Gluten Free Lemon Cake (Olive Backyard Copycat)

This gluten free lemon cake, bursting with lemon taste, has the sleek and fluffy lemon cream topping that tastes like everybody’s favourite Olive Backyard cake!

What makes this cake particular?

Extremely tender and moist white cake with tons of lemon taste, this cake is crammed and topped with gentle and vibrant lemon cream frosting. There’s additionally an optionally available lemony crumb topping, identical to the Olive Backyard cake.

The crumb topping is one other step, and it’s best to be happy to skip that portion of the recipe. I largely included it in case you actually miss Olive Backyard and wish the complete expertise.

There are greater than a pair elements to this cake, significantly with the topping. That is as a result of we have made it from scratch, in contrast to most different copycat lemon cream cake recipes I’ve seen.

Find out how to make gluten free lemon cake

This recipe makes two spherical muffins, which we then assemble into layers with frosting. If you would like to make a single spherical or sq. cake, simply cut back the yield to “4 slices” and use just one pan.

Make the cake batter

• To make the gluten free cake, whisk the dry elements (gluten free flour mix (with xanthan gum), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and loads of lemon zest).
• Cream collectively the butter and sugar first, to include air that can create an open, tender crumb within the oven.
• Add the egg, egg whites, and vanilla, and beat to mix.
• Combine collectively the milk and three tablespoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
• To the blending bowl, add the dry elements in 3 batches and the milk combination in 2 batches, alternating between the moist elements and the dry elements. Beating simply to mix after every addition.

Bake, cool, then brush with lemon juice.

• The cake batter will probably be fluffy, however fairly thick.
• Divide the batter between the 2 spherical cake pans that you have greased effectively, and easy the tops.
• Bake at 350°F or till a toothpick comes out largely clear (and never moist).
• Let the muffins cool for a couple of minutes, then flip over onto a wire rack and take away pans.
• Brush the bottoms of muffins with 1 tablespoon lemon juice every whereas nonetheless barely heat.

For the (optionally available) crumb topping

If you would like, you can even make the lemon crumb topping, which is a lightly-colored, extra tender and lemon-flavored model of a brown sugar crumble topping you may discover on a gluten free berry crumble or a gluten free espresso cake.

The crumb topping is simply made from softened butter, vanilla, and contemporary lemon juice combined with confectioners’ sugar and flour right into a mushy dough. Rather than confectioners’ sugar, you can even use powdered sugar (which does not have added starch). You may roll out the dough shortly and roughly (perfection just isn’t essential!), after which bake it till it is simply baked via.

Let the baked dough cool for about 10 minutes, after which crumble it in your palms. This a part of the cake is supposed to match the lemon cake crumble that Olive Backyard provides to its lemon cake. It is actually very optionally available, however provides some very nice texture.

Make the lemon cream filling/frosting

That is primarily a cream cheese frosting, not a traditional buttercream frosting, nevertheless it’s even softer than a cream cheese frosting as a result of it is made with whipped cream as a base.

Beat softened cream cheese and butter along with confectioners’ sugar like a cream cheese frosting, however then fold in contemporary whipped heavy cream. Add lemon juice and lemon zest for that vibrant tangy lemon taste.

Assemble the cake

Like some other layer cake, we start by turning one of many cooled spherical lemon muffins on a cake plate or different serving platter and including about half of the ready lemon cream filling/frosting on high. Unfold the filling all the way in which to the perimeters, after which high with the opposite cake, inverted (so the highest of the layer cake is flat).

Frost throughout the edges and high with the remaining filling, after which add the optionally available crumbled topping to the highest and sides of the cake. Press within the crumbles in order that they adhere. Slice and serve!

Frosting choices

The cake has fairly a little bit of lemon taste, so you do not have to serve it with the lemon cream simply to make sure that it tastes, effectively, like lemon cake. There are different choices for frosting and even icing that style nice with this cake.

Swiss meringue buttercream

You possibly can’t ever go mistaken with a Swiss meringue buttercream. The short, foolproof recipe I exploit and advocate is by SugarHero. She would not prepare dinner the sugar, which makes every thing a snap! You may as well add some lemon zest to it, or lemon extract.

Find out how to make a easy lemon icing

You possibly can all the time make a easy glaze to pour over every particular person slice, or the entire 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).

Combine till you have got a really easy, thick paste. Add extra lemon juice till you have got a really thickly pourable glaze.

Add the liquid slowly, as a result of it’s a lot simpler to skinny it than to thicken if when you’ve added an excessive amount of liquid. Pour or spoon the glaze over the cooled cake or every slice earlier than serving.

Find out how to make buttercream frosting

This is find out how to make sufficient frosting for a 2 layer cake like this gluten free lemon cake:

• Traditional vanilla buttercream: Beat 16 tablespoons (224 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature till gentle and fluffy. Add 4 cups (460 grams) sifted confectioners’ sugar, 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and beat till well-combined. Add milk by the teaspoonful, at room temperature, till the . That can make about 4 cups of buttercream, simply sufficient for a layer cake.
• Lemon buttercream: The identical as vanilla buttercream, however add 1 teaspoon of contemporary lemon juice instead of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest.
• Cream cheese frosting: Identical as vanilla buttercream, however as an alternative of 16 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter, use 8 extra tablespoons unsalted butter and eight ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature. You will have 1/2 to 1 cup extra confectioners’ sugar to make the frosting as agency as it might be with all butter.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free

There may be dairy on this recipe in a number of varieties: milk and butter within the cake, butter within the cream filling/frosting, and cream cheese and heavy whipping cream within the filling. I’ve options for find out how to substitute all of it with non-dairy options—even the frosting.

For the butter in all circumstances, I extremely advocate a vegan butter different. Soften and Miyoko’s Creamery manufacturers are my favorites.

For the milk, any nondairy milk will work. Even water works right here, however milk with some fats makes for a richer, extra tender end result.

For the cream cheese, Miyoko’s Creamery has a block vegan cream cheese which tastes actually good. Tofutti additionally makes a dairy free cream cheese that is good, however fairly mushy. You may want extra confectioners’ sugar to get it to agency sufficient to make use of, nevertheless it tastes nice.

Egg free

This recipe requires 1 entire egg and three egg whites in order that it is solely made yellow by the lemon. In any other case, it tends to be rather a lot darker yellow. In the event you’d want, you should use 2 entire eggs + 1 egg white as an alternative.

For the entire egg, attempt changing it with one “chia egg” or a “flax egg” (though the flax egg will add a competing taste). For the egg whites, attempt utilizing an equal quantity, by weight, of aquafaba (the brine in a can of unsalted chickpeas).

What gluten free flour mix works finest on this recipe?

This recipe works particularly effectively with my Higher Than Cup4Cup mix, which is a much less starchy variation of Cup4Cup gluten free flour mix. In the event you do not wish to make that mix, you should use Higher Batter or Nicole’s Greatest (however make sure to add xanthan gum as indicated within the recipe).

I now not advocate utilizing Cup4Cup’s multipurpose mix as an all goal gluten free flour mix. They lately modified the components to exclude milk powder, and it simply would not carry out the identical any extra.

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