This Chocolate Lemon Cake is light with a mild citrus tang while still being rich and decadent. The flavors blend together in a harmonious way; one isn't overpowering the other. It's not a common flavor combination but if you love lemon and chocolate this cake is an elegant combination of the two! If that wasn't enough, it's of course gluten free, nut free, eggless and easily vegan!
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 softened butter until it is smooth and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.
Whisk both cocoa powders together in a small bowl.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the half the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powders and water and beat until combined and smooth and creamy.
Add in the second half of the ingredients and beat until 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 a semi naked cake.
Pop the entire cake in the fridge uncovered for 15 min so it is more stable to work with.
Decorate The Cake
When the cake has only 5 min left in the fridge, make the ganache.
Place chocolate chips and butter or vegan baking sticks together in a heat safe bowl. Microwave them together in 10 second increments, stirring after each time, until the chocolate chips and butter are fully melted and incorporated. This will take a few min.
Immediately take the cake out of the fridge. Spoon almost all the liquid ganache on top of the cake. Take an icing spatula and push the ganache around to the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides. Work quickly because the cold cake will quickly stop the ganache from dripping too much.
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 yellow sprinkles on top of the frosting swirls if desired.
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, vegan baking sticks, vegan sprinkles and chocolate chips.
Cocoa Powder
If you only have 1 type of cocoa powder on hand, use dutch or natural unsweetened. DO NOT use all dark.
For AP Flour
I cannot test this recipe due to celiac disease but these are the changes I would make: