If you love lemons, you are in for a special treat today! This moist, delicious gluten free lemon pound cake is about to become one of your favorite desserts! The fluffy gluten free lemon cake is full of lemon flavor, and it is then topped with creamy lemonade icing.
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If you have been reading my blog for any length, you know we have a small, prolific lemon tree in our backyard. It produces lemons almost year-round, thanks to the beautiful California weather! Our lemons are not normal-sized lemons; they often look like small grapefruits!
We make a lot of recipes with lemons from sweet to savory…or should I say savory to sweet? We love our desserts here in the Fearless Dining household. Check out all of my gluten free lemon recipes or these Gluten Free Lemon Donuts!!
Why I love this gluten free lemon cake:
When you need a gluten free cake to serve, look no further than this gluten free lemon cake recipe. It is a crowd-pleasing cake, and nobody will know it is gluten free!
- This lemon cake has lemon flavors mixed with that buttery-sweet goodness! You won’t believe how good a cake with few ingredients can taste!
- This recipe makes two big loaves so that you can freeze one for later!
- You can use fresh or bottled lemon juice and enjoy this decadent loaf cake all year!
- This cake is freezable and can be made ahead!
This recipe is an absolute hit. I have used King Aurther brand and the Walmart GF brand. I think as long as it’s a white/brown rice flour blend with xanathin gum, it will work.”
crystal, blog comment
Allergen Information:
This homemade lemon pound cake is gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and oat-free.
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 using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Blend. That doesn’t mean others will not work; I have not tested other flours, and I can not guarantee the recipe will work if you use different mixes.
- Xanthan Gum – If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum or guar gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter in this cake recipe.
- Eggs – Use size large eggs.
- Milk – I used milk, but plant-based non-dairy milk also works well in this recipe.
- Lemon Juice – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice or bottled lemon juice.
- Powdered Sugar – If your powdered sugar is lumpy, strain it for best results.
Check out my best gluten free lemon dessert recipes for more inspiration and recipe ideas!
Tips For Success
1. If you think your gluten free flour blend has a gritty texture, I highly recommend letting the cake batter sit for 15-20 minutes. This allows the ground rice flour to soften.
2. If you are gum-free and can’t have xanthan or guar gum, try my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend.
3. Do not overmix the batter. I do not recommend using a stand mixer. They tend to overmix the batter, making your cake turn out denser.
I share all of my easy to follow Gluten Free Baking Tips so you can bake gluten free like a pro! I also share tips on what my go-to gluten free flour blends are and what recipes are best for different gluten free flour blends.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk to blend.
I recommend using the spoon or leveling method to measure your gluten-free flour. In a perfect world, people weigh their flour, but most do not own a kitchen scale. 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.
Use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: Grab a lemon and a zester. Zest the whole lemon because you need 2 tablespoons of lemon zest for this recipe!
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Step 3: In a smaller bowl, add your wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until the ingredients are just barely mixed. Be careful not to over-mix your batter, or your cake will be denser.
Step 5: Spray oil in two loaf pans. Add the batter to a bread loaf pan and spread the pound cake batter around the pan. Bake the cakes at 350º F for 45 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the cake from the oven and insert a toothpick in the middle. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is fully baked. If you see crumbs or batter, you must bake it a little longer.
Step 7: Now, it is time for the homemade lemonade icing. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl. You can easily control how thin or thick your icing is by the quantities you use. Drizzle the icing over the cake.
If you love citrus flavors, you want to make this Gluten Free Orange Poppy Seed Cake recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can easily use bottled lemon juice, but a fresh lemon is better, so you can also use lemon zest.
If your lemon cake turned out heavy, it is due to a couple of reasons. Using a starchy gluten free flour blend or over-mixing the cake batter can make your cake heavy and dense. You can read more about troubleshooting in my Gluten Free Cake Troubleshooting Guide.
Yes, you can make this cake dairy-free, and in fact, one of my readers already tested this out and had great success! She used soy milk (but you can also use almond milk), and she used vegan butter from a brand called Smart Balance.
Storage:
Store this cake in an airtight container. You can also freeze this cake quickly in your freezer. This cake will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
You can use leftover lemon cake in my Gluten Free Cakesicles recipe.
More Gluten Free Lemon Dessert Recipes:
- If you love ice cream, try this No-Churn Lemon Ice Cream recipe!
- Need a special cake? This Gluten Free Lemon Bundt Cake with lemonade icing is your cake!
- Grab some lemon curd and learn how to make this Easy Gluten Free Lemon Filled Cupcake recipe.
- This easy Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf is perfect for breakfast or dessert.
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!
Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 ½ cups cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted melted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups milk or non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
For Icing
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice depending on how thick you want your icing
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 1/2 cups cane sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Use a wire whisk to blend.
- In a smaller bowl, add 1 cup unsalted melted butter,3 large eggs, 1 1/3 cups milk or non-dairy milk, 2 tablespoons lemon zest, and 3 tablespoons lemon juice and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is barely mixed. Over mixing can cause the cake to become denser.
- Spoon the batter into two greased bread loaf tins. Optional: sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 45 minutes until done. Check doneness with the toothpick test (see Notes).
- Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and allow cooling.
- Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice to a bowl and whisk to make the icing. Add the lemon juice slowly until you get the consistency you want. Drizzle the icing over the cake.
Video
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.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter and use plant-based milk.
- Other dairy-free kinds of milk will work, but I do not recommend canned coconut milk.
- Check the cake’s doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is ready. If there is batter or crumbs on the cake, it needs to be baked a little longer.
- This cake will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight 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, 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 January 2020 post with more detailed information.
I made this for my mother’s bday and it turned out looking like the picture!! She loved it, and so did the four of us who are not GF!
I am thrilled everyone loved this cake, even the non-gluten free people!!
Omgoodness my husband loves this!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Merry Christmas and God bless.
I am so glad he loves this lemon cake. It is one of our favorites and I often have one frozen in the freezer for cravings :-).
Which size of loaf pan is best for this recipe?
I would say 8 1/2 to 9 inches loaf pan is best.
Thank you for a very quick response!
Thank you for a very quick response!
thank you for a very quick response
You are very welcome. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Thank you for this fantastic gluten-free recipe. I am usually disappointed by some recipes I’ve tried but hands down this is the best I’ve baked. It is light, fluffy, and amazingly delicious. I changed the amount of sugar to 1 cup and used a different flour (CUP4CUP). I actually could not wait to try it so 2 pieces became my breakfast (LOL).
Thanks again, I will recommend this to all of my friends and family.
Thank you, Jeanie. I am glad to hear that Cup4Cup flour blend worked in my recipe…and LOL, I ate mine with breakfast too.
I made this lemon loaf and it is divine! My coworkers gobbled it up and asked for more! So I’ve made it twice now. Definitely recommend!
I am so glad you loved the recipe. It is my go to recipe when we need a hostess gift :-).
i can’t say enough about this recipe!!!! i make it in a bunt pan. my kids and hubby are not gluten free, they love it as much as i do! i have to be quick to get my share 😉 thank you so so much for all the blood sweat and tears that you put in for us!!!!
I am thrilled you loved the recipe. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Turned out beautifully! That icing is delicious.
I am so glad you loved this pound cake recipe. It is one of the recipes we make often.
Under the FAQ you commented on why the cake might be too dense. You said by increasing the lemon juice but not increasing the baking powder. The recipe says baking soda not powder. Should the recipe say baking powder? My cake didn’t rise very much and I’m wondering if I should have used baking powder instead of baking soda.
Hi Sharon, Baking soda is correct. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If your cake didn’t rise much, it is usually due to overmixing, or using a really starchy gluten free flour blend. Which blend did you use? I also recommend not using an electric or stand mixer when making gluten free cake. Here is a new troubleshooting guide I wrote about cakes. https://www.fearlessdining.com/gluten-free-cake-troubleshooting-guide/
I made this tonight, and it was delicious…. Basically fool proof too, I realized after I mixed the wet and dry ingredients I forgot to add the butter…. So I tried to mix it in…. Nope…. Had to put in my kitchenaid mixer, after a few minutes it had combined, I was so worried was going to turn out bad…. I added blueberries and it’s delicious! It’s pound cake texture but still
Light.. it’s not as sweet as I thought (but that’s ok I don’t like overly sweet) but once you add the glaze it’s perfect!
LOL, I love when one of my recipes is fool proof. Thank you so much for coming back to let me know that you loved the cake!
Hi. To make it more rich, can I use 1 1/3 cups sour cream instead of 1 1/3 milk?
I haven’t tested that so I am unable to say if it would work.
One of my favorite GF desserts! I make mine dairy free with almond milk and vegan butter. So delicious!
It is one of my favorite desserts as well. I am so glad you love it, thank you for coming back to let me know!
My batter is much less thick than yours, is that ok?
Not sure I went by the recipe. Also its much more yellow than yours.
Help.
Hi Debbie, What gluten free flour blend did you use? When you said you are not sure you went by the recipe, I really am unable to troubleshoot. I test my recipes with two flour blends and if you change my recipe a lot, I probably will not know what happened if it doesn’t work.
Thanks for sharing your recipes. All that you sent today look awesome and are on my to do list. I have recently changed to gluten free. It has taken quite a long time to amass my new ingredients and out with the old. I am a senior (79) and a widow living alone. Before my non gluten days I did not want to bake my favorite cakes due to living alone. The temptation would be too much. I decided to make them all in cupcake pans and freeze all cupcakes. It has worked out extremely well I made my first pound cake last week and the cupcakes continue to work out well. I have been looking for a recipe for whipping cream pound cake and have not been able to find one. (I find it is great to use as a strawberry shortcake base). One cupcake per person cut in half with strawberries and of course whipped cream. So that brings me to my question do you think I could substitute heavy cream for the milk in your recipe? To me it looks like it would but then again my experience with gluten free is limited. Looking forward to your response. And of course starting to attempt some of your recipes. Apple cake looks awesome. Thanks Fern
Hi Fern, it is nice to meet you :-). I love the cupcake idea!! We do this often and freeze them so we have them on hand when we are craving sweets. I honestly do not know how whipping cream would work in my pound cake recipe. It is pretty thick and I am not sure how that would work with gluten free flour due to their starch content. If you try it, please let me know. Take care.
We are not only gluten free but also grain free. What kind of flour would you suggest. All the gluten mixes I’ve been able to find have some kind of grain flour? Thank you for your help. Really want to make this. Jody
Hi Jody, I haven’t tested my recipe with a grain-free flour blend. I am so sorry. I can try to do this at some point, but I have a very busy few weeks coming up.
This recipe sounds delicious! Loaf pans vary in size — what are the dimensions of the loaf pans you use? Thanks!
My pans are 9.25 inches by 5.25. Enjoy!
My family loves the lemon pound cake! I used a flour blend called Divided Sunset. It turned out perfect.
I am so glad you all loved this recipe. I haven’t heard of that flour blend so thank you for letting me know.
Can this be cut in half for one loaf?
You can easily halve the recipe 🙂
I am allergic to Xanthan Gum or anything that contains Guar Gum. would it be ok if I made this without the any gum products?
This looks really easy and delicious!
Hi Frances, I have not tested my recipe without xanthan gum or guar gum. Maybe psyllium husk, but I am not experienced using it. You will need some sort of binder to hold the cake together.
Delicious, I made it using 2 cups of gluten free flour, 1 cup of almond flour, 1 cup of soy milk and used all of the remaining ingredients. Everyone enjoyed it.
Thank you for sharing.
You are very welcome Gladys 🙂
This is my first attempt and I feel good about it. Now, just have to wait for them to done and eat as part of our 2020 Christmas celebration🎄🎄🎄
I am honored you made my recipe for your celebration :-). I hope you had a great holiday.
Can this be frozen? How long does it stay good for? Thank you! Tastes super yummy!
Hi Jospehine, this can easily be frozen. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then put in a freezer ziplock bag. I am really glad you like it. It should keep in the freezer about 4 months.
Can we do an egg substitute in this? I nam allergic to eggs and dairy. Thank you. This looks so good.
Hi Stephanie, unfortunately, I have not tested this recipe without eggs so I am not sure how to advise you. If you do try to make it with egg replacer, please let me know how it turns out.
Actually this is more of a question I haven’t tried the recipe yet. I noticed it has no xanthan gum listed in the recipe? Is that because it’s already in your gluten-free flour mix. My gluten-free flour mix does not have xanthan gum so I would have to add some.
Hi Joan. I mention this in the recipe at the bottom, if your blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum, you will need to add 1 teaspoon. Enjoy the cake 🙂
Could I substitute coconut sugar for the granulated sugar?
You can sub coconut flour, just note the color of the cake will turn out much darker.
Thank you. Such an easy recipe and the final product was so delicious. I cut back the sugar to 1 cup and skipped the glaze. I also subbed lemon extract for peel. This recipe is a keeper!
I am so glad you liked the recipe. Thank you for coming back to let me know 🙂
I wonder if this could be made as a Bundt cake? I don’t have load pans….
Hi TJ, you can easily make this in a bundt pan, but the baking time will be different. I would check it after 30-45 minutes and do the toothpick test.
Can a loaf be frozen and pulled in out in a few weeks? I’m new to gluten free baking and I wasn’t sure if I could make this ahead of time to take on the family beach trip in a few weeks.
Yes, I make this ahead all of the time and freeze it. Don’t ice it before freezing, do that after thawing it out when you are ready to eat it.
In your recipes for cakes like this do you grease the pans? And what size pans.?
Can you use coconut oil in place of butter ?
Lastly, if you use powdered egg replacement, what liquid would you increase and by how much? Thank you
I spray coconut oil on my pan. You can use coconut oil instead of butter easily, but it will change the flavor a little. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried egg replacer in this cake. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it turned out. That info would definitely help others.
Hi Sandy
Did you use plain flour or self raising flour in this recipe? I’m new to baking. Many thanks. Suzanne 😊
Hi Suzanne, I haven’t heard of a self rising gluten free flour. Which are you talking about using? Thank you!
Can I substitute the egg. I have egg replacements for baking or maybe applesauce?? Any other options to make it vegan? Thanks!!
Hi, I haven’t tested any substitutions so I don’t know how to best advise on this.
Would this recipe work with almond flour does anyone know?
Hi Erin, I have not tested this recipe with almond flour but I have a feeling it won’t work. Almond flour by itself is not a one to one swap with gluten free flour. It doesn’t absorb moisture in the same way. I am sure you could try a 3/4 gf flour to 1/4 almond flour ratio…the cake will be a little more dense, but worth a try!
As I am “staying home” I do not have gluten free flour. Could I use regular flour? I also have a bit of leftover almond flour and coconut flour (from gluten free blueberry muffins I made recently). Gluten free – almond – coconut… same same?Thanks!
Hi Tristan, I haven’t used wheat flour in over 10 years so I am not sure if that would work in this recipe or not. Logically it should work. Almond flour and coconut flour behave very differently. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of extra liquid while almond flour doesn’t. I don’t think they would work in this recipe in place of the gluten free flour. I am so sorry not to have better news. I did just post a banana bread recipe that is made with just brown rice flour but I am still experimenting with using minimal flours.
Hi, does the recipe make double loaf pans? I see the recipe says to put it into two. Thank you!
This recipe did make two pound cakes 🙂
my flour does not have xanthan gum in it, as yours does, Should I add some?
Hi Jackie, if your mix doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum, you need to add 1 teaspoon. Thank you.
Going to make this for my birthday! I live at higher altitude, so if there are any tips on adjusting the recipe or baking time I’d love to know.
Hi Susan, Unfortunately, I have never lived in a higher altitude so I am not sure how to guide you on this. I would say to try to use the same gluten free flour blend that I used. One reader used a starch heavy mix and this recipe didn’t turn out with the right texture. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure GF Blend.
I live at a high altitude and the recipe worked perfect as is.
I am so glad to hear, thank you so much for coming back to let us know.
This nice moist cake was great. No one would have known it was gluten free, unless I told them.
I am so glad you liked it Robin. Thank you :-).
This recipe was delicious and a hit!! I substituted the regular milk for soy and butter for non-dairy butter by smart balance. It was fantastic!! Highly recommending trying this recipe out! You will love it!!
I am so glad you and your friends loved this recipe. And thank you for letting me know what you used to make it dairy-free!
Super delicious and moist. You can’t tell it’s gluten free! Everyone in my family loved it and said it was much tastier than Starbucks!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
I am so glad you all liked it Jane 🙂