag some here on Amazon. Don’t forget the extract! Seriously Amazon, just take all my money.

To make homemade lemon curd, check out this simple recipe from the queen herself, Ina, or pick up a jar from the store.

I’m actually thinking that next time the urge strikes (read: later today, don’t judge), I’ll bake the cake as is, then drizzle on melted dark chocolate or salted caramel and finish with sliced almonds. You know, for my kids. LET’S GO CRAZY.

Almond cake with lemon curd and fresh berries

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x

Scale

Ingredients

7 oz almond paste, (such as Odense)
¾ cup sugar
1 stick butter, (room temperature)
3 large eggs
1 tsp pure almond extract
¼ cup all-purpose or pastry flour
½ tsp baking powder
lemon curd, (homemade or store bought)
fresh berries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8″ round cake pan with baking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together almond paste, sugar, and butter until well-mixed, about 3 minutes.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add almond extract, scraping down sides as needed.
Whisk together flour and baking powder, then slowly add to mixer until just mixed. Pour into greased cake pan and bake 40 minutes, or until just cooked through.
Place pan on a cooling rack and let sit for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto the cooling rack, then let cool another 5-10 minutes. Serve with powdered sugar dusted on and fresh berries.