Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

Directions

Intensely lemony, moist and with a delicate crumb, this gluten-free lemon drizzle cake is delicious! It’s the perfect everyday cake to accompany a cuppa, better yet, it’s easy to prepare, and a joy to eat.

 

Let’s first consider what makes the perfect lemon drizzle cake:

• an intense lemon flavour,
• a moist sponge,
• a delicate crumb – neither too crumbly nor too dense or wet,
• a balance of sweetness and zesty freshness from the lemons,
• a delicious lemon icing that hardens on drying to give a delicious texture when you take a bite

 

Of course, the perfect lemon drizzle cake should also be easy to make, regardless of your baking skill level.

 

It’s easy to love this lemon drizzle cake.

 

How long do you have to bake a lemon drizzle cake?

 

This gluten-free lemon drizzle cake bakes to perfection at 180 ºC in one hour. But because all ovens are slightly different (and frequently incorrectly calibrated), we recommend doing a “toothpick test”.

 

Use a toothpick or skewer and insert it into the middle part of the cake. If, after about 2 seconds, it comes out clean (maybe with a stray crumb attached), the lemon drizzle cake is baked. If, however, wet batter or many wet crumbs are attached, bake it for a further 4 – 5 minutes and then check again.

 

How do you make the lemon drizzle (icing)?

 

The lemon drizzle (or lemon icing) is simple: just powdered sugar and lemon juice, mixed together until smooth and delicious.

 

Once the top is completely frosted, allow the icing to dry out – it will give it a delicious texture and a finish worthy of being on a food magazine.

 

How long will a lemon drizzle cake last?

 

The gluten-free lemon drizzle cake lasts about 3 – 4 days in a closed container in a cool dry place.

 

Ingredients:

For lemon drizzle:

• 1 cup (120 g) powdered/icing sugar, sifted
• 6 – 7 tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

 

Instructions

For lemon loaf cake:

 

Pre-heat the oven to 180 ºC and line a loaf baking tin with greaseproof/baking paper. (Dimensions of loaf tin: 

21cm long, 11cm wide and 7cm high.)

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Transfer the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin, smooth out the top, and bake in the pre-heated oven at 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.

 

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:

 

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.

 

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.

Enjoy!

Try our custard cream recipe