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A beautifully classic Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake made with sorghum flour and no xanthan gum. Ultra moist and lemony loaf cake encrusted with an icy lemon drizzle which is incredibly quick and easy to make.
A gorgeous Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake is a classic bake which you need up your sleeve for an everyday baking triumph. It’s hard to find anyone who will refuse a damp citrusy slice. It’s so quick and easy to make, freezeable if needed, and an utter charmer of a bake.
The beauty of this cake is that it uses only sorghum flour, a naturally gluten-free flour which gives a delicious taste and texture to our lemon drizzle. Although we do need to strengthen the structure of the bake with some ground almonds which contribute to the lovely flavour and moist texture of this irresistible loaf cake.
You will absolutely fall in love and will be making this Sorghum Flour Lemon Drizzle Cake time and time again.
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ultra lemony flavour.
- Beautifully moist texture.
- Easy. This is a classic easy bake which packs in maximum flavour for minimal effort.
- Quick to make. Just 10-15 minutes to make the sponge, 60 minutes in the oven, 2 minutes for the drizzle.
- This Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake only uses 1 gluten-free flour.
- No xanthan gum. This cake doesn’t need it. The crumb is already perfectly tender and the bake holds together very well thanks to the extra egg and the ground almonds. READ MORE >>> Why I never bake with xanthan gum
Watch to see how to make it
What is sorghum flour?
Sorghum flour is a naturally gluten-free wholegrain flour. It is ground from the wholegrain kernel of sorghum which is an ancient cereal grain common to Africa and Australasia.
Its earthy sweet vanilla flavour is a beautiful counterpoint to this very lemony cake and it adds a gorgeous soft texture to this classic gluten-free lemon drizzle loaf cake.
You can buy sorghum flour from most specialist organic health food shops but failing that it is available through Amazon.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide to Sorghum Flour
Ingredients needed
- Lemons. Choose medium to large lemons. Preferably unwaxed.
- Caster sugar. A fine white baking sugar but you can substitute for granulated sugar.
- Butter. Choose unsalted butter so you can control the salt content.
- Eggs. This recipe uses 5 medium eggs, about 60g each. If you can’t get hold of medium eggs then weigh the eggs to achieve the right amount.
- Sorghum flour. A wholegrain gluten-free flour.
- Ground almonds. It adds structure and moistness to the cake thanks to the nuts high protein content.
- Salt. Choose sea salt to bring out the flavours of the cake. Kosher salt is a good soft sugar to use but do avoid table salt.
- Baking powder. For rise and a tender crumb
- Granulated sugar. These thick white sugar crystals make the best drizzle topping but you can use caster sugar.
Step-by-step instructions
For full recipe instructions for this Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
The Cake
- Beat sugar, butter and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
- Whisk the sorghum flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt then add into the rest of the cake mixture and mix well.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes.
The Drizzle
- Gradually stir lemon juice into sugar to make a thick drizzle that is just pourable but not runny.
- Spoon over the cake still in the tin.
- Cool the cake for 1 hour in the tin before removing the cake from the tin to finish cooling on the wire rack.
Pro tips
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before you being so they mix together well, even the eggs.
- Beat the butter and sugar for at least 5-6 minutes. The mixture should be really light and creamy.
- Don’t worry if your mixture curdles when you add the eggs, there is a lot of eggs in this cake and it is inevitable. It won’t affect the finished bake though as the mixture will come back together when you add the flour.
- You want the drizzle mixture to be a very heavy sludge. So add the lemon juice gradually until it reaches the desired texture as that will create the beautiful frosted appearance.
- To avoid spoiling the look of the sugar crust the best way of removing the cake from the tin is to turn it out onto your hand before setting it down onto the wire rack.
- Wait until it has completely cooled before cutting.
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How to store
This cake will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
How to freeze
Allow the lemon drizzle cake to cool to room temperature then wrap well in both plastic wrap and aluminium foil. The cake will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
More gluten-free cake recipes you’ll love!
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Basil Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Strawberry Honey Cake with Honey Buttercream
- Gluten-Free Lime & Coconut Loaf Cake
- Rice Flour Madeira Cake
- Lemon Curd Cake
- Gluten-Free Fruit Cake
- Gluten-Free Ginger and Lemon Cake
I urge you to give this Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake with Sorghum Flour a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake with Sorghum Flour
Ingredients
- 2 lemons
- 175 g caster sugar
- 225 g unsalted butter - room temperature
- 5 eggs - medium
- 140 g sorghum flour
- 100 g ground almonds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 175 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted oven / gas mark 4 and line and grease a 9 inch x 5 inch loaf tin.
- Place the sugar, butter and zest from the lemons (save the juice for the drizzle) in a large mixing bowl and beat on a high speed for 5-6 minutes until very light and creamy. Scrape the sides down every so often.
- Add the eggs in one at a time and beat well.
- Whisk together the sorghum flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt then beat it into the rest of the cake mixture.
- Pour the cake mixture into the tin and smooth down the surface.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack.
- Juice the lemons then gradually stir the juice into the sugar in a bowl to make a thick sludgy mixture. You may not need all the lemon juice depending on how big the lemons are. You want the sugar to be just pourable but not runny.
- Spoon the drizzle over the cake still in the tin so that the cake is completely covered in sugar.
- Cool the cake for 1 hour in the tin so that the sugar has formed a solid crust then remove the cake from the tin to finish cooling on the wire rack.
Video
Notes
Pro tips
- Tip #1 Beat the butter and sugar for at least 5-6 minutes. The mixture should be really creamy.
- Tip #2 You want the drizzle mixture to be a very heavy sludge. So add the lemon juice gradually until it reaches the desired texture as that will create the beautiful frosted appearance.
- Tip #3 To avoid spoiling the look of the sugar crust the best way of removing the cake from the tin is to turn it out onto your hand before setting it down onto the wire rack.
took this to a potluck and everyone raved! It's delicious AND easy! And the combination of flours is perfect - not stodgy like some gluten-free recipes. Really an excellent recipe - thank you!
Bobbie
Hi Bobbie - I'm so happy you hear you enjoyed the recipe!! Thank you for giving your feedback!
Perfect! I love it! I used Meyer lemons, and I used 4 because they were tiny. I also used 5 extra large U.S. eggs, and it was all delicious! I am on a fodmap diet right now to figure out my stomach issues, and I could eat everything that is in the cake. I was amazed that only sorghum flour and almond flour, with lots of butter and eggs, could make something so good! Thank you so much!
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe - thank you Alene!
I'm still eating it, 3 days later! I adore it. It's fine on the kitchen counter, covered. If you like lemons, definitely make this! You won't be sorry.