This from scratch, gluten-free bundt cake is lemony and super moist. The easy recipe gets to the oven in less than 15 minutes and makes a beautiful cake for any celebration. Drizzle on a 3 minute lemon glaze for extra lemony flavor. Dairy-free options are included in the recipe.
Be sure to check out more of my gluten-free cakes including my super moist gluten-free vanilla bundt cake and gluten-free lemon drizzle cake.
Ingredients
Gluten-free flour blend – My preferred flour blend for baking is King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour. It works well in almost all of my recipes and is the most affordable of the ones I’ve tested. Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour is a good option but I don’t test with it often because it contains milk powder (I am mostly dairy-free) and it is usually double the price of King Arthur.
My rice-free gluten-free flour blend will work in this recipe also. It’s a simple, 5-ingredient DIY flour blend that works in cakes, cupcakes, quick breads, cookies and muffins.
Oil – Oil is the best way to make a gluten-free cake moist because it holds up better over several days. While I like the flavor of butter, it has a higher water content. Water evaporates which can leave a cake dry. Oil also makes cakes fluffier and airier than butter.
Milk – Milk or a dairy-free milk substitute is okay for this cake. Any dairy-free milk sub like coconut, soy, almond or oat milk can be used.
Sour cream gives this cake a wonderful rich flavor and texture, much like a pound cake, with out having to add butter. Dairy-free sour cream options are okay too. I have tested with Follow Your Heart Dairy-Free Sour Cream with good results.
A combination of lemon zest and lemon extract/flavor is the best way to make a cake taste lemony. I’ve tested cakes with lemon juice and found that I needed to add way too much to get the lemon flavor I wanted. The acid also had a negative effect on the texture of the cake.
If you need a quick tutorial on zesting a lemon, see my post How to Zest a Lemon.
Use either lemon extract or lemon flavor. Simply Organic Lemon Flavor is my preferred over lemon extract. It’s alcohol-free and sugar-free and gives real lemon flavor to baked goods.
Vanilla extract – Even though this is a lemon cake, I add vanilla. Vanilla extract is an excellent flavor enhancer and is wonderful with lemon.
The rest of the ingredients are the basics in baking: eggs, baking powder and salt.
Bundt Cake Toppings
- My favorite topping for a bundt cake is a simple lemon glaze. This glaze has just 3 ingredients and mixes up in 3 minutes. The recipe is in the recipe card below.
- For a Nothing Bundt Cakes style cake, use a vanilla buttercream frosting and pipe stripes of icing around the cake.
- White chocolate is one of my favorite lemon pairings. To make a white chocolate ganache, gently melt 5 ounces of white chocolate with 3 tablespoons heavy cream. Stir constantly until smooth. Cool 5 minutes, then drizzle over the cake,
- Or the simplest topping for a lemon bundt cake is a pretty dusting of powdered sugar. Use a fine mesh strainer to sprinkle it on evenly.
- Along with any of the toppings above, a garnish of lemon zest makes this cake a showstopper. The citrus zester tool shown below will create long strands of zest as shown in the photos on this page.
Super Moist Gluten-Free Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
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Ingredients
GF Lemon Bundt Cake
- 1 c milk or dairy-free milk substitute
- 3 Tbsp sour cream (vegan or lactose-free options ok)
- 2 lemons
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1ΒΌ c oil – avocado, sunflower, canola or other neutral flavored vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp lemon extract or lemon flavor
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, powder or bean paste
- Β½ tsp salt
- 2ΒΌ c sugar
- 3 c gluten-free flour blend rice-free, gluten-free option
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
Simple Lemon Glaze
- 1ΒΌ c powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp corn syrup (optional)
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350Β°F.
- This recipe can be mixed by hand with a wire whisk or with an electric mixer.
- In a glass measuring cup or glass bowl, heat the milk and sour cream for 15-20 seconds to warm slightly.
- Zest the 2 lemons (with a microplane is best) directly into the milk mixture and stir. See my post How to Zest a Lemon for a quick tutorial.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, milk mixture, oil, lemon extract/flavor, vanilla, salt and sugar.
- Beat thoroughly until smooth.
- Add about half of the flour and stir until most of it is incorporated. Add the remaining flour and baking powder and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Prepare a 12 cup bundt pan by greasing and flouring. Be sure that every inch of the surface, including the center cone is completely greased and floured.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Use a thin butter knife or narrow spatula to loosen the cake from the center cone and sides of the pan. One of the tools pictured below is ideal. I use these mini spatulas for many tasks.
- Invert the pan onto a wire rack. Use a butter knife to tap the top and sides of the pan. This will help loosen the cake from the pan. Lift the pan off.
- Cool the cake on the wire rack before topping with glaze. See above for more bundt cake toppings.
Make the Glaze
- NOTE: The corn syrup in this glaze is optional. It helps the icing to set better and makes it more shiny.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir the powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir thoroughly until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the corn syrup.
- The glaze should be thick but pourable, so that it slowly drips down the cake. If it is too thick, stir in more lemon juice just 1 teaspoon at a time. A tiny bit can make a big difference.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cake.
- For lemon zest garnish, use this citrus zester tool for long strands of lemon zest. Let the glaze set before serving.
- The cake will stay fresh for at least 3 days at room temperature if sealed in a box, a cake carrier or under a cake dome.
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