Light, fluffy, and full of bright lemon flavor, this delicious gluten free lemon cake is made with whole food ingredients and spread with a creamy lemon buttercream frosting.
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Gluten free recipes are sometimes challenging. They can feel risky, with a heightened potential for disappointment. Working with flour outside of wheat can indeed be tricky at first. And without adjusting for the differences, gluten free cakes can be disappointing.
But they can also be wonderful.
This one has a moist crumb, a nutty flavor from the coconut and oat flours, and it’s bursting with sweet lemon flavor.
Lemon is always a fantastic choice. It’s wonderful during the spring and summer and especially cheery during the cooler months.
Some of our favorite lemon recipes are sourdough lemon bread, lemon pound cake, or lemon poppyseed muffins.
But when we need a gluten free recipe, or when we just want to change things up with another delightful option, this moist lemon cake with silky lemon frosting is incredibly delicious.
And while you can buy oat flour, I have instructions below for making your own! It’s so easy, plus it’ll save you money at the store.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Gluten free – Clearly you’ll love this gluten free recipe because it’s… gluten free. But it’s also far from disappointing. It’s not a lame dessert you serve so that someone isn’t left out and everyone then suffers. This cake will be a crowd pleaser and guarantees no one is missing out on a great dessert.
Delicious – This is the best lemon cake. It’s so flavorful with a tender crumb and the perfect lemon icing. It’s bright and cheerful with a tanginess from the fresh lemons that balances the sweetness superbly.
All-season winner – Whether it’s warm or cold, this cake fits. It’s light and refreshing on a hot summer day, and it’s sunny and citrusy to warm up a cold winter afternoon. It’s a year-round favorite here.
Ingredients
Cake
Oats or oat flour – You can make it at home or purchase it from the store.
Lemon juice – Squeeze fresh lemon juice for the brightest, boldest flavor.
Sour cream – Use full-fat sour cream for the best results, or you can even make your own homemade sour cream from raw milk.
Butter – Unsalted and at room temperature.
Lemon zest – Use the peel of the lemon you plan to juice, grating the yellow peel and avoiding the bitter, white parts.
Lemon frosting
Butter – Unsalted and at room temperature.
Powdered sugar – Also known as icing sugar and confectioners sugar.
Heavy cream – Adding a couple of tablespoons of cream gives the frosting a silky, more spreadable consistency.
Lemon zest – While optional, lemon zest adds lovely color and pops of tartness. When zesting a lemon, choose organic if possible.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools you may need:
Blender or food processor
How to Make Oat Flour
Place oats in a blender or food processor and pulse until it becomes a fine powder. I find that the flour will start to gather on the sides.
Turn off the blender or processor and shake gently to mix, then continue pulsing until evenly powdered. This may take a few minutes to get the right consistency, but it should be fine and powdery.
How to Make Gluten Free Lemon Cake
Create the cake
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9-inch round pan. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Step 2: While the butter and sugar mix, use a blender or food processor to pulse the oats into oat flour (if necessary).
Step 3: Thoroughly combine all dry ingredients (coconut and oat flours, salt, and baking soda). Sift the flour, if needed.
Step 4: Add the eggs to the fluffy butter and sugar mixture, beating well to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon juice, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest and combine on medium.
Step 5: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly.
Step 6: Mix until well combined. Without any clumps.
Step 7: Pour into the prepared cake pans and smooth the top with a spatula.
Step 8: Bake for 35-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean and the middle is set. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Lemon Frosting
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add room-temperature butter and whip on medium speed until pale in color and airy.
Step 2: With the mixer turned off, add the powdered sugar and begin mixing on low to incorporate. Once combined, add cream, lemon juice, and salt and increase to medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go, and let it mix until fluffy. Spread onto the cooled cake.
Tips
- If you have celiac disease, make sure you choose certified gluten-free oats, as most oats can become cross-contaminated with wheat due to shared machinery.
- Add parchment paper to the bottom of your cake pans to help remove the cakes from the pans cleanly.
- Whenever a recipe calls for lemon zest, it’s a great opportunity to prioritize organic lemons since the outside of the lemon is going right into your recipe.
- Add a pinch of ground turmeric to the icing to give it a nice, yellow, lemony color.
- Always opt for full-fat sour cream. Not only does it have a better texture and flavor, but dairy also contains healthy fats.
Recipe FAQs
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Since the frosting contains cream cheese, I do not recommend storing at room temperature.
No. Lemon juice is the juice from a lemon, whereas lemon extract is made from alcohol or vegetable glycerin and lemon rinds. Lemon extract is a concentrated flavor and should only be used in small amounts.
Yes! For a double-layer cake, double the cake batter and double the icing recipe.
Some gluten free flours may be considered healthier than wheat flour, but this recipe still includes high-calorie ingredients and lots of sugar. It’s healthy in the sense that it’s made from whole food ingredients, but I suppose moderation is still best with sweets.
More Sweet Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Honey Lavender Ice Cream
- Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Coffee Cake
- Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
- Sourdough Beignets
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Gluten Free Lemon Cake With Lemon Buttercream Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs, room temp
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup sour cream, full fat
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 227 grams (room temp)
- 3/4 cup sugar, Increase sugar to 1 cup if you prefer a sweeter cake
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, organic lemons
Lemon Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon Lemon zest optional
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9-inch round pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- While the butter and sugar mix, use a blender or food processor to pulse the oats into oat flour (if necessary).
- Thoroughly combine all dry ingredients (coconut and oat flours, salt, and baking soda). Sift the flour, if needed.
- Add the eggs to the fluffy butter and sugar mixture, beating well to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the lemon juice, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest and combine on medium.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly, mixing until well combined.
- Pour into the prepared cake pans and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean and the middle is set. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add room-temperature butter and whip on medium speed until pale in color and airy.
- With the mixer turned off, add the powdered sugar and begin mixing on low to incorporate. Once combined, add cream, lemon juice, and salt and increase to medium-high speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go, and let it mix until fluffy. Spread onto the cooled cake.
Notes
- If you have celiac disease, make sure you choose certified gluten-free oats, as most oats can become cross-contaminated with wheat due to shared machinery.
- Add parchment paper to the bottom of your cake pans to help remove the cakes from the pans cleanly.
- Whenever a recipe calls for lemon zest, it’s a great opportunity to prioritize organic lemons since the outside of the lemon is going right into your recipe.
- Add a pinch of ground turmeric to the icing to give it a nice, yellow, lemony color.
- Always opt for full-fat sour cream. Not only does it have a better texture and flavor, but dairy also contains healthy fats.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Actually, the oats are cross contaminated with wheat at the crop level when farmers rotate their crops. I was diagnosed with celiac disease 20 years ago. The gluten free oats I use are Bob’s Red Mill. You can find them at Walmart and HyVee.
Does this recipe make enough for two 9″ cake pans? At the beginning it says to prepare a cake pan but later it says pour into cake pans so I’m just trying to figure out if I should double the recipe or not. Thanks 🙂
Yes, two 9″ cake pans!