Buttery, lemony, and utterly delicious gluten free lemon curd cake will be the highlight of your morning! This gorgeously rustic crumble cake is swirled with tart-sweet lemon curd and finished with a crisp brown sugar and oat topping.
Best Ever Gluten Free Lemon Curd Cake
This beautifully moist and buttery gluten free lemon curd cake is, in a word, exquisite. It is equally as good eaten warm, after a short rest to let the crumb firm up a bit, as it is the next day. You can serve this cake for brunch, and it will absolutely be the star of the table (and you probably won't have leftovers). Or, enjoy it for a nibble anytime. It's inspired by a Joy the Baker recipe that plays up lemon curd to glorious effect. I promise you won't be able to tell this cake is gluten free!
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This Lemon Curd Cake Is ...
- Just sweet enough
- Easily gluten free with a homemade (gum-free) gluten free flour blend
- Swirled with lots of luscious lemon flavor (from homemade lemon curd!)
- The perfect blend of homey and chic
- One of my favorite gluten free cakes ever, and that's saying a lot!
Ingredients Needed
Here's a look at what you'll need to make this fragrant cake, plus a few ingredient notes. The full ingredient amounts are included in the recipe card at the end of this post.
For the Cake
- Gluten free flour - I used my gluten free flour blend, which I recommend for this recipe. You can also use your favorite 1:1 flour blend but the texture may be a bit different.
- Leavening - A combination of baking powder and baking soda helps the cake to rise.
- Salt - I developed this recipe using fine sea salt. You can also use table salt.
- Butter - Unsalted butter is best so that it doesn't compete with the sweetness of the cake.
- Granulated sugar - To make this cake refined sugar-free, substitute coconut sugar for the granulated sugar, remembering that the color of the cake may be a bit darker.
- Eggs - All of my baking recipes call for large eggs.
- Vanilla extract
- Greek yogurt - Use low-fat or full-fat PLAIN Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Lemon curd - Make homemade lemon curd using my lemon curd or honey lemon curd recipes! You can also buy a jar of lemon curd.
For the Crumble Topping
- Oat flour - Naturally gluten free oat flour gives structure to the crumble.
- Oats - Use old-fashioned oats (rolled) oats, gluten free if necessary.
- Brown sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
- Butter - Keep your unsalted butter cold until you blend it into the crumble ingredients.
How to Make a Lemon Curd Cake
Follow along with the photos below to help you make this cake - the detailed instructions are in the recipe card.
- Prep: Butter an 8 or 9-inch round baking pan and line it with parchment paper.
- Make dry mix: Whisk together gluten free flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Cream butter: Beat butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Add yogurt: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the yogurt.
- Combine: Add the dry ingredients.
- Make the crumble: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, oats, sugar, and salt.
- Add butter: Work in the cold butter pieces with your fingers until a clumpy crumble forms.
- Add batter to pan: Spread half of the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Add lemon curd: Dollop it with half of the lemon curd and half the oat crumble.
- Swirl: Gently swirl the batter.
- Add remaining batter: Top with the remaining batter.
- Finish: Dollop with the remaining lemon curd and sprinkle with the remaining crumble.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350℉ and rest the batter while it heats. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
A Few Tips
As always, a few best practices can help your gluten-free bakes turn out perfectly! I’ve outlined a few tips and ideas below:
- Rest the batter. Make sure to rest the cake batter for 20-30 minutes, or at least while the oven heats. This helps the gluten-free batter to hydrate, resulting in a better crumb after being baked.
- Add-ins – For a little more flavor, try adding 1 teaspoon of almond extract or 1 teaspoon of ground ginger or cardamom.
- Dairy-free - Easily make this cake dairy free by using dairy-free butter and yogurt.
- Try oat flour – If you prefer, make this cake just with gluten free oat flour! Instead of a gluten free flour blend, use 1 ¾ cups of oat flour.
Serving Ideas
This cake demands to be served slightly warm, at brunch, along with a steaming hot cup of coffee. You can make a few other breakfast-y items to serve with it, like a gluten free asparagus quiche or gluten free spinach souffle. It's also delightful later in the day with an afternoon cup of tea.
I find this cake delectable served just as it is - there's plenty of flavor and texture and you don't need much else. But, you could spoon on a dollop of lemon curd for even more lemony goodness, add a side of fresh berries, a bit of homemade whipped cream, or even a drizzle of plain or vanilla yogurt.
How to Store
This cake keeps well either on the counter or in the fridge. Keep it, well covered with foil or in an airtight container, on the counter for up to 3 days. Or, keep it covered or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. I don't recommend freezing it because the lemon curd may make the cake soggy when it's defrosted.
More Morning Cake Recipes
- Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
- Gluten Free Lemon and Poppyseed Cake
Gluten Free Lemon Curd Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour (210 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt, or sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 cup lemon curd
For the Crumble
- ½ cup oat flour (60 grams)
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Butter an 8 or 9-inch round baking pan, line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper, then butter the parchment paper.
- In a small bowl whisk together gluten free flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the yogurt.
- Add the dry ingredients on low speed, mixing until just combined. The batter will be thick.
- Make the oat crumble: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Work in the cold butter pieces with your fingers until a clumpy crumble forms.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan and dollop it with half of the lemon curd. Sprinkle about half of the oat crumble evenly over the top and gently swirl the batter. Top with the remaining batter, spreading to the edges. Dollop with the remaining lemon curd and sprinkle with the remaining crumble.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and rest the batter while it heats. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs and the top is set, about 1 hour. minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in the pan on a wire rack before removing the cake.
- Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Place a flat plate over the pan and invert the cake. Peel the parchment round off the cake and gently invert the cake top side up.
Notes
- Rest the batter. Make sure to rest the cake batter for 20-30 minutes, or at least while the oven heats. This helps the gluten-free batter to hydrate, resulting in a better crumb after being baked.
- Add-ins – For a little more flavor, try adding 1 teaspoon of almond extract or 1 teaspoon of ground ginger or cardamom.
- Dairy-free - Easily make this cake dairy free by using dairy-free butter and yogurt.
- Try oat flour – If you prefer, make this cake just with gluten free oat flour! Instead of a gluten free flour blend, use 1 ¾ cups of oat flour.
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