Gluten Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

This gluten free lemon drizzle cake is one of my favorite things to bake. It’s soft, buttery, and packed with fresh lemon flavor in every single bite.

The cake itself is simple to make with basic ingredients you probably already have at home. No fancy techniques or hard to find items needed here.

What makes it extra special is the lemon drizzle that soaks into the warm cake right after baking. It adds this amazing sweet and tangy layer that keeps the cake moist for days.

Then there’s a simple lemon icing on top to finish it off. It looks beautiful and adds just the right amount of extra sweetness.

And yes, it’s 100% gluten free. Nobody will be able to tell the difference, trust me. It tastes just as good as any regular lemon drizzle cake out there.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Triple Lemon Flavor – This cake hits you with lemon in three layers: lemon zest and juice in the batter, a soaking lemon drizzle, and a tangy lemon icing on top. Every single bite is bursting with fresh, bright citrus flavor.

You Won’t Believe It’s Gluten Free – Thanks to the gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, this cake has the same soft, tender crumb as a traditional lemon drizzle cake. Nobody will be able to tell the difference, seriously.

The Drizzle Trick Keeps It Super Moist – Poking holes in the hot cake and pouring that lemon-sugar drizzle right over it means the syrup soaks deep into every layer. This is what keeps the cake incredibly moist for days instead of drying out like so many gluten free cakes tend to do.

Simple Everyday Ingredients – You don’t need anything fancy or hard to find here. Butter, eggs, sugar, lemons, milk, and gluten free flour are all pretty standard pantry and fridge staples.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 cups Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 3 large Eggs
• Zest of 2 Lemons
• 3 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Lemon Drizzle

• 1/3 cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar

For the Icing

• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

How to Make

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan, lining it with parchment paper. Whisk together gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt.

Step 2

Beat softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in lemon zest, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla extract.

Step 3

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 4

While the cake bakes, make the lemon drizzle by stirring lemon juice and granulated sugar together until the sugar dissolves. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top with a toothpick and pour the lemon drizzle slowly over the hot cake.

Step 5

Let the cake cool completely in the pan. Once cooled, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the icing and drizzle it over the top. Let the icing set before slicing.

Helpful Tips

Make Sure Your Butter Is Actually Soft

Your butter needs to be truly softened before you start creaming it with the sugar. That means it should dent easily when you press it with your finger, but it shouldn’t be melty or greasy looking.

The best way to do this is to leave it on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour before you start baking. If it’s too cold, you’ll get lumps in your batter. If it’s too warm or melted, the cake won’t rise properly and you’ll end up with a dense, flat loaf.

Don’t try to speed this up in the microwave unless you’re really careful. It’s way too easy to partially melt it, and once that happens there’s no going back.

Cream the Butter and Sugar Long Enough

When the recipe says to beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes, that full 3 minutes really matters. This step is what creates tiny air pockets in the batter that help the cake rise and stay soft.

You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture looks noticeably paler in color and has a smooth, whipped texture. If it still looks yellow and dense, keep going.

Use a hand mixer or stand mixer for this. Trying to do it by hand with a whisk or spoon won’t get you the same result, especially with gluten free baking where you need all the lift you can get.

Add the Eggs One at a Time

Don’t just crack all three eggs in at once. Adding them one at a time and beating well after each one helps the batter stay smooth and emulsified, which gives you a better texture in the finished cake.

If the batter looks a little curdled or split after adding an egg, don’t panic. Just keep mixing and it will come back together. This sometimes happens when the eggs are cold, so letting them sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes before you start helps a lot.

You Might Also Like

• Gluten Free Lemon & Cream Cheese Pound Cake
• Gluten Free Poppy Seed Lemon Loaf
• Gluten Free Gooey Lemon Bars
• Gluten Free Classic Vanilla Pound Cake

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use bottled lemon juice instead of fresh?

Fresh lemon juice is strongly recommended for this recipe because it gives the cake a bright, natural lemon flavor that bottled juice just can’t match. Bottled lemon juice often has a slightly bitter or artificial taste, and since lemon is the star of this cake, you’ll really notice the difference.

If fresh lemons aren’t available, bottled will technically work in a pinch, but the flavor won’t be nearly as vibrant. You’ll need roughly 4 to 5 medium lemons to get all the juice and zest this recipe calls for.