Moist French almond cake, known as “Gâteau Nantais,” is a traditional specialty from the city of Nantes in France. Made with almond flour, this classic cake is delicately flavored with rum or vanilla and finished with a powdered sugar icing with rum. Rich, tender, and full of almond flavor, it’s perfect for an afternoon treat.
French Almond Flour Cake
This moist French almond cake is incredibly soft and tender. It contains only a very small amount of flour, allowing the almond flavor to fully shine through and giving the cake its melt in your mouth texture.
Unlike a classic almond cake, this version uses salted butter and rum, a combination closely associated with Brittany in western France. The cake is flavored with rum, lightly drizzled with rum after baking, and finished with a white powdered sugar icing also made with rum. However, it can just as easily be made without alcohol. Depending on personal taste, it can also be flavored with lemon, vanilla, or orange blossom water.
This recipe is very easy to make and requires only a few basic ingredients. Almond flour is the main ingredient, giving the cake its rich flavor and exceptionally soft texture.
Table of Contents
Tips for Making a French Almond Cake
Use room temperature ingredients: For the best texture, use ingredients at room temperature, especially the butter. It should be soft enough to cream easily, which helps create a smooth and well blended batter.
Choosing the butter: This cake can be made with salted butter, as traditionally done in western France, which adds extra depth and flavor. Unsalted butter also works well if you prefer a more neutral taste.
Choose the right pan size: Traditionally, this French almond cake is baked fairly thin, about 3 cm (just over 1 inch) high, to keep the slices balanced and not too heavy. It’s usually baked in a 22 cm (9 inch) pan.
Personally, I prefer taller, more generous slices, so I use an 18 cm (7 inch) pan, which gives a richer and more indulgent result.
No soaking needed: In this version, the cake doesn’t need to be soaked. It’s already moist, tender, and well flavored, with great texture and taste on its own.
That said, you can follow the traditional approach and drizzle the cake with about 20 ml of rum (about 0.7 fl oz) if you’d like.
Adapting for intolerances: This French almond cake can easily be made gluten free by replacing the small amount of flour with cornstarch. It also contains no milk, making it suitable for those with lactose intolerance.
Let the cake rest: Like many almond based cakes, this cake tastes even better after a few hours of resting, or even the next day. This gives the flavors time to develop and makes the texture even more tender.
Video Recipe
Ingredients for an 18 cm round cake pan, 5 cm deep
(7-inch round pan, about 2 inch deep)
- 4 eggs
- 200 g granulated sugar (7 oz)
- 165 g almond flour (5.8 oz)
- 165 g salted butter or unsalted butter, softened (5.8 oz)
- 50 g all-purpose flour (1.8 oz)
- 2 teaspoons rum, vanilla extract, bitter almond extract, or orange blossom water
- 3.5 g baking powder (1 teaspoon)
For the icing
- 135 g powdered sugar (4.7 oz)
- 25 ml lemon juice, rum, or orange blossom water (0.8 fl oz)
How to Make French Almond Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
2. Grease a round cake pan or cake ring and line the bottom with parchment paper.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar until smooth and well combined.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Gently stir in the almond flour, without overmixing.
6. Add the vanilla extract, rum, or orange blossom water.
7. Sift in the flour and baking powder.
8. Mix gently just until combined. Do not whisk or overwork the batter.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
10. Bake for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake, as the cake can brown too much and may burn.
10. Unmold the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before icing the top.
The icing
1. Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, then add the lemon juice gradually, whisking well. Do not add the liquid all at once so you can control the consistency of the icing.
The suggested amount usually works perfectly, but adjust if needed. The icing should be smooth and spreadable. When you dip a finger into it, it should coat the finger without dripping.
2. Spoon a small amount of icing into the center of the cake, then gently spread it toward the edges using the back of a spoon. Add the remaining icing little by little. If any icing runs over the sides, simply wipe it away gently with your finger.
If you follow the instructions, the glaze won’t run. Glaze the cake quickly, as the glaze sets fast.
More French Cake Recipes for an Afternoon Treat
Savoy Cake “French gâteau de Savoie”
Moist French Almond Cake
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients for an 18 cm round cake pan, 5 cm deep (7-inch round pan, 2 inches deep)
- 4 eggs
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 165 g almond flour
- 165 g salted butter or unsalted butter softened
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons rum vanilla extract, bitter almond extract, or orange blossom water
- 1 teaspoon baking powder 3.5 g / 0.1 oz
For the icing
- 135 g powdered sugar
- 25 ml lemon juice rum, or orange blossom water (0.8 fl oz)
PREPARATION
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
- Grease a round cake pan or cake ring and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter and sugar until smooth and well combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Gently stir in the almond flour, without overmixing.
- Add the vanilla extract, rum, or orange blossom water.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder.
- Mix gently just until combined. Do not whisk or overwork the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Be careful not to overbake, as the cake can brown too much and may burn.
- Unmold the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before icing the top.
The icing
- Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, then add the lemon juice gradually, whisking well. Do not add the liquid all at once so you can control the consistency of the icing.
- The suggested amount usually works perfectly, but adjust if needed. The icing should be smooth and spreadable. When you dip a finger into it, it should coat the finger without dripping.
- Spoon a small amount of icing into the center of the cake, then gently spread it toward the edges using the back of a spoon. Add the remaining icing little by little. If any icing runs over the sides, simply wipe it away gently with your finger.
- If you follow the instructions, the glaze won’t run. Glaze the cake quickly, as the glaze sets fast.
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