This Gluten Free Lemon Cake is a lemon lover's dream! It's a soft eggless lemon cake that's surrounded by a delicious lemon buttercream frosting! It's tangy yet sweet; the perfect blend of flavors! Not only is it gluten free and eggless, but it's nut free and can easily be vegan!
2 ¼cupsgluten free flour(I use one with xanthan gum)
1cupgranulated sugar
1 ½teaspoonsbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonkosher salt
2tablespoonslemon zest(from about 3 medium lemons)
1 ¾ cupsmilk of choice
½cuplight brown sugar, packed
¼cuplemon juice(about 2 medium lemons)
½cupplus 2 tablespoons, vegetable oil
2teaspoonspure vanilla extract
For The Frosting
1cupunsalted butteror vegan baking stick, room temperature
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
2teaspoonslemon zest(from about 2 medium size lemons)
8cupsconfectioners' sugar
4tablespoonsfresh squeezed lemon juice(about the juice of 1 medium lemon)
¼cupplus 2 teaspoons water, room temperature
Instructions
For The Cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Wash and dry the lemons. Then zest all 3, and juice 2. You should have 2 tablespoons of zest and ¼ cup of lemon juice.
In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, lemon zest and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk of choice, the light brown sugar, the vegetable oil, lemon juice and the vanilla.
Slowly add the milk mixture into the flour mixture and use a spatula to combine as it gets thick.
With a spatula, scoop half the batter into one pan and the other half into the other pan. Smooth the tops with a butter knife.
Bake cakes in the center rack for 35 minutes.
Let them cool in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Once the cakes have cooled completely, we are going to cut them in half horizontally. Now we will have 4 thin layers of cake.
For The Frosting
In a large bowl of an electric mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the room temperature butter or vegan baking stick until it is smooth and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
Add in the vanilla and lemon zest and beat till combined.
Add half the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and water and beat until combined. It will look chunky at first.
Beat in second half of the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice and water until combined, creamy and smooth.
Assemble The Cake
Place one layer of cake on a cake plate/stand. Scoop ⅕ (about 1 cup) of frosting on top of the layer and use an icing spatula to spread it around.
Place another layer of cake on top; repeat this same process. Do this with 3 layers of cake.
Once you get to the top layer of cake, place it bottom (or flat) side up so the top of the cake is nice and flat.
Use an icing spatula to frost a super thin layer on the top and the sides. This is your crumb layer.
Pop the entire cake in the fridge uncovered for 15 min so it is more stable to work with.
After 15 min, take the cake out and frost the rest. I used my icing spatula to make marks all over. You don’t have to do this decorative step…it’s completely up to you.
Decorate The Cake
Put the rest of the frosting in a piping bag and make swirls all around the edge of the top of the cake.
Sprinkle some gluten free/nut free/vegan white nonpareils or sprinkles on top of the frosting swirls.
I also love to put some lemon slices just for decoration and some lemon zest.
Notes
Storing: Once the cake is cut into, it’s best to cut the entire cake into slices, wrap each slice in foil and store in a zip top bag in the fridge. This is if you're eating the extra slices the next day.Also, I would remove any lemons on top of the cake prior to wrapping the slices. They can make the icing very wet.When ready to eat, let the slices sit on the counter, in the foil for about an hour or until the cake is room temperature and soft. Take out of foil and warm each slice in the microwave for 10 seconds if need be. Freezing: If not eating all the extra slices in the next day, take the slices wrapped in foil and in the zip top bag and freeze them.I would remove any lemons on top of the cake prior to freezing. They can make the icing very wet when they defrost. When ready to eat, leave the slices out on the counter for 2 hours prior to eating or until the cake is room temperature and soft. Remove from foil and microwave for 10 seconds if need be. You can keep the slices frozen for up to 30 days.For Vegan: Use a gluten free flour that’s free from dairy, non dairy milk and vegan baking sticks in the frosting.