Gluten Free Lemon Cake (No Waste, Whole Lemon Cake)

This gluten free lemon cake is a fabulous cake, and will please just about everyone! Moist, delectable crumb, full-on lemon flavor (from a whole lemon), and a sweet and sticky glaze makes it a winner, all around!

If you’re counting, this is my fourth “whole citrus” cake recipe. I’ve shared the original Sicilian whole orange cake, then a lemon version, a gluten free orange adaptation, and now this one. 

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I must say, neither of the gluten free cakes taste “gluten free,” in fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to say they are simply just as good as the original recipe!

My advice to you is to be sure to get the best quality, organic lemons you can find, preferably the Meyer variety. It’s really worth it for this cake. 

Can I Freeze Gluten Free Lemon Cake?

Absolutely! I freeze my cakes all the time, and they freeze beautifully. I would say keep them in the freezer no longer than a month, though. 

May I Substitute Ingredients?

Although the original version of these cakes are rather flexible, the gluten free versions are not so much. Do not substitute the cream cheese as it’s a vital part of making this cake not taste gluten free, and for giving it its lovely texture.

Try these peanut butter cookies, too! So good, no one will know they are gluten free.

I tried substituting the rice flour with cassava flour, and although it was still good, it wasn’t nearly as good as with rice flour, so I wouldn’t recommend it. 

I have a more traditional gluten free pound cake recipe, too. As always, for all my baking recipes, I recommend using a scale for the very best results.

Prepare an 8″ springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.

Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.

Mix the gluten free flour with the rice flour, Paneangeli powder (or baking powder) and xanthan gum. Add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter.

Continue to mix until completely blended, then mix in the softened cream cheese.

In a food processor, process the whole lemon until it is almost pureed. It should look like this~

Add the processed lemon to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the gluten free lemon cake is done before removing from the oven. 

Make the Lemon Glaze

(You can do this just before the cake is ready if you choose.) Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the lemon juice and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency. The glaze is completely optional, as the cake is great without the glaze, also. Note: if you cook the glaze down a lot, it will form a hard, candy-like topping (I did this by accidentally overcooking it once, and I loved it!)

Spoon and brush over the top of the cake, while it’s still hot, and allow to cool completely before serving.

Decorate as desired (if desired!)

Cut into 8 to 12 slices. 

Serve with a cup of tea or coffee, or with a scoop of ice cream, or even a glass of lemonade or shot of limoncello! Delicious, anyway you choose! (Drizzling with this gluten free lemon cake with limoncello isn’t off the table, btw!) 🍋🍸

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Gluten Free Lemon Cake (No Waste, Whole Lemon Cake)

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Additional Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

An incredibly moist and delicious whole lemon cake that no one will ever guess is gluten free!

4.9 from 29 votes

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Ingredients

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 ⅛ cups sugar
• 1 cup gluten-free baking flour
• ½ cup rice flour
• 3 tsp baking powder (or 1 packet Italian Paneangeli vanilla baking powder)
• ¼ tsp xanthan gum
• ⅓ cup butter (softened)
• ⅓ c cream cheese (at room temperature)
• 1 large organic lemon (washed and cut into pieces with the rind - remove seeds)

Glaze

• 2 oz organic lemon juice
• ¼ cup sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
• Prepare an 8" springform pan by spraying with oil (or butter) and lining in parchment paper (sides optional, if you want really clean sides), then spray the paper, too.
• Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
• Mix the gluten free flour with the rice flour, Paneangeli powder (or baking powder) and xanthan gum. Add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then mix in the softened cream cheese.
• In a food processor, process the whole lemon until it is almost pureed.
• Add the processed lemon to the cake mixture and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a cake tester or skewer to make sure the gluten free lemon cake is done before removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.

Make the lemon glaze:

• Prepare the glaze by melting the sugar in the lemon juice and allow to simmer for a few minutes, just until the liquid has a syrupy consistency.
• Spoon and brush over the top of the cake, while it’s still hot, and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Notes

• Try my other gluten-free variation of this recipe: orange

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 311IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg

Did you Make this Recipe?

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Author: Christina Conte

Course Cakes & Pies

Cuisine Italian

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