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This Lemon Caramel Cake is a gorgeously tangy moist and tender lemon cake with a secret weapon – lashings and lashings of intoxicating golden lemon caramel. An absolute crowd pleaser.
If you adore a great lemon cake and you are obsessed with salted caramel then this Lemon Caramel Cake is guaranteed to become your new favourite bake as it celebrates all these glorious flavours.
The Lemon Cake is delicious in its own right, bursting with sharp tangy flavour and a moist and tender crumb. Then a smothering of this rich luscious salty Lemon Caramel transcends it into utter cake heaven.
Why you’ll love this Lemon Caramel Cake recipe
- The lemon flavour is deep and rich using fresh lemon zest.
- For extra tang which really enhances the citrus notes we use yoghurt which also makes the sponge beautifully bouncy.
- Homemade Lemon Caramel is drizzled all over the cake which is sweet, salty and with a sharp tang for layers of flavour.
- We use alternative flours in this recipe which not only makes this cake gluten-free but gives an extra layer of caramel flavour – thank you sorghum flour!!.
- Hey, if you’re not gluten-free you can sub in plain/regular flour – no problem.
What flours do we need?
The alternative flours we choose make this a gluten-free lemon cake but if you can’t get hold of them then there is plenty of room for substitutions.
- Sweet Rice Flour – a delicate flavour which balances beautifully with the lemon. The flour gives the cake a great bouncy texture and helps bind the other flours together.
- Sorghum Flour – adds a subtle caramel note to the cake with its sweet earthy flavour.
- Tapioca Flour – we need this flour for lightening the load of the sweet rice flour which can get a little dense if used in abundance. Plus it binds well and gives the cake a lovely golden bake.
Flour substitutions
You can sub the sweet rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca flour for plain/regular flour if you prefer.
Sorghum Flour – you can swap for oat flour.
What other ingredients do we need?
- Double cream – to make our caramel sauce
- Unsalted butter, at room temperature
- Caster sugar
- Lemons, unwaxed
- Eggs, medium and always free-range
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Natural plain yoghurt
What cake tin is best to use for this Lemon Caramel Cake
Use a 10 cup / 2.4 litre bundt tin of your choosing. Bundt tins are great for caramel cakes as the caramel can drip through the beautiful rivulets of the design making for a real showstopper of a cake.
I use this Fleur de Lis Bundt Tin.
Bundt Tin Tip
The trick to ensuring that your cake can always be released quickly and cleanly from your bundt tin after baking is to use Cake Release Spray. Make sure to spray a light dusting from a distance so every crevice is covered but doesn’t gather in the corners.
If you can’t access cake release spray then lightly brush the insides of the tin with flavourless oil (like light olive oil or unrefined coconut oil). Make sure the tin is greased only very lightly.
How to make Lemon Caramel Cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
The steps are simple:
- Beat the butter and sugar with the lemon zest for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Whisk the flours with the baking powder and salt.
- Add the flours in 3 additions, alternatively with the yoghurt until everything is well combined.
- Pour the batter into the bundt tin, smoothing the surface.
- Bake for 60 minutes then remove from the oven, turn out of the tin and leave to cool completely.
Tips for making Lemon Caramel Cake
- Butter and Sugar. If you are using a food mixer set it to medium speed and beat for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Lemons. Use unwaxed lemons to achieve a pure lemon flavour without any bits of wax in the sponge.
- Eggs. Break the eggs into a separate bowl before adding them to your cake mixture. It helps to pick out any shell you’ve broken by accident. Also, you never know when you’re going to get a bad egg and you don’t want it ruining your cake.
- Flour & Yoghurt. You add these alternately as it ensures the cake mixture is really well mixed. Make sure you scrape down the sides well after each addition.
- Mixing. Even if you are using a food mixer always remember to manually turn the cake mixture after each addition so you can really make sure it is evenly mixed.
- Bundt in the oven. When you place your bundt tin in to bake make sure it rests evenly on the wire rack of your oven. Depending on the design of your tin it may take a bit of tweaking to make sure it is sitting level.
- Removing from the tin. If you have a good bundt tin and have used the cake release spray then your cake will require no loosening. Just place your cooking rack upside down on your bundt tin and use it to turn the tin upside down so it’s sitting on top of the rack. You should be able to slide the tin right up and off.
What about the Luscious Lemon Caramel?
Here are all the best tips and advice on how to make it >>> Homemade Lemon Caramel
Shop the Recipe
- Digital Scales
- Food Mixer
- Fleur de Lis Bundt Tin
- Silicone Spatula
- Cake Release Spray
- Cooling Racks
- Gluten-Free Sweet Rice Flour
- Gluten-Free Sorghum Flour
- Gluten-Free Tapioca Flour
Can you make Lemon Caramel Cake in advance?
Yes, the cake is at its best if eaten within 3 days. You can store the cake in an airtight container kept in a cool dark place (not the fridge)
Can you freeze Lemon Caramel Cake?
Yes, it is advised to freeze the Lemon Cake prior to adding the caramel drizzle as it’s easier to store. Wrap up well in cling film and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost thoroughly on a counter-top before unwrapping and covering in caramel.
If you love this cake then have a look at these!
- Whole Lemon Thyme Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Blueberry Basil Lemon Drizzle
- Gluten-Free Caramel Cake
- Banana Caramel Rum Cake
- Salted Caramel Chocolate Espresso Cake
I urge you to give this Lemon Caramel Cake 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.
Lemon Caramel Cake
Ingredients
- 225 g unsalted butter
- 340 g caster sugar
- 2 lemons - zest only
- 3 eggs - medium
- 165 g sweet rice flour
- 145 g sorghum flour
- 45 g tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 175 ml natural plain yoghurt
Lemon Caramel
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 lemon
- 250 g caster sugar
- 40 g butter
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180 °C /160°C fan / gas mark 4 and lightly grease a 10 cup / 2.4 litre bundt tin.
- Beat the butter and sugar with the lemon zest for about 4-5 minutes on the medium setting of a food mixer. Scrape down every so often until they are light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs in one at a time and mix in until thoroughly incorporated.
- Whisk the flours together in a separate bowl along with the baking powder and salt.
- Add the flours and yoghurt alternately into the rest of the cake batter. Start with the flour, then the yoghurt. The flour should be added in three additions, the yoghurt in two and mix well, scraping down the sides every so often.
- Pour the batter into the bundt tin, smoothing the surface.
- Bake for around 60 minutes or until an inserted cocktail stick comes out of the cake clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, leave to settle for five minutes then turn the tin upside down onto a cooling rack and remove.
- Leave the cake to cool completely on the cooling rack before pouring the caramel over.
Lemon Caramel
- Peel the zest off the lemon in long strips, making sure not to get too much pith.
- Pour the double cream into a medium sized saucepan and add the lemon peel.
- Bring up to a gentle heat and then remove from the heat just before it reaches a boil.
- Pour the cream and peel into a jug and leave to infuse at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Strain out the lemon peel once infused and weigh out 300ml of the cream to use in this recipe.
- Tip the caster sugar into a medium sized saucepan and heat on a gentle temperature as the sugar begins to melt.
- Avoid moving the sugar around too much but you can encourage an even melting by gently shaking the actual saucepan around occasionally if you need to. Keep a careful eye on the sugar and do not leave at all.
- As the sugar has melted it will turn a dark golden tan colour. Watch to make sure it doesn’t get too browned as this means it’s burning.
- As soon as the sugar has melted and has turned that dark golden tan colour then pour in the strained cream and the butter. It will rise dramatically up the saucepan so stand back at first for safety.
- Stir the cream and butter into the melted sugar and it will quickly form a thick silky caramel sauce.
- Stir for a minute or two once the caramel has formed then you can turn off the heat and add the salt.
- Pour the caramel into a jug and leave for 20 minutes for it to thicken to a pourable consistency. Stir briefly before using.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions:
• Non-Gluten-Free - If gluten-free isn’t a priority for you then you can swap the sweet rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca flour for 355g plain flour/regular flour.• Sorghum Flour – It can be swapped for oat flour
Baking Tips
- Bundt Tin. The best way to grease a bundt tin is to use Cake Release Spray. Make sure to spray a light dusting from a distance so every crevice is covered but doesn’t gather in the corners.
- Butter and Sugar. If you are using a food mixer set it to medium speed and beat
- for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
Lemons. Use unwaxed lemons to achieve a pure lemon flavour without any bits of wax in the sponge. - Eggs. Break the eggs into a separate bowl before adding them to your cake mixture. It helps to pick out any shell you’ve broken by accident. Also, you never know when you’re going to get a bad egg and you don’t want it ruining your cake.
- Flour & Yoghurt. You add these alternately as it ensures the cake mixture is really well mixed. Make sure you scrape down the sides well after each addition.
- Mixing. Even if you are using a food mixer always remember to manually turn the cake mixture after each addition so you can really make sure it is evenly mixed.
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