The best lemon desserts are perfectly zingy, with plenty of zestiness and just the right amount of sweetness to balance everything out. This gluten-free lemon cake definitely lives up to that! It features lemon extract, juice AND zest to ensure every element is as lemony as can be. There are 3 layers of moist lemon sponge, a punchy lemon curd and smooth lemon buttercream.
Low FODMAP Friendly
Also well as being free from gluten and low in lactose, this cake is also suitable for those following the elimination phase of the low FODMAP diet.
Homemade Lemon Curd
As well as the buttercream layers, the cake is filled with the tastiest homemade lemon curd. I found the recipe for this on the BBC Food website and was super impressed. It’s nice and thick but with less of a wobble than supermarket versions, and wonderfully lemony! The recipe will leave you with some leftovers but this will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days (spread on toast, stir into yoghurt, eat with pancakes). Or, you can always freeze it for a rainy day.
It’s also completely ok to opt for a shop-bought curd instead (it’ll still be delicious!), but the homemade version definitely has a big thumbs up from me.
Icing Your Gluten-free Lemon Cake
My go to icing technique is spread it on roughly with a palette knife – and this always serves me well! However, armed with a fancy new cake scraper and turntable, I thought I’d try something different this time.
The pleasingly smooth finish on the outside is achieved by applying an initial, very thin coat of icing to seal in any crumbs. The cake is then refrigerated for about an hour before following with a second, thicker layer and scraping until smooth. I highly recommend following along with this video by Cupcake Jemma if you’re a novice like me!
Have fun with this zingy layer cake! It’s a great one for celebrations and totally worth the effort (I hope you’ll agree!). If you give it a go, don’t forget to tag your cake snaps on Instagram @BlueSkyEating. Enjoy 🙂
Gluten Free Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd & Buttercream
Ingredients
For the Lemon Curd:
- 4 lemons (zest and juice)
- 200 g caster sugar
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
For the Lemon Buttercream:
- 300 g unsalted butter (softened and cut into 2-3" cubes)
- 800 g icing sugar
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- almond milk (optional, to reach desired consistency)
For the Cake:
- 320 g gluten free plain flour (I use Doves Farm)
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (leave out if your flour blend already contains this)
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 300 g caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 200 ml vegetable oil
- 250 ml homemade buttermilk (Weigh out 1 tbsp lemon juice in a bowl and top up with almond milk until total weight is 250ml. Stir and leave to sit for 5 minutes.)
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 ml water
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 extra lemon (for decoration – optional)
Instructions
For the Lemon Curd:
- Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water
- Add the lemon juice, zest, sugar and butter to the bowl. Stir until the butter is melted.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Pour into the lemon mix and whisk until well incorporated.
- Cook for another 10 minutes or until thickened and creamy, stirring now and then
- Pour into a bowl and leave to cool for 15 minutes before placing in fridge for at least a further 45 minutes.
For the Lemon Buttercream:
- Using an electric mixer or whisk, beat the butter on a medium speed until smooth
- Sieve in the icing sugar in 3 batches, mixing after each addition
- Mix through the lemon juice and lemon extract
- Check the consistency. The icing needs to be smooth enough to spread easily onto the cake but thick enough that the layers don't slide around when assembling. If the icing is thicker than you'd like, add milk 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reach. If too runny, add more icing sugar.
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan
- Grease and line 3 20cm cake tins
- Prepare the buttermilk: weigh out 1 tbsp lemon juice in a bowl and top up with almond milk until total weight is 250ml. Stir and leave to sit for 5 minutes.
- Sieve flour into the bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt.
- Add the eggs, homemade buttermilk, vegetable oil, lemon extract, vanilla extract and water
- Beat on a medium speed for 2 minutes
- Distribute the batter evenly between 3 20cm round tins
- Bake each for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
- Cool cake in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Wait at least 1 hour before assembling.
- Level each cake layer by using a large knife or cake leveller to carefully slice a thin layer off the top, creating a flat surface
- Place the first cake layer onto a cake board or plate
- Spoon some icing into a piping bag attached to a large round nozzle
- Pipe an even layer of icing onto the first cake layer, in a spiral shape. Spread out evenly with a knife or offset spatula.
- Pipe a ring of icing around the outer edge of the cake, on top of the first layer of icing. This will act as a bank to support the lemon curd.
- Spoon a layer of lemon curd over the first layer of icing, spreading up to the edges of the 'bank'
- Place the second cake layer on top, checking everything looks straight. Repeat the steps above to add the icing/lemon curd. Place the final cake layer on top.
- Spread icing evenly over the outside of the cake. This of course doesn't have to be perfect, but if you want to create an extra smooth finish, this can be achieved using a cake scraper. An initial thin crumb coat of icing is spread over before refrigerating the cake. This is followed with a second thicker layer of icing which is scraped until smooth. There's a great how-to video linked above if you fancy giving it a go!
- Decorate as desired! I added some extra lemon slices and a sprinkling of zest.
Please note that nutritional information is based on estimated quantities and therefore not always 100% accurate.
This is definitely a beautiful looking cake, it was a real treat and success over the weekend – still have a slice left which will be thoroughly enjoyed with a cuppa coffee tomorrow. Thank you for sharing!
We are huge fans of lemon and this cake is a favourite. It looks so beautiful too.
This recipe is making my mouth water! It looks so good. I LOVE lemon curd, so I can’t wait to make this.
This cake is an explosion of lemon, and I am so here for it! Lemon is my favorite flavor in any baked good. I am definitely going to make this.
Amazing!!
This lemon cake looks so beautiful! I love how you incorporate lemon in every layer of this cake.
Looks so yummy!
Big fan of lemon desserts and this recipe is amazing, this will be getting made again for Christmas 🙂
Wow this looks so amazing! Your photos are so nice as well. I’m going to make this next week, can’t wait to try it out.
It looks incredibly delicious. I wish this were in front of me.
Yay….a gluten-free cake that actually tastes like a cake. Well done!!!