Despite your desire to be a powerful and independent woman who doesn’t care about getting anyone’s approval, there are the occasional situations where you might feel the need to please. Maybe you’re meeting your boyfriend’s parents for the first time, or have been invited to your boss’ house for dinner. Either way, you want to impress and you want to do it easily.

I used this recipe just last week because one of my friends is on a dairy-free stint, and this cake is always a big hit with people who are particular about eating butter, sugar and flour. It checks all the health boxes, as its flourless, gluten-free, dairy-free and made using wholesome palm sugar.

Fancy and foolproof, it’s one of my go-to desserts. Not only is it SO easy to make, but the ingredient list is super short and simple. Perfect for making a good impression on a tight budget!

Ingredients:

1 and a half cups of whole almonds
8 tablespoons palm sugar
3 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Decoration:

¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Prep an 8” spring form or flan form pan with parchment paper or grease the sides with olive oil.  (I didn’t use a spring form and it was fine, but if you can’t risk the impress factor, use one.)

Blend the almonds in a food processor until almost a meal.  Generally I don’t like to grind any nut too much, I like a crunchy texture, but in this case you want them to be a thick meal, so don’t try to keep them chunky. Add 4 tablespoons of palm sugar and blend again.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg yolks (keep the whites), 4 tablespoons of palm sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest until creamy. Add the almonds until well combined.  In another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the almond mixture.  Pour batter and bake 30-35 minutes.  Let it cool a bit before you take it out of the pan.  Sprinkle some confectioner’s sugar lightly and serve.

If dairy isn’t an issue, this is an amazing compliment to pistachio gelato!

I’ve mentioned my terrible oven before.  Despite that, this cake was incredible and was completely gone the evening I made it.  I topped it off with some baked apples covered in cinnamon and sugar, but honestly, I moved them to the side and ate the cake alone first.  It really does not need any toppings!