The Best Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cake
Intensely lemony, moist and with a delicate crumb, this gluten free lemon drizzle cake has it all. It’s the perfect everyday dessert that’s easy to prepare, and a joy to eat. Although, with how absolutely delicious it is, it would be welcome at any and all occasions.
Ingredients
For lemon loaf cake:
- 1 2/3 cups (200 g) plain gluten free flour blend (I've used a simple shop-bought blend containing only rice, potato and maize fours with no added xanthan gum)
- 3/4 cup (65 g) almond flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- zest of 3 lemons
- 4 medium eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) milk, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla paste (I love vanilla bean paste because it gives a very intense flavour and you only need a small amount, but you can also use 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 6 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
For lemon drizzle:
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered/icing sugar, sifted
- 6 - 7 tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions
For lemon loaf cake:
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Pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a loaf baking tin with greaseproof/baking paper. (Dimensions of loaf tin: 8.5 inch/21cm long, 4.5 inch/11cm wide and 3inch/7cm high.)
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In a large bowl, sift together the gluten free flour blend, almond flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Add the sugar and salt, and mix until combined.
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Add the softened butter and, using either a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the double beater attachments, work the butter into the dry ingredients until you get a texture resembling coarse breadcrumbs in size.
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Add the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients to the dry+butter mixture, and whisk/mix well until no flour clumps remain and everything is evenly distributed.
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Transfer the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin, smooth out the top, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for about 1 hour or until risen, golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
If the cake starts browning too quickly or too much, cover it with aluminium foil and continue baking until done.
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Allow to cool in the loaf tin for about 10 minutes, then remove from the tin, and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
For lemon drizzle:
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Stir the powdered sugar and 6 tsp of lemon juice together until you get a thick even mixture. Add 1 - 2 tsp of lemon juice, mixing well, until you get the correct icing consistency (see text for photos).
You can add more lemon juice to make it runnier, or more powdered sugar to make it thicker, as required.
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Drizzle the lemon icing over the cooled cake, spreading it evenly across the top with the back of a spoon, and letting it drip down the sides.
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Enjoy!
Storage:
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The lemon drizzle cake keeps well in a closed container in a cool dry place for 3 - 4 days.