This gluten free lemon cake, bursting with lemon flavor, has the smooth and fluffy lemon cream topping that tastes like everyone's favorite Olive Garden cake!
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What makes this gluten free lemon cake recipe special?
Incredibly tender and moist white cake with tons of lemon flavor, this cake is filled and topped with light and bright lemon cream. There's also a lemony crumb topping, just like the Olive Garden cake.
The crumb topping is another step, and you should feel free to skip that portion of the recipe. I mostly included it if you really miss Olive Garden and want the full experience.
There are more than a couple ingredients to this cake, particularly with the topping. That's because we've made it from scratch, unlike most other copycat lemon cream cake recipes I've seen.
How to make this gluten free lemon cake
Since this is a layer cake, we will make the individual round lemon cakes, then the lemon frosting, and then assemble the cake in layers. If you'd like, you can also make the lemon crumb topping, which is a lightly-colored, more tender and lemon-flavored version of a brown sugar crumble topping you might find on a berry crumble or a coffee cake.
First, make the round lemon cakes
The lemon cakes are made in the traditional way that a vanilla cake is made, by creaming together the butter and sugar first, to incorporate air that will create an open, tender crumb in the oven. Then, add the eggs and vanilla, and beat to combine.
Next, whisk the dry ingredients (gluten free flour blend (including xanthan gum), milk powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and plenty of lemon zest). Whisk together the milk and lemon juice separately. Then add both the dry ingredients and the milk mixture to the butter, sugar, and eggs mixture, alternating between the two and beating just to combine.
The cake batter will be fluffy, but pretty thick. Divide the batter between the two round cake pans that you've greased well, and smooth the tops. Bake at 350°F and then let the cakes cool.
Then, make the (optional) crumb topping
The crumb topping is just made of softened butter, vanilla, and fresh lemon juice mixed with confectioners' sugar and flour into a soft dough. You'll roll out the dough quickly and roughly (perfection is not necessary!), and then bake it until it's just baked through.
Let the baked dough cool for about 10 minutes, and then crumble it in your hands. This part of the cake is meant to match the lemon cake crumble that Olive Garden adds to its lemon cake. It's really very optional, but adds some really nice texture.
Make the lemon cream filling/frosting
This is essentially a cream cheese frosting, not a classic buttercream frosting, but it's even softer than a cream cheese frosting because it's made with whipped cream as a base. Beat softened cream cheese and butter together with confectioners' sugar like a cream cheese frosting, but then fold in fresh whipped heavy cream. Add lemon juice and lemon zest for that bright tangy lemon flavor.
Assemble the cake
Like any other layer cake, we begin by turning one of the cooled round lemon cakes on a cake plate or other serving platter and adding about half of the prepared lemon cream filling on top. Spread the filling all the way to the edges, and then top with the other cake, inverted (so the top of the layer cake is flat).
Frost all around the sides and top with the remaining filling, and then add the crumbled topping to the top and sides of the cake. Press in the crumbles so they adhere. Slice and serve!
How to make this cake ahead of time
I usually make the undecorated round lemon cakes ahead of time. Just let them cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze, and then defrost at room temperature before serving. Don't refrigerate the cakes, though, as the refrigerator tends to be drying.
If you do make the crumb topping, it can be made ahead, too. Just store it covered at room temperature for a day, or wrapped very tightly and frozen for weeks, and allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
The cream filling is quite a bit softer than a traditional buttercream frosting, so I really don't like to fill and frost the cake until the day I plan to serve it. Cream cheese frosting is softer than all butter frosting, and folding in whipped cream softens it further.
Assemble the cake soon before you serve it, and if you store it in the refrigerator be sure to allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cakes made with butter taste dry when chilled.
Frosting options for this gluten free lemon cake
The cake has quite a bit of lemon flavor, so you don't have to serve it with the lemon cream just to ensure that it tastes, well, like lemon cake. There are other options for frosting or even icing that taste great with this cake.
Swiss meringue buttercream
You can't ever go wrong with a Swiss meringue buttercream. The quick, foolproof recipe I use and recommend is by SugarHero. She doesn't cook the sugar, which makes everything a snap! You can also add some lemon zest to it, or lemon extract.
How to make a simple lemon glaze
You can always make a simple glaze to pour over each individual slice, or the whole cake. Place 1 cup (115 g) confectioners’ sugar in a medium-size bowl and add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (or water).
Mix until you have a very smooth, thick paste. Add more lemon juice until you have a very thickly pourable glaze.
Add the liquid slowly, because it’s much easier to thin it than to thicken if once you’ve added too much liquid. Pour or spoon the glaze over the cooled cake or each slice before serving.
How to make a classic vanilla buttercream
For a classic vanilla buttercream, for every 8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, you'll need 1 to 1 1/2 cups (115 to 175 g) confectioners’ sugar, 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and milk by the teaspoonful, at room temperature. That will make about 1 1/4 cups of buttercream. For a full cake, you'll need 4 to 5 cups of frosting total.
For full details on how to make that buttercream, please click over to our recipe for gluten free Funfetti cupcakes with frosting. Just leave out the edible rainbow confetti (or don't)!
Gluten free lemon cake ingredients and substitution suggestions
How to make a gluten free dairy free lemon cake
There is dairy in this recipe in a few forms: milk and milk powder in the cake, butter in the cake recipes and in the cream filling/frosting, and cream cheese and heavy whipping cream in the filling. I have suggestions for how to replace all of it with non-dairy alternatives—except for the frosting.
For the butter in all cases, I highly recommend a vegan butter alternative. Melt and Miyoko's Kitchen brands are my favorites.
For the milk powder, you can try using coconut milk powder. It does tend to be a bit drying, so add more milk by the teaspoonful until the consistency of your cake batter is right.
For the milk, any nondairy milk will work. Even water works here, but milk with some fat makes for a richer, more tender result.
Can you make a gluten free egg free lemon cake?
This recipe calls for 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites so that it's only made yellow by the lemon. Otherwise, it tends to be a lot darker yellow. If you'd prefer, you can use 2 whole eggs + 1 egg white instead.
If you can't have eggs, I'm afraid I don't recommend trying to make this cake with an egg replacer. It simply has a lot of eggs, and I don't think you could replace them successfully.
What gluten free flour blend works best in this recipe for gluten free lemon cake?
This recipe works especially well with my Better Than Cup4Cup blend, which is a less starchy variation of Cup4Cup gluten free flour blend. If you don't want to make that blend, you can use Better Batter or Cup4Cup itself.
If you use Better Batter, use the following flours:
- 2 cups (280 g) Better Batter or mock Better Batter
- 1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (54 g) milk powder
If you use Cup4Cup, use Cup4Cup in place of all flours. Cup4Cup is quite starchy, and uses plenty of milk powder already. Here's the full amount of Cup4Cup to use in place of the flour blend, xanthan gum, and milk powder in this recipe:
- 2 5/8 cup (368 g) Cup4Cup or mock Cup4Cup
FAQs
When cakes rise in the oven and then fall as they cool, they're not baked all the way through. Your oven may be running too hot, which browned the outside of the cake too quickly, long before the center had a chance to bake enough to hold its shape as the steam escaped. Next time, use a standalone oven thermometer since most ovens run hot, and bake for longer.
I haven't tried making these as cupcakes, but it might work. You can usually make cupcakes into cake and cake into cupcakes, but you won't always get the best version of either.
Of course! Just follow the instructions as written, but you'll need to reduce the baking time because baking in a larger pan means that there is more of the batter exposed to the heat of the oven at all times. Start to check the cakes at about 22 minutes.
Sure! You can use lime zest in place of lemon zest, and lime juice in place of lemon juice. Same goes for orange.
For a classic vanilla buttercream, if you want to fill and frost the whole cake, you'll need 24 tablespoons (336 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, 3 to 4 1/2 cups (345 to 518 g) confectioners’ sugar, scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and milk by the teaspoonful, at room temperature.
Beat the butter until it's pale, light and fluffy, then add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time, beating until it's absorbed, and adding at least 3 cups total. Keep beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, and only drizzle in milk as needed to smooth out the frosting and burst any large air bubbles.
Gluten Free Lemon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the cakes
- 2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend please click thru for full info on appropriate blends; See Recipe Notes
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- 9 tablespoons (54 g) milk powder See Recipe Notes
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon at least 1 tablespoon
- 12 tablespoons (168 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) large egg at room temperature, beaten
- 3 (75 g) egg whites at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (1 ½ fluid ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice at room temperature
For the crumb topping
- ½ cup (70 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend I used Better Batter; any of my recommended blends will work
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
- ½ cup (58 g) confectioners’ sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) freshly squeezed lemon juice
For the lemon cream filling
- 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream chilled
- 1 8- ounce package cream cheese at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups (460 g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon at least 1 tablespoon
For assembling
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice for brushing
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round baking pans and set them aside.
First, make the cakes.
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, nonfat dry milk, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest, and whisk to combine well. Break up any lumps in the lemon zest.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, place the butter and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla, beating on medium-high speed until well-combined after each addition.
- Add the dry ingredients and the milk and lemon juice, alternating between the dry ingredients and milk or lemon juice, and beginning and ending with the flour, beating on medium speed to combine after each addition. The batter will be fluffy but rather thick.
- Divide the cake batter evenly among the two prepared cake pans and shake into an even layer in each.
- Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake, rotating once, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (about 25 minutes).
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.
Make the (optional) crumb topping.
- Place the flour and confectioners’ sugar in a medium-size bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the butter, vanilla and lemon juice and mix to combine. The dough will be thick.
- Place the dough between two small sheets of unbleached parchment paper and roll out into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
- Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and transfer the dough still on the bottom sheet of parchment to a small rimmed baking sheet.
- Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 7 minutes, or until just beginning to brown on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before breaking and crumbling into small pieces. Set aside.
Make the lemon cream filling.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, place the heavy whipping cream and beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (about 5 minutes).
- Scrape the whipped cream into a separate bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill.
- In the same mixer bowl, place the cream cheese and butter and beat (with the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add the salt and confectioners’ sugar, and beat on low speed until the sugar is absorbed into the cream cheese-butter mixture.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, turn the mixer up to high speed and continue to beat until the frosting is light and fluffy (about 3 more minutes).
- Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and fold it into the cream cheese frosting.
Assemble the cake.
- Place one of the cooled 8-inch cakes, still upside down, in the center of a serving platter.
- Brush the exposed side of the cake with lemon juice and place about one-half of the lemon cream filling on top.
- Spread into an even layer all the way up to the edge of the cake, and top with the other cooled 8-inch cake, still upside down.
- Brush the exposed side of the top cake with lemon juice and cover the whole cake, top and sides, with a very thin layer of the filling.
- Cover with the remaining filling on the top and as much of the sides as you like.
- Sprinkle the top and sides of the cake with the optional crumb topping, pressing the crumbs gently into the frosting/filling to adhere.
- Chill the cake for 10 minutes to make slicing and serving easier.
Notes
This recipe works best with my Better Than Cup4Cup blend. If you use Better Batter instead, use the following flours:
- 2 cups (280 g) Better Batter or mock Better Batter
- 1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (54 g) milk powder
- 2 5/8 cup (368 g) Cup4Cup or mock Cup4Cup
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Shara says
Sooo I was very excited about this lemon cake. But sadly it didn’t work for me for some reason. I used the Better Than Cup 4 Cup blend, made sure everything was at room temperature, used a scale to measure the ingredients… looked and smelled beautiful in the oven. Toothpick trick told me it was done. Took it out and watched it fall together with my expectations. Now it’s flat and gummy.
Nicole Hunn says
Shara, when a cake rises and then falls, it’s usually the result of a too-hot oven that bakes the outside of the cake very quickly, but hasn’t baked the inside to provide structure as the cake cools. This is why I always recommend a standalone oven thermometer. In addition, of course if you made any substitutions or didn’t follow the recipe instructions in any way (creaming the butter and sugar, etc.), that would also account for your difficulties.
Jeff says
In the crumb, you say two teaspoons = one fluid ounce of lemon juice.
In the frosting, you say two tablespoons = one fluid ounce.
In the cake, three tablespoons = one and a half fl.oz.
I assume that it is the crumb that is in error?
I don’t want to over-lemon one or under-lemon the other – which should I trust, the floz or the spoon counts?
Nicole Hunn says
Yes, Jeff. The ingredient amount in the crumb was a typo. It now reads: 2 tablespoons. So sorry for the mistake.
Leslie Leininger says
This sounds wonderful. I want to make this for a church luncheon. Can I do this as a sheet cake?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m honestly not sure, Leslie. I do have a vanilla cake recipe that’s specifically designed to be made as a sheet cake (you can find it using the search function). The issue with making a sheet cake is that a larger pan takes longer to cook in the center, and may burn on the edges before the center is fully cooked. So I can’t promise it would work seamlessly, or how much of the recipe to use to fill the pan without overfilling it. I’d rather you make each layer in a square pan, rather than round, and then cut squares from each of those. Hope that helps!
Jane says
Want to bake this but your notes on GF flour are a little confusing as here in Australia we don’t have the Better Batter or mock Better Batter or Cup4cup make. Most of the GF flour here has xanthan gum in them . So not sure how to make this recipe
Nicole Hunn says
Please click through to the all purpose gluten free flour blend page for full information, Jane. It’s linked in every recipe that calls for an all purpose gluten free flour.
Kathy Kerr says
I followed the recipe to a “T”. Even weighed the flour blend which I made from your blend. It raised beautifully and reached 200 + degrees. I set it on the counter to cool and it completely deflated. It has a very heavy texture. The taste is good, but I am disappointed in the heaviness and how it deflated to 1/2. Reread the recipe and don’t know what I did wrong…
Nicole Hunn says
Kathy, you mentioned using one of my recipes to blend your own flour. I’m not sure which blend, but there are different flour instructions for this recipe depending on what flour blend you are using as an all purpose. Please see those, in the post text and repeated in the recipe notes. In addition, when a cake rises in the oven and deflates when cool, it is often due to a too-hot oven that bakes the outside very quickly, but the inside hasn’t a chance to develop any structure. So it collapses. Most ovens run hot, which is why I always recommend using a standalone oven thermometer and replacing it as often as necessary. If you made any other substitutions of ingredients, like eliminating eggs especially, please look there. You also must blend the ingredients in the manner instructed, and they must be at room temperature where instructed or they simply won’t combine. Everyone believes the followed the recipe precisely. However, this recipe is extremely well-tested and works when made as written. Most times readers deviate from the recipe as written, they aren’t aware of it.
Laura says
I don’t quite understand what milk powder is?
Nicole Hunn says
Laura, it’s dehydrated milk. Just google it you’ll find nonfat dry milk, whole milk powder, and everything in between.
Margie S says
Looks delicious, any ideas on a milk powder substitute? Thank you!
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the “Ingredients and substitutions” section, Margie.
kim amond says
Darn it! I decided this morning I need to lose some weight. Then I wake up to lemon cake in my email which is one of my favorites! What’s a girl to do?!
Nicole Hunn says
Well, Kim, I’m glad you asked this rhetorical question, because I plan to answer it. You look beautiful, and you don’t need to lose anything! Whenever I find myself thinking thoughts like that, I ask myself if I would say the same to a beloved daughter (I have 2) or friend. You know what to do… xo Nicole
camille buckley says
So which is your favorite homemade blend Better than cup4cup or Mock better Batter?
Can sorghum be substituted in either blend? I love the flavor.
Nicole Hunn says
My favorite blend overall for all purpose gluten free flour applications is my Better Than Cup4Cup blend. But I know that not everyone will make that. No, you cannot use sorghum flour in my flour blend recipes.
Carol says
Thanks!
Lauren says
First, this is beautiful, and of course you knew I was craving lemon again. Second, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I thought I was doing fine until I thought I read: “So I *twerked* the recipe a bit…” 0.0 Nicole, you’re awesome and talented, and I like that you’re becoming famous and doing some cool marketing. But let me just be the first to say we love you as you are, and we really don’t need a recipe twerking video! Promise!
Samantha says
I LOVE lemon!! I can’t wait to try this…thanks for another great recipe! Also, your new book should arrive any day now!!! I can’t wait to get my hands on it :)
youngbaker2002 says
Hi Nicole! This looks absolutely gorgeous! It has been added to the ever growing list of things to make. our doughnut maker arrived this morning! we’re going to make the hostess powdered sugar ones first. thank you! -Mena
Nicole Hunn says
Love that little donut maker, Mena!!
Mare Masterson says
“Key Lime” pie, lemon cake…back to back even! Oh you are really making it hard for me to watch my carbs! I can only make 1 on Sunday. Which one will I choose?
Lucy says
Yum! The recipe looks delightful another one for the recipe book…we all love everything lemony. Thanks Nicole :)
Jennifer S. says
oh boy! I really love lemon stuff and that Olive Garden cake was super yummy. Thanks for another homerun – I can’t wait to make it!
Nicole Hunn says
This one is right up Jennifer Alley!!