My comments are based on your recipe being this one:
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www.bite.co.nz]
The problem with substituting the almonds in this particular recipe is that the ground almonds make up half the bulk of the cake (1.25 cups of ground almonds and 1.5 cups of flour). They're not there as a flavouring that you could switch with something else. If you left out the almonds, the recipe would not work at all. Best search for recipe that is designed without them.