Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake
This gluten-free lemon cake is so moist from the sour cream in the batter, and the lemon flavor comes from real juice and zest, not extract. A tangy lemon drizzle on top pulls the whole thing together. I bake this in a loaf pan and it tastes better the next day, which almost never happens with gluten-free cakes. Great for brunch, dessert, or just slicing off a piece with your coffee.
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Ingredients
For the Lemon Cake:
- 2 cups (280 g) gluten-free flour blend - Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (in the blue bag) which contains xanthan gum
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (12 g) lemon zest - from about 3 medium lemons
- ½ cup (109 g) vegetable oil
- 3 (150 g) large eggs - at room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream - at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (80 g) lemon juice - from 2-3 lemons
For the Lemon Drizzle:
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) lemon juice - from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon (2 g) lemon zest - optional
**Use the toggle button above to turn the instruction photos on and off!
Instructions
For the Lemon Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until yellow and fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the vegetable oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice to the sugar mixture. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs. The internal temperature of the cake should read 200 to 205°F when inserted with a thermometer in the center of the cake. Don't open the oven until at least 40 minutes in.
- Cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
For the Lemon Drizzle:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. It should be thick but pourable.
- You can drizzle the cake when warm or fully cooled. If drizzled when warm, the glaze will melt into the cake a bit. If drizzled when cool, the glaze will form a thick white drizzle, similar to the photos in this post.
- Immediately after glazing the cake, sprinkle with additional lemon zest.
- Let the glaze set completely before slicing. Slice the cake in 10 equal pieces.
Notes
- Flour: Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 (blue bag) is the only flour I've tested. It already has xanthan gum. A different blend may change the texture.
- Weigh your flour: Scooping directly from the bag packs the flour into the cup and can make the cake dense. If you have a scale, use it (280g). If not, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off.
- Lemons: You'll need about 4 lemons total for the zest, cake juice, and drizzle juice. Zest before juicing.
- Internal temp: The cake is done when it reads 200 to 205°F in the center. I find this more reliable than the toothpick test, especially with gluten-free cakes.
Nutrition
Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 144mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 216IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 1mg
