Tender Almond Cake

Recipe from Salvatore Messina

Adapted by David Tanis

Updated March 3, 2026

Tender Almond Cake
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour, plus cooling
Rating
4(901)
Comments
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A delightfully tender almond cake that’s quite easy to put together, this recipe is from an old friend, Salvatore Messina. Everyone adores it. Since it has some similarity to other Italian almond cakes, I naturally assumed it to be his family’s, passed down from his Sicilian grandmother. But it turned out to have no Italian storyline. Sal adapted it from a recipe for tarta de Santiago, the traditional almond cake from Galicia, Spain, using less sugar, more orange zest and no cinnamon. It’s heavenly. —David Tanis

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Ingredients

Yield:10 servings
  • 1tablespoon unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the pan
  • 8ounces/227 grams blanched almonds
  • 6large eggs, separated
  • 1¼cups/250 grams granulated sugar
  • 1orange, zested
  • 1lemon, zested
  • ¼teaspoon almond extract
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)

297 calories; 16 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 48 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter.

  2. Step 2

    Pulse almonds a few times in a food processor, then grind them, until they become a coarse meal, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

  3. Step 3

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute. (Alternatively, use a large bowl and a hand mixer.) Beat in ground almonds, zests and almond extract until incorporated. Transfer mixture to another bowl and thoroughly wipe out stand mixer bowl or clean out the large bowl. (You don’t want any egg yolk present, as they can inhibit the whipping of the egg whites.)

  4. Step 4

    In the clean bowl, beat egg whites to stiff peaks on medium-high speed, 1 to 2 minutes. Incorporate the whites into the egg-sugar-almond mixture until no white streaks remain, then spread into the prepared pan.

  5. Step 5

    Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, indicating the cake is cooked.

  6. Step 6

    Cool in the pan on a rack. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen, and transfer to a serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
901 user ratings
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Comments

Helen

Could you use almond meal rather than grinding the blanched almonds?

John

I would beat the egg whites first. Then beat the yolks, almonds, butter, etc. bowl and beater must be clean for egg whites but not so much for the rest

Olga

A little historical note: This cake from Galicia is actually called the "tarta" de Santiago and not torta is we say here in Italia. It derives it's name from the imprint of the cross of St. James on the top of the tarta that is made by using a stencil of the cross and dusting with powdered sugar. The original recipe that I have is from a bakery in Portomarìn and uses 200 grams of almond flour which in the States can be almond meal.

Rachel

My first attempt failed... some reviews said that using ground almonds worked OK, but it did not for me. The "batter" was more like a stiff cookie dough even after adding some extra liquid. The egg whites deflated when I tried to fold them in. It baked up like a hockey puck. Fortunately, I tried again starting with sliced almonds that I ground myself. I added a little juice from the lemon I zested, and also a drop of lemon extract. It puffed up nicely while baking, and was light and tasty.

Kathy

I didn't have blanched almonds and didn't feel like de-skinning the ones I had. I ground up some regular raw almonds (about 1/3 of weight) and used almond flour for the rest. Based on reader concerns about lack of oil in almond flour, I added 2 teaspoons of canola oil. Cake was a hit.

Bee

This is my FAVORITE NYT gf almond cake recipe. the others have too many eggs and I don't like the texture as much. This one was so easy and delicious with some minor modifications: I used 2 cups of Bob's red mill finely ground almond flour (note: don't pack it in) slightly under a cup of sugar, a teaspoon of very good ground cardamom, lemon zest, and about 1/4 teaspoon of organic orange extract (a little goes a very long way). Just a delicious cake. Best eaten w/in the first 2 days of baking.

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