Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe

What Makes This Recipe Great

The weather is warming up, and lemons are the perfect summer fruit to brighten up so many dishes! Pasta, sauces, meat, drinks, dressings, veggies, desserts, you name it! Lemons add a zesty, tart, and citrus flavor and are a complement to so many other ingredients. 

You may have tried my Lemon Cheesecake Bars or this delicious Lemon Crème Brûlée, and now I’m introducing a simple (but amazing!) Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake! It’s bright, light, and lemony, with super easy ingredients and a delicious lemon drizzle! This gluten-free cake recipe is the perfect afternoon treat or even a brunch dessert. 

The cake batter is made with almond flour, eggs, sugar, butter, banana, lemon juice, and baking powder. The banana is added to provide moisture, but you can’t taste it much in the end product. It adds a lovely natural sweetness to balance the tart lemon. A lemony sugar glaze is drizzled at the end to give a thin, shiny coating with an extra lemon flavor. 

You’re going to love this dessert! It’s gluten-free, with a dairy-free and nut-free option. And it’s super kid friendly. 

Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

• Butter: Use salted butter, vegan or regular, or you can use coconut oil, softened. If you only have unsalted butter, you can add ¼ tsp salt to the ingredients. 
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs 
• Almond flour: Almond flour adds a good amount of protein to this gluten-free drizzle cake. You can also use 1:1 gluten free baking flour as well.
• Banana: I love using mashed bananas as a way to sweeten things up healthily, plus, it provides some needed moisture. You really can’t taste it in the final product. 
• Lemons: Plus more for garnish. 
• Lemon zest: You can sprinkle some lemon zest over the cake after baking if desired, but this is optional. I recommend zesting the lemon before cutting and juicing for easier use. 
• Baking powder 

Lemon Drizzle

• Granulated sugar 
• Lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease and line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
3. Combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
4. Add the egg one at a time, beating the mixture after each one.
5. Add almond flour, mashed banana, lemon zest, and baking powder to the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Fold until just combined.
6. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, then bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack. 
8. Whisk together the ingredients for the lemon drizzle in a small bowl, and pour over the cake in an even layer – spreading it out evenly with a spoon. Sprinkle with lemons zest, if desired.
9. Cool completely on a wire rack, slice, then enjoy!

Expert Tips

• Dairy-Free: If you are dairy free, swap the butter for vegan butter or coconut oil. This is the only ingredient that contains dairy, so everything else can stay as is. 
• Lemon Drizzle: If you’d prefer a lemon icing or lemon glaze instead, add butter and powdered sugar (icing sugar) to the lemon juice instead of granulated sugar. Then, beat until the texture is smooth and drizzle over the cake after it cools. 
• Standing Mixer: If you’d prefer to use a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer, you totally can. I recommend using the paddle attachment. But because this cake is so simple, it’s really not necessary and requires so much more cleanup. 
• Nut-Free: To make this cake nut-free, you can use measure for measure gluten-free baking flour/ gluten-free flour blend.
• Cake Pan: I used a 9-inch cake pan. If you use an 8-inch pan or a loaf pan, please keep in mind that the cooking time will need to be adjusted. 

Serving Tips

• Let the cake cool to room temperature, then slice with a knife and serve! 

Storage Tips

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. 
• You can refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer-safe container. Thaw overnight, then serve. 

More Lemon Recipes to Love

Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Keto Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Nut-Free Lemon Banana Bread

Gluten-Free Lemon Bars