Lemon pound cake has always been one of my favorite desserts. If you feel the same, then this gluten free lemon pound cake is for you. It's the perfect dessert to make in citrus season or any time of year!
This cake is velvety and moist, with a tender crumb and a bright lemon flavor. I swear no one will guess that it is gluten or dairy-free. This cake also gets some of its sweetness from the addition of honey, which pairs perfectly with the lemon.
Fellow lemon lovers should also check out my copycat Starbucks lemon loaf recipe, these fun gluten free lemon cupcakes, or this amazing gluten free lemon layer cake.
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Ingredient Notes
This delicious gluten free lemon cake is made with simple ingredients that can be found in any grocery store. In fact, you may have most of these in your pantry right now.
It is both gluten free and dairy free as written.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend - I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour for this recipe. It's a great blend for cookies, cakes and muffins. You can use the flour blend of your choice, but make sure it includes xanthan gum. For best results, weigh your flour if possible.
- Baking Powder - Although most pound cake recipes don't use leavening agents, I like to add a little to my gluten free pound cakes just to lighten them up a bit.
- Vegan Butter - I use Miyokos or Country Crock Plant Butter for this recipe. If you're not dairy free, use regular unsalted butter in the same measure.
- Wildflower Honey - The honey flavor here pairs beautifully with the lemon. Plus, honey draws moisture from the air as it sits, so it will keep the cake moist for days.
- Oil - Any light flavored cooking oil, like vegetable oil, will work fine here. The combination of oil and butter in the recipe creates a more moist cake.
- Fresh Lemon Juice & Lemon Zest - You will need the zest and juice from one fresh lemon. When zesting, taking care not to cut into the white rind which will give a bitter flavor.
- Eggs - Eggs provide the structure for the cake. Because this recipe uses three eggs, I wouldn't recommend an egg substitute here.
- Non-Dairy Milk - I use coconut milk in this recipe, but you can use any plant-based milk. If you're not dairy free, use your favorite milk product in the same measure.
See the recipe card for complete ingredient list with measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Fruit - Swap out the lemon for other citrus. Use orange juice and orange zest instead, or opt for lime or grapefruit.
- Sugar - For less sugar, use your favorite sugar-free alternative.
- Glaze - If you prefer, omit the lemon icing and dust the cake with powdered sugar.
- Frosting - Make a tangy cream cheese frosting to go on top of the cake.
- Shape - Instead of using a bundt pan, use two 9x5 inch loaf pans to make two pound cake loaves.
How to Make a Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake
Before you begin mixing, make sure to grease and flour your bundt pan to avoid any cake mishaps.
STEP 1: Combine the gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Whisk to mix well, then set aside.
STEP 2: Add the lemon zest to the sugar in a separate bowl. Use your fingers to rub them together to impart the lemon oil into the sugar. The sugar should turn a light yellow color.
STEP 3: Add the sugar with the lemon zest and the butter to the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
STEP 4: Add the honey to the creamed mixture and beat another minute on medium speed.
STEP 5: Add the oil to the creamed mixture and beat for 1 minute more.
STEP 6: Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each addition. You should have a nicely emulsified batter that resembles mayonnaise.
STEP 7: Combine the milk and lemon juice in a measuring cup. Then with the mixer on the lowest speed, add half of the dry ingredients followed by half of the wet ingredients. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, mixing only until it's just combined.
STEP 8: Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake.
Once the cake has finished baking, allow it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack. When it has cooled completely, pour the icing over the top and allow it to dry before slicing the cake.
Storage
This gluten free lemon pound cake should be stored in an airtight container, like a cake keeper, at room temperature. It should last 3-4 days.
Recipe FAQs
Originally pound cakes were made using a pound of flour, a pound of sugar and a pound of butter. This is where the name pound cake comes from. As you can imagine, that recipe would provide a huge amount of batter. Equal weights of ingredients like the original pound cake are known as balanced recipes in baking science.
Pound cake is also made with butter usually, which provides a tender and dense crumb. In this cake, we use both butter and olive oil. The oil contains emulsifiers, which help the batter handle more sugar and liquid, both of which make the cake extra soft and moist.
This cake can be made in either a 10-cup or 12-cup bundt pan or in two 9x5 loaf pans.
Two possible reasons - either too much flour was added or it was baked too long.
The most accurate way to measure is with a scale, but if you don't have a scale or prefer cups make sure to never scoop your cup into the flour. You want to spoon the flour into your measuring cup then level off the top.
For baking, use the time listed as a guide but begin checking your cake about 5 minutes before the listed cook time has elapsed. Every oven cooks differently. If you have a instant read thermometer, you can use it to check the internal temperature of your cake. You don't want it to exceed 200 degrees to maintain the moisture.
More gluten free pound cakes to try:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 ¾ Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend 259 grams, I use Bob's Red Mill
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest from 1 lemon
- 6 Tablespoon Vegan Butter room temperature
- ¼ Cup Wildflower Honey
- ⅓ Cup Olive Oil
- 3 Eggs room temperature
- ¼ Cup Lemon Juice
- 6 Tablespoon Non Dairy Milk Non-Dairy or Regular
For the glaze
- 2 Cup Powdered Sugar sifted
- 2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoon Non Dairy Milk Non-Dairy or Regular
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine gluten free flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well and set aside.1 ¾ Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Add the lemon zest to the sugar and rub together with your fingers to impart the lemon oil to the sugar. It should turn light yellow in color.1 Cup Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
- Add sugar with lemon zest and butter to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat for 3 minutes on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl.6 Tablespoon Vegan Butter
- Add the honey and beat for 1 minute more. Scrape down the bowl.¼ Cup Wildflower Honey
- Add the olive oil and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.⅓ Cup Olive Oil
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each addition. Scrape down the bowl and make sure all of the ingredients are evenly mixed.3 Eggs
- Combine the lemon juice and milk together and set aside.¼ Cup Lemon Juice, 6 Tablespoon Non Dairy Milk
- Turn your mixer to the lowest setting. Add about ½-2/3 of the flour mixture. Then add half of the liquid. Add the remaining flour and then the remaining liquid. Stir only until the flour is incorporated.
- Scrape down the bowl and fold in any remaining dry ingredients with a spatula.
- Pour the cake batter into the pan and place into your oven on a middle rack. Bake for 45-50 minutes in preheated oven.
- Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Flip over onto a cake or cooling sheet and remove pan. Let cool completely before topping with glaze.
For the glaze
- Add the powdered sugar to a medium size bowl.2 Cup Powdered Sugar
- Add the lemon juice and milk and stir well until smooth.2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice, 2 Tablespoon Non Dairy Milk
- Place your cake over a baking tray. Pour the glaze slowly over the cake. Some will drip down but it will dry fairly quickly making a nice coating (kind of like glazed doughnuts). If you want a thicker coating, use only 1 tablespoon of milk.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
Simone says
Mine completely caved in. No idea why. The sides rose a bit but the center ring just sank. The batter tasted and looked great. I just noticed the weight for the flour and wish I had caught it at the beginning. Maybe that was the issue… I use King Arthur Gluten Free measure for measure flour. I might try again weighing the flour next time because I love the ingredients. Only other change was avocado oil instead of olive oil because I don’t care for the strong olive taste. Hoping it’s edible as I made it for a brunch!
I'm sorry to hear your cake collapsed. Did it fall in the oven or after you took it out? If it was in the oven it could have been a few things but the most likely reason would be over-mixing the batter or having too much leavening agent. If your pan was too small that could also cause a problem. If it fell after it was out of the oven then it most likely was just not cooked long enough. Every oven behaves a little differently, so the bake times are always just my best estimate based on my own oven.
And yes, I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 flour, which weighs a little more than KA measure for measure, so you may have needed a little extra flour to compensate.
Hope your second go turns out better!
Erin says
You are my favorite person ever for adding the measurements under each step in the instructions. Seriously… thank you!
This recipe is so good!!! 🍋❤️
I'm so glad you enjoyed the cake!
Annie walters says
This is the best gluten free cake I have ate in a long time.
I' so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Ameera Tran says
So moist, absolutely perfect !!! I can’t stop eating it every time I bake one of these . Thank YOU for sharing !!!
I'm so glad you like it!
Natalie says
That glaze over the top of the cake looks amazing! I wondered why my pound cakes were dry - I think I’ve over baked them. I’m excited to try this recipe. Lemon is one of my favorites!