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A round lemon layer cake on a white plate, decorated with white icing, lemon slices and zest
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5 from 10 votes

Gluten Free Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd & Buttercream

Triple lemon layer cake with a sweet lemon buttercream and zesty homemade lemon curd
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Keyword Cake, Layer cake, Lemon, Lemon buttercream, Lemon curd
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour
Servings 14
Calories 661kcal

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.