Skinny Gluten-Free Almond Frangipane Cake, reduced sugar and calories

Years ago when I was growing up we would go to the Pike Place Market and get croissants with almond paste filling. They were my favorite things in the world. This gluten free almond cake tastes just like them.
Some sort of magic happens when you make a frangipane cake. It gets flaky on the outside and crisp on the bottom and it has a moist almond custard cakey filling inside. It's seriously out of this world.
After seeing some of the classic versions of this cake I decided to reduce the sugar and butter way down to make it healthier for us and guess what? It didn't hurt the magic at all...

Based on a classic French Frangipane custard, this cake has been around for a long time. It's so easy to make you won't believe it! Just one bowl and a whisk or hand mixer. I used a large cast iron skillet  but you can use a cake pan instead for more height.

Trust me, you've got to make this cake! I can't stop eating it!  

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Makes one large 12 inch layer cake  Serves 10- 12

Ingredients:

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted
• 3/4 cup cane sugar or 1/2 cup local honey
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 1 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Almond Meal Flour
• 3/4 cup gluten free All Purpose Flour of choice. I used gfJules
• pinch salt
• several tablespoons of sugar or slivered almonds to sprinkle over the top

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F  Grease a cast iron skillet or cake pan-see notes

Instructions:

• In a deep medium sized bowl, beat the melted butter and sugar or honey until creamy. You can whisk by hand or use a hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time and mix to fully incorporate. Add yogurt and almond extract and blend in.
• Whisk the flours and salt together in a separate bowl and add slowly to the wet ingredients. Mixing until mostly smooth. The batter will be thick. 
• Pour batter into the prepared pan of choice and smooth the top. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. 
• Bake apx 30 minutes or until the bottom and edges are browned and the top is set. It will not be completely dry in the middle. It will deflate a bit after baking. Let cool a bit before serving.

Notes:  I used a 12 inch cast iron pan and my cake is thinner but I love it that way. If you want a thicker cake, you can use a 9 inch cake pan but you might have too much batter for one cake. And of course you will need to bake a little longer. I would estimate 30-40 minutes but let me know how yours turns out.
Subs and Questions: Yes, you can use all gluten free All purpose flour if you can't have nuts. Yes, you can use regular flour if you don't need gluten-free. Most likely you can use all almond meal flour but I haven't tried it yet. Yes, you can make your own almond meal flour, just be sure to grind finely and sift. Yes, you can use a dairy-free yogurt and butter or sour cream for the yogurt but again I haven't tried that. Enjoy!

You might also like my Pear Clafoutis made with honey! Click the picture to see the recipe :)

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