If you love lemon desserts as I do, this is a must-try recipe! Picture a moist Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with a Lemonade Icing. It is perfect with a cup of coffee, tea, or for dessert!
One bite and you will be hooked on this easy to make dessert. You can also do what I like to do, make a double batch and freeze one gluten free lemon loaf for another time. And a bonus, this gluten free dessert is also dairy-free!!
You may also like my Top Ten Gluten Free Lemon Desserts recipe roundup. And if you love pound cake…OMG you need to try this Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake recipe too!
With this new recipe, you will notice I am baking a lot more quick bread types of loaves. They are perfect for snacking!
If you are a big make-ahead baker, you may also like this Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread or this Gluten Free Matcha Green Tea Banana Bread.
Loaf, Bread, or Cake…what do you call it?
Do you ever wonder what to call these sweetbreads? I always get confused if something is a loaf, a bread, or a cake. This lemon poppy seed recipe is definitely sweet enough to be a dessert so maybe bread isn’t the right word here. You can even make this into gluten free lemon poppy seed muffins!
You can call this gluten free lemon poppy seed cake recipe anything you like, perhaps the bigger decision is what lemon poppy seed cake topping is best :-).
For this recipe, I created a simple lemonade icing. You don’t need any topping if you don’t want your poppy seed loaf to be too sweet.
How to make a gluten free lemon poppy seed cake:
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk to blend. In a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix. Don’t over mix because this will make your poppy seed cake not as fluffy!
Next, pour the batter into a greased bread loaf tin and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until done.
Fun topping ideas for this cake:
- Lemon glaze (a much runnier version of my lemonade icing, you want the lemon juice and sugar to absorb into your cake.
- Vanilla frosting
- Cream cheese frosting
If you love all things lemon, you will want to check out the best gluten free lemon desserts on the blog!
If you love lemon, here are even more delicious gluten Free lemon desserts:
- This Gluten Free Lemon Layer Cake is the ultimate lemon cake recipe…it makes a great birthday cake.
- The lemon filling in this Gluten Free Lemon Tart is absolutely delicious.
- Love donuts? These Gluten Free Dairy Free Lemon Donuts are going to become your favorite!
How do you know when your cake is finished baking?
You can test if your gluten free loaf is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is finished baking!
Can you make this lemon cake without the poppy seeds?
The poppy seeds are completely optional so feel free to omit the poppy seeds if you don’t have them on-hand.
Can you freeze this cake?
You can easily freeze this lemon loaf cake. To freeze it, wrap the cooled loaf in plastic wrap tightly. Next, wrap it in foil. Place the bundle into a freezer bag. It will keep about 3 months in the freezer.
Things you need to make this poppy seed cake recipe:
- An easy to use lemon juicer makes getting fresh lemon juice a breeze!
- A simple zester can get the right amount of zest, and not the white bitter pith.
Next, eat and enjoy!
Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
A moist and delicious gluten free lemon poppy seed cake.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
For Icing:
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice, feel free to adjust this if you want your icing thicker or runnier.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease a bread loaf pan with coconut oil or butter.
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a smaller bowl, add all wet ingredients, including zest and whisk to mix.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Don't over mix or your cake will not be as light and fluffy.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until done. Insert a toothpick into the top middle to test.
- Allow the cake to cool completely.
- In a bowl, add icing ingredients and mix. Drizzle on top of the cake and enjoy!
Notes
Note, if your gluten free flour blend doesn't contain Xanthan Gum (or Guar Gum) please add 1 teaspoon to your mix.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 368Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 254mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 2gSugar: 24gProtein: 5g
(*This post was updated from an older April 2018 post.)
Hannah
I love this recipe and I’m making it for my partner’s birthday party this week because he’s obsessed with it. Thank you! Just a quick question:Ccould you share with me the ratios for the original glaze with butter? It worked so well for me the first time, and I can’t imagine the flavor without butter. Much appreciated!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Hannah, it was 1/4 cup of butter I believe. Tell your partner happy birthday from us!
Dana
This was drop-dead delicious! I stuck to the recipe as written but halved the glaze amount. I poured the glaze over while the cake was still warm and still in its pan. It soaked in beautifully. I let it cool completely before removing it from the pan. I found it needed a full 40 min to test fully baked. Tender, moist, amazing. Thank you so much!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked it Dana, you made my day!
Dana
Hi again! I’m back to bake this a second time because we devoured the first double batch. Why did you remove the butter from the topping?! I think it was genius and will still make it that way because we loved it. Also, I noticed that in your description near the top you mention to bake for 40 minutes (which is what worked for me) but in the actual directions you state to bake for 30.
Love this recipe.
Dana
Sandi Gaertner
You are so sweet Dana. I am finding the butter topping only works if someone uses the specific gluten free flour blend I used, King Arthur Measure for Measure. When someone uses a higher starch content blend, the recipe didn’t work with the butter topping so I took it out. There are just too many gluten free flour blends and when some don’t work with a recipe…it frustrates people.
Barbara AlOthaimeen
Thank you for this fabulous recipe! I just made it and I don’t think anyone would be able to tell that it’s gluten free. I did use half and half in place of almond milk, only because I was out. It turned out great.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked it Barbara 🙂
Lynne
By using the coconut oil, does that mean it is gluten free, and dairy free?
Sandi Gaertner
This recipe is dairy-free as well as gluten free. Thank you for stopping by Lynne 🙂
Nikita
Hi Sandi, can you use butter instead of the coconut oil?
Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Nikita, I assume butter should be fine in this muffin recipe. I use the two interchangeably. Please come back and let me know how it turned out.
Molly M Brack
Great recipe. Before Celiac I had a Poppyseed bread recipe that I loved and this turned out very similarly. I did leave out the lemon juice and added an equal amount of liquid, but the key to my rave-reviewed bread is the glaze: 1/2 C sugar, 1/4 C orange juice, !/2 tsp each vanilla, almond, and butter extracts. (the same flavorings go into the batter as well). Poke the bread after it’s out of the oven for 10 minutes and pour the glaze over so it soaks in while warm. Be sure to get GF flavorings.
Sandi Gaertner
This sounds fabulous Molly 🙂
Kris
Sandy, I just found this recipe on Pinterest today. I’m so excited to try it, but I’m wondering if you have ever substituted the almond flour with anything else? I just received an assortment of flours through nuts.com that i am anxious to try but know nothing about them and what would be a better option. Brown rice flour, potato flour, cassava flour, and banana flour. Any suggestions?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kris, you can definitely make this recipe without almond flour. Instead of 1/2 cup almond flour, use an additional 1/4 cup of the gluten free flour blend. I like Cassava flour, but it is very light, starchy, and absorbs liquid a little more. I like brown rice flour…if it isn’t ground superfine it can add a slight grit to the texture, depending on brand. Authentic Foods brand gluten free flours are milled superfine so I use their brown rice flour. I have a bag of banana flour, but I haven’t experimented with it. Thank you 🙂
Ashley Larsen
Thank you so much for this recipe! In my husband’s family, they made a lemon poppyseed cake for every birthday, but since my husband had to go gluten-free two years ago, I haven’t had the nerve to try to make one. I baked this today, and it actually turned out even better than the old family recipe (which for me usually turned out flat). The whole family was so impressed, and my husband was thrilled!
Sandi Gaertner
You made my day Ashley. I am so glad your family loved these muffins. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let us know :-).
Andrea
Hi Sandi, I was about to try your recipe and noticed that there is no butter or oil. Is the recipe meant to be oil and butter free? Thanks!
Sandi Gaertner
That is so odd, thank you for pointing this out. There should be 1/4 cup coconut oil in this recipe. I added it back in. Thank you so much!
Jessica Robinson
This cake looks so delicious and you’d never think it was gluten free. I will definitely be sharing with all of my girlfriends that are gluten free!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Jessica 🙂
Suzy | The Mediterranean Fish
Love having a delicious option for GF cake!
Sandi Gaertner
Awesome Suzy, enjoy 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Wow, this Lemon Poppy Seed Cake so cute! I would love to eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Thank you for sharing this great recipe! YUM!
Sandi Gaertner
LOL, my kids would love this lemon poppy seed cake for dinner too!
Valentina
I am loving this recipe. My son has Celiac Disease and we are forever creating new GF baked goods. Personally, I would love this for breakfast with my coffee and for dessert anytime. I’ve always loved the lemon-poppy seed combination.
Sandi Gaertner
I hope your son likes this cake as much as we do Valentina 🙂
Vicky
This looks so good especially with that icing. I think i might make two loaves as well and give one to a friend.
Sandi Gaertner
I like how you think Vicky, I hope your friend enjoys it too 🙂