Gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe – my BEST EVER version! And you’ll only need 7 simple ingredients to make it. This one is also low FODMAP and super easy to make dairy free too.

Gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe, anyone? This one is simple and easy to make – plus you can finish it two ways, the ‘classic way’, or with a lovely lemon glace icing on top. The choice is yours!

So, first of all, what are the two ways you can finish my gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe? Here’s a little explanation, but the choice is ultimately yours.

The ‘classic’ way. This is how this recipe has been for YEARS and how I’ve always enjoyed a lemon drizzle my whole life – hence the classic name! It’s the exact same cake BUT instead of making the drizzle with caster sugar, you make it with demerara sugar. This gives the top a lovely crystalised finish with a nice crunch from the sugar. See the photo below for how it looks ??
The lemon glace icing way. This is exactly how I make my lemon drizzle cake today, with a lovely, sweet and sharp icing on top – just like in the photo above. It adds a totally different finish to the cake and is well worth maybe 5 more minutes of measuring and mixing! You’ll also need a couple of extra lemons and some icing sugar, but of course, you then don’t need demerara sugar.

But as I said, the choice is yours! The ‘classic’ way is a little quicker and easier, with less washing up. But the lemon icing adds an extra element of wow-factor AND lovely zingy, sweet finish.

If you can’t decide, just flip a coin – or better yet, make both in time and see what you prefer! Don’t make me choose between them!

But whatever way you choose to make this, you’ll still only need 7 ingredients to pull this off. And yes, one of those ingredients are lemons!

For such an easy, simple recipe the results have always wow-ed and guess what? Nobody has EVER realised that this has been gluten free. And even when I make this dairy free, nobody is any wiser.

So what’s the secret to this recipe? Well, it’s not a secret now because I’m telling you: it’s ground almonds. And before I go any further, no there isn’t any almond taste in it whatsoever!

The ground almonds ensure this cake is super moist (sorry if you hate that word) and gives it a lovely, soft texture. That’s what makes my gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe extra special.

And of course, the ultimate finishing touch here is the drizzle, which you pour on whilst the cake is still hot after poking holes in it. It all seeps into the sponge, making it suuuper lemon-y and so lovely and sweet, to balance out all those sour lemons.

If you’re doing things the classic way with demerara sugar, you can literally just let it cool and eat it like that! So my gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe couldn’t be any more simple or quick to whip up.

So I thought I’d kick things off with a little frequently asked questions section – if you just want the recipe, then keep scrolling!

But I’ve thrown in some tips here that will be really helpful if this is your first time baking this, or you want to adapt it. So here they are!

Gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe: Frequently asked questions

Can I make this recipe gluten free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?

It is gluten free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make that that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten free products.

Can I make your gluten lemon drizzle cake dairy free?

Of course you can! All you need to use is hard margarine instead of butter – I use a block of Stork that’s been allowed to soften at room temp. OR you can use a dairy free margarine spread like this.

Is your gluten free lemon drizzle cake nut free?

This recipe contains ground almonds which isn’t suitable for those with a tree nut allergy. If you need to, you can replace the ground almonds with the same measurement of gluten free self-raising flour.

Can I make this recipe vegan?

If you follow the steps above to make this recipe dairy free then all you’ve got left to contend with are the eggs.

Here’s a few ideas you can use as egg replacements, so each of these = 1 egg.

3 tablespoons of aquafaba – water from a can of chickpeas. Keep the chickpeas for a future dinner!
Egg replacement powder – I’d recommend using Orgran as it’s gluten free.
1 tablespoon of chia/flax seeds mixed with 2 tablespoons of water and left for 10 minutes in the fridge.
3 tablespoons of applesauce.
1 small, mashed ripe banana

I haven’t personally tried these myself, but I always find that the egg replacement powder works best in baking.

Is this recipe low FODMAP?

A slice of my gluten free lemon drizzle cake is low FODMAP and suitable for the elimination phase of the diet. The low FODMAP portion size for almonds is 12g according to Monash University and one slice of this cake will contain 7.5g of almonds.

Can I make your gluten free lemon drizzle cake in a food processor or standing mixer?

Of course you can, but you definitely don’t need to. I don’t use a standing mixer or food processor to make the cake mixture personally, I use an electric whisk. Here’s a link to the electric whisk I use.

You can of course, bake this without any assistance from any appliance – just a good ol’ fashioned wooden spoon or spatula will do. Just make sure you give it a lot of welly, otherwise your mixture won’t be consistent and might not bake properly.

Do I need any special equipment to bake your gluten free lemon drizzle cake?

Certainly not! You will need a good quality 2lb loaf tin though, so here’s a link to the one I use.

Do I need weighing scales to bake your gluten free lemon drizzle cake?

In short… yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any of my recipes without them. One of the worst things you can do in any baking recipe is alter the quantities by mistake or on purpose.

(unless you know what you’re doing of course)

Why? Well, you’re sort of just gambling with the recipe and praying that it turns out ok. And I’ve generally already done the hard work there for you!

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities so I wouldn’t mess around with them unless you really know your stuff.

Can I bake your gluten free lemon drizzle cake with less sugar?

I can definitely understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but this is one of the recipes where I wouldn’t advise it at all!

Of course, the sugar isn’t just for sweetness. It’s integral to the structure of the cake once baked and is sooo important. Plus, lemons are super sour and sugar is essential to balance that out.

Can I make this recipe without xanthan gum?

This recipe actually has no xanthan gum! Usually I’d always recommend adding a little, but as there’s xanthan gum in gluten free self-raising flour, I find that you don’t really need to with this one.

Can I make this recipe using other gluten free flours like buckwheat flour or coconut flour?

There’s a big difference between ‘gluten free plain/self-raising flour’ and a *singular* type gluten free flour. When I say ‘gluten free plain or self-raising flour’ in a recipe, I mean a BLEND of gluten free flours, not just one, singular flour.

Most gluten free flour you buy in the supermarket typically contains a blend of rice flour, potato flour, maize flour, tapioca flour AND buckwheat flour. That’s a lot of different flours!

In gluten free self-raising flour, there’s usually even a little baking powder and xanthan gum in it too which always helps.

So to replace it with just one specific type of flour… that’s not going to cut it at all. Definitely go for a gluten free flour blend.

How long can I keep your gluten free lemon drizzle cake for?

I usually find that my lemon drizzle lasts for around 3-5 days in an airtight container. It’s usually eaten by that point, but I wouldn’t recommend keeping it for longer than that.

If it’s any longer than that then I’d highly recommend reading the next question…

Can I freeze your gluten free lemon drizzle cake?

Of course! I’ve frozen it for up to a month and after allowing it to fully thaw, you’d never know it was frozen.

Just make sure that you slice it up before freezing though – possibly even separating them out into separate containers. That way, you don’t need to defrost the entire cake and waste any.

Plus, it’ll defrost much quicker that way! Simply leave a slice out at room temperature for 4-5 hours to defrost.

How can I tell when my gluten free lemon drizzle cake is done?

Grab a skewer and give it a poke in the centre. If it comes out clean, then it’s done!

But if the skewer comes out moist and cake-like, it’s best to pop it back in for a bit longer.

Can I print your gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe?

Yes! Just hit the print button located on the recipe below ?? (otherwise you might end up printing this entire post which would probably make your printer go into early retirement)

Ok, so here’s my gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe…