This homemade gluten free lemon bundt cake with lemonade icing is full of fresh lemon flavor. And as a bonus, this mouthwatering lemon cake is also dairy-free, so if you need a gluten free and dairy-free birthday cake, this recipe is for you!
If you have been following for a while, you know our lemon tree is overflowing with lemons. Huge lemons, the size of grapefruits! I have been making lots of delicious recipes with fresh lemon juice, and even a few cocktails like this Tequila Lemonade.
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It has been fun to create these gluten free lemon dessert recipes. If you haven’t tried any yet, I can’t wait to hear about the recipes you make.
Why I love this gluten free lemon bundt cake:
- One bite of this gluten free lemon bundt cake, and you will want more and more. The fresh lemon flavor shines through!
- This bundt cake is truly a show-stopper dessert and is perfect for entertaining or even using the batter to make delicious cupcakes for a party.
- This delicious lemon bundt cake recipe is perfect for those with food allergies because it is dairy-free and soy-free.
If you love lemon desserts as much as we do, you will want to check out my Most Popular Gluten Free Lemon Desserts! And if you are looking for a buttery pound cake, check out this Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake recipe too! If you love cranberries, this Gluten Free Cranberry Bundt Cake recipe is amazing.
Reader Rave
Thanks for this recipe I do appreciate is little oil version. I did double the glaze 😝and used lime zest and blueberry for decorations.” Gioconda M.
Ingredient Notes:
- Almond Flour – Make sure to use almond flour and not almond meal. Otherwise, your cake may turn out grainy.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I just have not tested other flours.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Baking Soda – Always verify that your baking soda has not expired. Using expired baking soda will affect the rise of the cake.
- Eggs – Use size large eggs. Note: I have not tested any egg replacers in this recipe.
- Lemons – Fresh lemons are best because you can also add lemon zest.
- Non-Dairy Milk – I used almond milk, but you can also use regular milk or another plant-based milk. I do not recommend canned coconut milk. If using oat milk, verify it is made with gluten free oats. Soy milk is a good option if you can have soy.
- Oil – Use melted coconut oil or another oil that you like to use for baking. I often use canola because it is a nice, flavorless oil.
- Pure Vanilla Extract – Do not use imitation vanilla
Tips For Sucess:
- Let the cake batter sit for 15 minutes before baking it to ensure it has no grainy texture. Some gluten free flour blends tend to have a little grit so this tip will help eliminate this issue.
- To measure your gluten free flour, I recommend using either the spoon or leveling method. Spoon Method: Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour. Leveling Method: Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
- Do not overmix your cake batter. It will make your cake dense.
If you are new to cake baking, here is a good write-up of my favorite Kitchen Tools For Baking Cakes. I also have many Gluten Free Baking Tips to take your cake to the next level.
🔑 Sandi says: Many bundt cake pans have a lot of fine edges and grooves. I highly recommend spraying the pan with La Tourangelle Spray to prevent this gluten-free lemon bundt cake from sticking.
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: Add your flour, almond flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt to a large
Step 2: Add your eggs, oil, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla to a medium-sized bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients to blend.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix the cake batter until the ingredients are just barely mixed. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes so the rice flour in your flour blend can soften.
Step 4: Bake your bundt cake at 350º F for 50-60 minutes. Note that the actual baking time will vary by bundt cake pan size and depth.
The best way to see if a bundt cake is ready is to insert a toothpick. If the toothpick comes up clean, the cake is done. If there is batter or crumbs on the toothpick, bake it a little longer!
Step 5: Carefully place a cooling rack under the bundt pan and quickly invert the cake pan so the cake gently drops onto the cooling rack. Let the cake cool.
Step 6: Allow cooling completely, then mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the lemonade icing. Drizzle the icing onto the cake and enjoy!
If you love lemon, try my delicious Gluten Free Lemon Brownies recipe too!
Recipe FAQ:
For this lemon cake recipe, you can easily use bottled lemon juice.
Lemon zest is delicious in desserts, and I highly recommend adding some to get lots of lemon flavor into this gluten free lemon bund cake recipe.
I prevent sticking by spraying my bundt pan with coconut oil spray. Many like to grease it with butter.
If you love bundt cakes as much as we do, check out this easy Gluten Free Vanilla Bundt Cake recipe with fresh raspberries. If you love oranges, this Gluten Free Orange Poppy Seed Cake is amazing too.
I made this for my mother’s 85th birthday cake. It was a hit with everyone–even those who don’t have to be gluten free. It is amazing!”
Kathleen H., Pinterest
More Lemon Dessert Recipes:
- Gluten Free Lemon Curd Coconut Cupcakes – These are stuffed full of delicious lemon curd.
- Gluten Free Lemon Tart – This incredible lemon tart has a flaky crust and delicious sweet-tart lemon custard filling.
- Gluten Free Lemon Donuts – You can make these bite-sized donuts in a donut pan in the oven or use a mini donut maker.
- Gluten Free Lemon Layer Cake – This is a great birthday cake. This layer cake has lemon curd nestled between each layer.
- Gluten Free Lemon Oat Bars – These creamy lemon bars will be a hit for any occasion.
Reader Adaptations:
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Include which flour blend you used. This helps others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond flour * see note
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups almond milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons oil I used coconut
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice Use four for extra lemon flavor
Icing
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice add lemon juice slowly until icing is thick and drizzles when you lift the spoon out.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Spray a bundt pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, add dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a small bowl, add wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just barely mixed.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes. Bake time may vary depending on the size of the bundt cake pan you use.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to bake longer.
- Allow cake to cool.
- Prepare icing and drizzle over cool cake.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your donuts grainy.
- Other dairy-free kinds of milk will work but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- Note, this cake also makes incredible cupcakes or sheet cake.
- This cake will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an old July 2017 post with more recipe details.
So, I tried this for my first ever Bundt cake and the first time using a new oven! I used Pamela’s pancake mix for both flours and I used fresh lemon for the juice and zest. It was a big hit!! I had to cook it for 55 to 60 minutes at 350. Light and moist!
I am so glad you liked it. I find the baking time is varying widely for readers. I think it depends on the gluten free flour used.
Bob’s Red Mill has a paleo flour with tapioca flour included, but no xanthan gum, should I add it still?
Hi Gretchen, That flour behaves differently from a gluten free flour. I am not sure how it will do in this recipe. You may need to modify things a bit. I think that flour has coconut flour, which absorbs a lot more liquid than a normal flour. Let me know how things turn out.
Love it, it’s a…….do over….and over an over again. I may try it with some ginger added. I like ginger.
I am so glad you liked this cake Bev!!
Those lemons are amazing, Sandi. And what a beautiful cake! I love lemon cake in the summer – or anytime really!
Thank you so much April 🙂
LOVED this recipe. Served it with Lemon Mousse and fresh raspberries. Even those who don’t eat gluten free enjoyed it. Definitely on to save to my personal recipes.
I am so glad you loved it Jane, you made my day 🙂
Sorry for the stupid question, but you list oil (coconut oil in your case) in the ingredients. Is this for the wet ingredients or is this just to put in the pan so it doesn’t stick? Sorry, I’m a very inexperienced baker, but wanted to make this for my birthday 🙂
Hi Brittany, no question is stupid. When I was learning how to make gluten free baked goods, I had SO many fails. It is hard. Coconut oil is considered one of the wet ingredients. I also like to use a separate coconut spray oil (Trader Joe’s) to spray pans so nothing sticks. I hope this helps, feel free to ask any question :-). Sandi
Thank you!! I was never a big baker before (though I love to cook), much less GF! 🙂
You are so welcome. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions…I so remember how hard it was when you are just starting out :-).
This was a hit! Made this for a gathering where the host is a gluten-and-dairy-free eater, so I wanted to make sure she could enjoy it! Everyone (including the gluten and dairy lovers) went back for seconds! Next time I might add some lemon zest; I love lemon cakes so I like them to be extra lemony. I used Bob’s Red Mill for both the almond flour and the GF blend and the cake turned out perfectly moist. Thanks for the great, easy recipe!
Hi Ally, I am so glad you liked this recipe. I bet extra lemon zest would be incredible. Have a great week 🙂
Hi Sandi!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I am planning to make it for a little gathering with some friends tonight! I’ll write another comment later about how it turned out! 🙂
Thank you so much Chloe. I had a person write that they used Cup4Cup for this recipe and it didn’t work. The only big difference I could figure is that that particular flour blend has a lot of milk powder in it…and somehow it reacted differently. I am not sure which gluten free flour blend you are using so I did want to mention that just in case you were looking at using that brand.
Just wondering how to substitute the sugar and wondering if anyone tried less sugar, sugar substitue/alternatives. Thank you
Rachel
Hi Rachel, I am not sure what sugar substitution would work. I would think less sugar would be fine, and you could easily skip the lemon icing. Please write back and let us know what you try and how it turns out 🙂
Wondering if I ca. Sucessfully substitute buttermilk for the coconut milk. I just have a ton of it. Sounds deliscious!
Hi Erika, I have not tested this recipe with dairy because of the lemon. If you try this, please check back and let us all know how it turns out.
I can’t wait to try this ….. it will be good with iced tea here in the Arizona desert !
Sandi, thank you for sharing this recipe !!
I hope you like it Janice, just make sure the gluten free mix you use doesn’t have dry milk powder, it can react with the lemon juice.
Hello from ?? Rockies! I’m new to your site & love it! My allergies are many, do you know of a substitute for Xanthan gum, or other Gums? I badly want to make this Lemon Bundt Cake, but know I will need to replace it at the higher 4,600 ft. Altitude here. Thanks for your great site (still happily exploring) & help. Cheers.
Hi Elle, thank you so much for your note. I had someone else write about the gums today and I did a quick Google search and see people often use egg white as a substitute. I haven’t tried this, but egg white is pretty sticky so it makes sense. If you try this, could you please come back and let everyone know if it worked? Thank you 🙂
Will do! Wish me luck. Thanks so much! ??
Question? Made the cake per recipe. Used better batter for GF flour. Had to cook it another 20-30 min after the 40 and still a little gummy?? What am I doing wrong??
Thanks ?
Hi Angela, I am not sure since I have never used this flour. I looked online at their ingredients and there is A LOT of starch in their flour blend. I have to think the starch content with the lemon probably is the reason your cake is gummy. I always use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend or Authentic Foods Multi Blend when I make this recipe.
Can I sub maple syrup for the sugar?
Hi Selina,
I have not tried this recipe with maple syrup. Because it is a liquid, you may need to adjust the dry ingredients. Would you please write back and let us know how it turned out if you try it.
It is me again……Yes! another success. And it is sweet enough not to have icing!
🙂
Thanks so much for the Gluten Free Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Icing recipe. I have used it for the last four weekends as a base. I have added different mixtures of sugar (turbine, white cane, and brown) different kinds of flours, even quick oats, and different kinds of fruits. I have a mini bundt pan and a couple of small baking dishes. I keep one, and give the other ones away. It works every time. Since it is sweet enough to add icing, I put the zest in the batter. Still have 15 minutes until my lemon blueberry, raspberry, dark chocolate chip bundt cake is done to have with a cup of coffee. Thank you again!
You made my day Sue…I am so happy you like this recipe. Thank you for taking the time to write and tell me 🙂