Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

Perfectly moist with an amazing lemon flavor and a thick, sweet icing, everyone will love this springtime cake whether they’re gluten free or not!

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1 15

Cool: 15

Total Time: 1 45

Servings: slices

Equipment

loaf pan 9×5 or 8×4
Parchment paper
2 medium bowls
2 whisks
stand mixer with paddle attachment, or hand mixer
Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

For the Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

1 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon zest from 2-4 lemons, see Notes
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature, see Notes
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature, see Notes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice approximately 1-2 lemons’ worth
½ cup buttermilk divided

For the Lemon Icing

1 ¼–1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons lemon juice approximately 1-2 lemons’ worth
1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line loaf pan with parchment paper. Parchment paper should be as wide as loaf pan and laid inside. Alternately, skip parchment paper and grease pan well instead. Set aside.
Add flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt to medium bowl. Whisk well to combine thoroughly. Set aside.
In stand mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together at medium-high speed until mixture is pale and fluffy, approximately 4 to 6 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
Switch mixer speed to low and add room-temperature eggs one at a time, incorporating each egg well before adding another.
Add vanilla extract and lemon juice. Switch mixer speed back to medium-high and beat mixture until well combined.
Once combined, switch mixer speed to low. Add ⅓ of flour mixture to stand mixer bowl. Mix until almost combined, then add ¼ cup buttermilk and mix until just combined. Repeat with another ⅓ of flour mixture, then remaining ¼ cup buttermilk, then remaining ⅓ of flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.
Transfer batter into prepared loaf pan and place pan in oven. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick or knife inserted in center of cake comes out clean or with very few crumbs. Cake should be golden brown. Baking times can vary so adjust as needed.
Remove loaf pan from oven. Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove cake from pan and transfer to wire cooling rack. Allow cake to cool completely.
When cake has cooled completely, add all lemon icing ingredients to medium bowl and whisk well to combine thoroughly. Start with 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar and add more as needed until mixture is thick and gives resistance when stirring. Icing should not be runny.
Pour icing over cake and let dry. Note: I like to put my cake back in the loaf pan for this part. It keeps the icing from running down the sides of the cake and onto the counter or surface beneath the cake, plus you end up with a thick layer of icing on top, similar to Starbucks iced lemon pound cake.
Slice lemon cake and serve.

Notes

It’s super, super important that the butter and eggs are at room temperature before you begin.
Eggs: To quickly bring the eggs to room temperature, put them in a bowl and cover them with hot tap water. Let them sit 3-4 minutes, then drain the water and cover them again with fresh hot tap water. Let them sit 5 more minutes and then continue with the recipe.
Lemon Zest: You’ll need 2 to 4 lemons to get 1 tablespoon of zest, depending on the size of the lemons, their age, and firmness of the lemon rinds.

Nutrition