This almond olive oil cake has a fudgey chewy brownie like center with crispy sides and topped with toasted almond slices covered in a light dusting of fine powdered sugar. The cake is pure bliss, made with a mix of almond flour + all purpose for the ultimate texture, super easy to make, no eggs, dairy-free and entirely vegan!

Almond Flour Olive Oil Cake

It’s as if Ricciarelli cookies and fudgey brownies fell in love and made an Italian chocolate almond olive oil cake, I hope that makes sense!

The cake checks all the boxes of a casual indulgent pastry that you can serve straight from the spring form pan alongside your morning coffee on an easy Sunday morning or at a Christmas brunch. The outside edges have a nice crisp crumb factor while the center is rich and fudgey like a brownie followed by the perfect topping of nutty toasted almonds covered in a light blanket of powdered sugar.

The center gets a little chewier as it sits and cools down but it’s also exquisite while still just a little bit warm. A little bite of all the different textures of the cake is pure bliss and worth the calorie indulgence.

Ingredients Notes

The Flour – I used equal parts of almond flour and unbleached all purpose flour to achieve a fudgy center reminiscent of a dense chewy brownie with crisp edges. This ratio was perfect for the decadent texture I was after; for a fluffier cake swap some of the almond flour for more all purpose flour.
Olive Oil – Because it yields the most delicious decadently rich cake, you can even cut back on the amount by about 1/4 cup and still achieve great results. Use a light floral olive oil here that tastes good to you, but save your best cold pressed extra virgin for pasta, tomato salad and bruschetta.
Milk – Any unsweetened plant milk will be fine here, to be quite frank you could even use water and for an extra depth for flavor use some cold brew coffee (or 1 Tbsp instant coffee mixed with water).
Almond Topping – Make sure to use sliced almonds to sprinkle over the top, not slivered. The slices get crispy toasty and nutty like the top of a fine almond croissant. No need for any brown butter glaze!

Sugar – basic granulated sugar is all you need, any kind of brown sugar will make the cake denser and it doesn’t need to be.
Almond Extract – There’s nothing to replace this flavor, however you may use vanilla or orange extract instead if you insist, just know that your cake won’t have that deep almondy flavor.
Cocoa Powder – Raw unsweetened, nice sifted so no lumps form.
Apple Cider Vinegar – It’s the best in my opinion to balance all the sweetness of the batter and to activate the baking soda that helps the cake rise during baking while eliminating the need for eggs.
Powdered Sugar – Dusting the top of the toasty almonds in powdered sugar just takes your cake over the top not only visually but also flavor and comfort wise. Use a little bit or a lot, just use some!

Recipe Tips

The Cake Pan – A 9-inch spring form pan works best for this recipe, make sure to lightly oil the sides and line the bottom with a fitted round piece of parchment paper. You can use the precut sheets or just cut the correct size from a roll.
About the Batter – It’s going to look like it might be too much and it’s also very runny to the point that you might wonder if you forgot an ingredient or you need to add more flour. DO NOT! Just trust the process and bake it exactly for 1 hour.
Cooling Off – Allow the cake to cool off completely before opening the spring form. Use a butter knife and run it along the side of the cake to loosen up any bits that might have stuck. At this point you can place it as it on top of a serving plate or carefully remove the bottom of the pan while keeping the parchment paper under the cake at all times.

On Storage

The cake keeps best in a cake box on the kitchen counter for a couple of days; it can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen in individual slices in lidded containers. Thaw out in the refrigerator overnight or on the kitchen counter for a couple of hours. To crisp up the almond topping again you can pop a slice under the broiler for a for a minute or two until toasty.

how to make chocolate almond olive oil cake

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