This is a must-try recipe if you love lemon desserts as much as I do! This is a moist, decadent Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. It is topped with sweet-tart Lemonade Icing. It is perfect with a cup of coffee, tea, or dessert! As a bonus, this gluten free dessert is also dairy-free!!
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: This gluten free lemon poppy seed loaf cake is made with fresh ingredients, including flour, sugar, eggs, oil, dairy-free milk, lemons, and poppy seeds. I tested 3 different flour blends in this recipe, and it can be made with dairy-free or regular milk.
This is a lemony gluten free poppy seed cake that can be made in a loaf pan, bundt cake pan, or as a layer cake. It is an easy beginner-level cake that tastes like one you would buy at a bakery. Top it with lemonade icing to pull flavors together beautifully.
You can also do what I like to do: make a double batch and freeze one gluten free lemon loaf for another time. If you love lemon, you also need to try this Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake recipe! I have a lot of great gluten-free lemon recipes on the blog because our lemon tree is so prolific.
This was drop-dead delicious! I stuck to the recipe as written but halved the glaze amount. I poured the glaze over the cake while it was still warm and still in its pan. It soaked in beautifully. I let it cool completely before removing it from the pan.”
Dana C., Reader comment
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with both King Arthur Measure for Measure, Better Batter, and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. All three worked well. I had to add 3 TBSP of additional milk to the Better Batter test cake. Other blends will also work, but you may need to adjust the batter’s moisture level depending on its consistency. Read Why Gluten Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more.
- Almond Flour – I include almond flour in this recipe to keep the cake extra moist. If you want to omit the almond flour, you can add 1/4 additional flour blend and evaluate the batter consistency. You may need to add more liquid depending on the flour blend you use.
- Binder – If your gluten free flour blend does not contain xanthan or guar gum, add 3/4 teaspoon. You can read Why Binders Are Important in Gluten Free Baking to learn more.
- Baking Powder and Soda – This recipe contains both. They help give this cake a nice rise. Use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Poppy Seeds – Use any brand, but read the ingredients to ensure it is just the seeds.
- Eggs – Use large eggs.
- Coconut Oil – I used this, but you can use another light oil.
- Milk – I tested this recipe with both almond milk and Oatly Super Basic to keep this lemon poppy cake recipe dairy-free. You can use any plant-based milk you like or regular milk. You can read more about what plant-based milk is gluten free.
Substitutions:
- Make it nut-free – Omit the almond flour, you can add 1/4 additional flour blend, and evaluate the batter consistency. You may need to add more liquid depending on the flour blend you use.
- Use a different oil. I also tested avocado and canola oils.
- If you want extra lemon flavor, add 1 teaspoon of Lorann Lemon Bakery Emulsion.
You can even make this into Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!
How to Make a Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Add the dry ingredients, including the flour, almond flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds, to a large
Step 2: In a separate, smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients, including the oil, vanilla, eggs, lemon juice and zest, and non-dairy milk. Whisk.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix. Don’t overmix the batter for the best results because this can make your poppy seed cake denser. If you find your gluten free bakes tend to be gritty, let the batter rest for 15 minutes in the pan. This allows the rice flour to soften.
🔑 Sandi says: I do NOT recommend a stand mixer. It will overmix your batter, resulting in a dense cake.
Step 4: Spray a loaf pan with gluten-free baking spray. Pour the batter into a bread loaf tin and bake at 350ºF for 40-45 minutes until done. The actual baking time will vary depending on the size and depth of your loaf pan, as well as the pan material. Glass bakes very differently from metal.
You can test if your gluten-free lemon poppy seed loaf is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is finished baking! (This is called the toothpick test!)
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Try these fun topping ideas:
- Lemon Glaze (a much runnier version of my lemonade icing; you want the lemon juice and sugar to absorb into your cake.)
- Vanilla Buttercream or Cream Cheese Frosting
- Dust this lemon loaf cake with powdered sugar.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The poppy seeds are optional, so feel free to omit them if you don’t have them.
This lemon poppy seed cake will keep fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. I don’t recommend storing it on the counter, as gluten-free foods tend to spoil much more quickly.
You can 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 stay in the freezer for about three months.
Gluten free baking can be challenging. For more tips, check out my best Gluten Free Baking Tips.
If you prefer to bake cakes in loaf tins, try this Gluten Free Peach Cake or this Gluten Free Cherry Cake recipe!
More Gluten Free Lemon Desserts:
If you love lemon, I have lots of delicious lemon desserts, thanks to our lemon tree. Here are some of my favorites:
- 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 delicious.
- Love donuts? These Gluten Free Dairy Free Lemon Donuts are going to become your favorite!
- This Gluten Free Lemon Bundt Cake is a winner and will feed a dessert-hungry crowd.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Fluffy Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour * see notes
- ½ cup almond flour * see notes
- ⅔ cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil or another oil
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup dairy-free milk
For Icing:
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice feel free to adjust this if you want your icing thicker or runnier.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Grease a bread loaf pan with gluten-free baking spray, coconut oil, or butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 2/3 cup cane sugar, 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Use a whisk to blend them together.
- In a smaller bowl, add 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted), 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons lemon zest, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/2 cup dairy-free milk. Whisk to mix. If your coconut oil is solid, melt it for 20 seconds in the microwave oven.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Don't overmix the cake batter or your cake will not be as light and fluffy. Optional: Let the cake batter sit for 20-30 minutes. This allows the rice flour to soften so the cake is not gritty.
- Bake the lemon cake for 30-40 minutes, or until done. Insert a toothpick into the top middle to test. If the toothpick comes back clean, the cake is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, bake a little longer. The baking time can vary depending on the size and depth of your loaf pan.
- Allow the cake to cool completely on a cooling rack. Do not add the lemonade icing until the cake has fully cooled.
- In a bowl, add icing ingredients and mix. Drizzle on top of the cake and enjoy!
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1 :1. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I have not tested other flours.
- NOTE: I also tested Better Batter Original flour blend. I needed 1/4 cup of additional milk using this blend. In this test, I used 3 small eggs, which are what is most common at our farmer’s market in the winter. The three small eggs weighed 148 grams, and this may be part of why the batter needed more liquid.
- If your gluten free flour blend does not contain a binder like xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 3/4 teaspoon.
- I strongly recommend using almond flour rather than almond meal. Almond meal is coarser and will make your cake grainy.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the cake needs to bake longer.
- I tested both Oatly Super Basic and almond milk. Other dairy-free kinds of milk will work. However, I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- This cake will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or for up to 4 months in the freezer.
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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, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
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 older April 2018 post.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Hi! Do you think that this recipe could be made in a bundt pan?
You can definitely make this in a bundt pan, but you will need to bake it longer.
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!
Hi Hannah, it was 1/4 cup of butter I believe. Tell your partner happy birthday from us!
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!
I am so glad you liked it Dana, you made my day!
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
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.
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.
I am so glad you liked it Barbara 🙂
By using the coconut oil, does that mean it is gluten free, and dairy free?
This recipe is dairy-free as well as gluten free. Thank you for stopping by Lynne 🙂
Hi Sandi, can you use butter instead of the coconut oil?
Thanks!
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.
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.
This sounds fabulous Molly 🙂
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?
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 🙂
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!
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 :-).
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!
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!