This gluten free lemon cake is moist, spongey and so easy to make. Just one bowl and a few simple ingredients. Top it off with a sweet and tangy dairy free lemon buttercream frosting.
This cake has been a long time coming and gone through SO many phases! I initially planned on making a vegan lemon cake that would of course be gluten free, but every trial results in a gummy, weirdly chewy or really dense cake.
After about 5 tries, I decided to throw in the towel on the vegan idea and just stick to a really, really good gluten free lemon cake. The eggs provide this cake with structure and help contribute to the perfect spongey texture.
This cake also uses a mix of gluten free all purpose flour and almond flour to provide a nice cakey texture. I sometimes find that just using the all purpose flour can yield a slightly gummy texture, but a little bit of almond flour really helps to balance that all out and keep the cake light, fluffy, moist and delicious.
This recipe is also dairy free and I opted to top mine with a dairy free lemon buttercream, lemon zest and candied lemons! However, you can use regular butter and milk if you prefer. One bite into this cake and you’re going to fall in love. It’s the perfect Easter dessert, but tbh, I would eat this any day.
By the way, these photos have been updated as of March 2021, but it is the same recipe you know and love!
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line either one 9×13 pan, two 9 inch round pans OR three 6 inch pans with parchment paper just on the bottom. It helps to lightly oil the bottom then put the prepared parchment paper in so it sticks easily. Set aside.
In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together all wet ingredients until well incorporated.
Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flours to measure, don’t scoop from the bag. Use a whisk to mix together until well combined, but careful not to over-mix. It shouldn’t be runny, but definitely won’t be thick either. It should resemble a fairly thin pancake batter.
Pour into your prepared pan(s) and add to the oven. The 9×13 will take about 32-40 minutes, the 9 inch will take closer to 25-30 and the 6 inch will take about 45. Check with a toothpick to test doneness.
Remove from the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully flip onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper. If you’re making a sheet cake, you are welcome to leave it right in there and frost it in the pan for easy storage.
Let cool completely before frosting. I suggest sticking in the fridge for about an hour to ensure it’s fully cool.
To make the buttercream, add the room temperature butter, milk lemon juice an zest to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until your desired consistency is reached. I used about 4 cups for this recipe. To make it thicker, add more sugar, to make it thinner, add more milk. Frost the cake once cool & enjoy!
Getting the perfect flavor
This cake uses three forms of lemon to achieve the perfect lemon flavor. We’ll be using fresh lemon juice, zest and lemon extract. That might seem like a lot, but I promise it’s SO good!
The tangy of the lemon gets balanced by the sweetness from the sugar and the richness from the oil. Lemon juice and lemon extract are not the same, so be sure you’re using both in this recipe! I also don’t recommend bottled lemon juice as it will react differently with the baking soda compared to fresh lemon juice.
The best flour
If you’ve made any of my recipes before, you know I’m very loyal to my Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking flour. A lot of gluten free bakers prefer making their own blends, but I find it easiest for me and you to use a blend. Plus, if you’re not GF, just swap it out for regular all purpose flour.
I highly recommend sticking to the Bob’s flour since there is a lot of variation brand to brand, but if you opt to use a different one, just make sure it has xanthan gum in the mix!
This gluten free cake truly tastes no different than a regular cake. I’m the only one in my family who is gluten free and everyone says it tastes just like the real deal. Try it and you’ll see!
Keeping it moist
For whatever reason, a lot of people seem to think gluten free cakes and other baked goods are really dry. Because of that, I make a serious effort to ensure all of my recipes are incredibly moist and stay that way.
This gluten free lemon cake is made moist with the oil, milk, eggs, a generous amount of lemon juice and even almond flour. As long as you store it in a container or wrapped with foil, you should have no problem keeping this cake moist!
I even find that it can get more moist as it sits because the buttercream seeps into the sponge a bit overtime. I promise, no dry cakes over here! Once prepared, this cake will keep for about 3 days at room temperature or 5 in the fridge.
You’ll also love..
- Vegan Lemon Bars
- Gluten Free Vanilla Cupcakes
- Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Red Velvet Cake
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Gluten Free Lemon Cake
Ingredients
Wet:
- 3 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 ¾ cup fine granulated cane sugar
- ⅔ cup oil (any plain oil works)
- 1 ¾ cup milk (I used almond)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1-2 tbsp lemon zest (about 1 large lemon)
Dry:
- 2 ¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1)
- 1 cup fine blanched almond flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Lemon Buttercream
- 1 ½ sticks (¾ cup) butter at room temperature (I used dairy free)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp milk (I used almond)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (or to taste)
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line either one 9×13 pan or two 9 inch round pans or three 6 inch round pans with parchment paper just on the bottom. It helps to lightly oil the bottom then put the prepared parchment paper in so it sticks easily. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together all wet ingredients until well incorporated.
- Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flours to measure, don't scoop from the bag. Use a whisk to mix together until well combined, but careful not to over-mix. It shouldn't be runny, but definitely won't be thick either. It should resemble a fairly thin pancake batter.
- Pour into your prepared pan(s) and add to the oven. The 9×13 will take about 32-40 minutes (mine took 35), the 9 inch will take closer to 25-30 and the 6 inch about 45 (they're smaller but the layers will be fairly thick so they need to bake for longer). Check with a toothpick to test doneness. The top should be golden brown and there should be no jiggling on the inside.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully flip onto a cooling rack and peel off the parchment paper. If you're making a sheet cake, you are welcome to leave it right in there and frost it in the pan for easy storage.
- Let cool completely before frosting. I suggest sticking in the fridge for about an hour to ensure it's fully cool.
- To make the buttercream, add the room temperature butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
- Beat in the sifted powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until your desired consistency is reached. I used about 4 cups for this recipe. To make it thicker, add more sugar, to make it thinner, add more milk. Beat in the milk, lemon juice and zest until well combined.
- Frost the cake once cool & enjoy!
Patty
Made the cake last night. Did not make the buttercream yet. This was excellent. I love the moisture, the crumb, the slight crust. Very delicious. Added some whipped cream and strawberries, but the cake itself if delicious on its own. Changes I made: reduced sugar to 1-1/4 cups as I don’t enjoy overly sweet cakes. I tried Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 some time ago and really didn’t like the taste, so now I make my own which is easily done. America’s Test Kitchen has kindly published their GF flour blend so I make a big batch of that to keep on hand. Since the ATK does not use xanthan gum, I just added 1/2 tsp. to the dry ingredients. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!!
Claire Cary
Delicious! Love the whipped cream and strawberries addition!
AF
I made this cake for a friend’s birthday and I’m saving this recipe for future use. I used a different buttercream recipe, but the cake itself turned out so well. I haven’t had to best outcomes making gluten free cakes and was nervous. It attracted me at first because of the combo of almond flour and gluten free flour that it calls for. The texture was so good, the cake was moist, flavor was great, and it held together very nicely. My (2x 9″) layer cakes took a little longer to bake, about 35 minutes. Will definitely make again, thanks!
Claire Cary
Almond flour and GF all purpose is honestly my favorite combo of flours to work with! Always yields a great texture. So happy you enjoyed this and thank you for the kind review!
David
This was first cake I ever made. It came out wonderful .Moist not dry and gritty like some gluten free recipes. I will definitely make ahain
Claire Cary
Thanks David! First cakes are always intimidating, so happy you enjoyed it!
Karen
Just made this for my family as a “first day of Spring” treat. It’s so delicious! Such a simple and easy to make Winner of a cake! Thank you for sharing such wonderful desserts! 🙂
Claire Cary
Sounds perfect! Thanks for the nice review 🙂 Happy Spring!
Olivia
These photos are amazing! You should start a cake business my mouth is watering for this cake. You are such an incredible chef 🧑🍳 you have an amazing talent.
Claire Cary
You’re the best thank you 🙂 tell your family I say hi!
Rachel
Did a test run making this cake for Easter, and IT.WAS.A.HIT. Friends and family loved it! I usually am not a fan of buttercream frosting but this was amazing! So lemony, tart, and lite. Can’t wait to make it again!
Claire Cary
Thank you Rachel! This is one of my favorite cake recipes, so happy you enjoyed it!
Shawna
This cake is AMAZING!!! And the frosting is dangerous lol. SO GOOD! This recipe is a keeper. I’m the only GF DF person in my house and everyone loved this cake. YUMMY!!
Claire Cary
I know! I could eat the frosting by the spoonful lol. So glad you enjoyed this recipe, it’s one of my favorites!
Steve Correll
This GF lemon cake is remarkable! The flavor, crumb and texture are fantastic. Whenever I bake a new GF cake recipe I always have high hopes but am usually disappointed. Not with this cake. It is amazing. I will definitely add this one to my repertoire. Thanks for creating the recipe!
Claire Cary
Thank you Steve! So happy this one didn’t disappoint 🙂
Shawna
Agree 100%!!!!!!
Mari-Angela
Did you try making lemon cake with chia seed eggs?
I just found your website and I’m excited to try your recipes I’m allergic to eggs, wheat and dairy
Claire Cary
I have tried making this cake with different egg substitutions, and it doesn’t turn out well. I would suggest my vegan/gf lemon cupcakes, and I will be working on a vegan/gf lemon cake for the spring! Stay tuned 🙂
J.Carol
I made this into cupcakes. They were delicious.
With the frosting, I liked the consistency of mixing the butter with powdered sugar first, then add the flavoring, lemon juice and zest. It was creamer and less likely to separate. For the bakesale, I added a candy lemon slice for clarity of what flavor it was. Once frosted, most cupcakes look the same. VERY, VERY TASTY!!!!!!!
Claire Cary
Those sound perfect! I have also found that adding the flavorings after the sugar/butter yields the best texture, so I just updated the post to reflect that. So happy you enjoyed these and thanks for the feedback!
Annie
Is it 1.5 tsps or TB of baking powder?
Claire Cary
sorry about that, it’s teaspoons!
Makaila Crum
I am going to make this for my little sister’s birthday party. I am 15 years old and love to bake. My family eats mostly gluten free and btw this recipe looks wonderful! I’ve been looking around for good recipes like this with recommendations and reasons why you use these ingredients! Looks so good!!!! Excited to taste!!
Claire Cary
Perfect! Can’t wait to hear how it turns out!
Sue
What can I substitute for refined sugar? Recipe sounds wonderful!
Claire Cary
I don’t recommend you sub the sugar! You can try coconut sugar, but that will really change the color, texture and flavor of the cake.
Judy
Looks scrumptious will have to try