Lemon Cardamom Cake (Gluten Free)
This old fashioned Lemon Cardamom Cake is moist and flavorful! It's gluten free, flavored with lemon zest, and drizzled with a lemon glaze.
Servings: 6
Calories: 510kcal
Equipment
- 2 Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
For The Cake:
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup milk or nondairy milk alternative
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend or AP flour if not gluten free
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter equals 1 stick
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds or unsalted, chopped nuts of choice (optional)
- 1 ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
- 3 tsp. lemon zest
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice
For The Lemon Glaze:
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
Instructions
For The Cake:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using a Microplane or small grater, zest 2-3 large lemons or until you have 3 tsp. of lemon zest.Once the lemons are zested, squeeze 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice.
- In one mixing bowl, add 1 large egg, 1 ¼ cup sugar, and ⅔ cup milk (or non-dairy milk alternative). Whisk all of these ingredients until completely combined (the mixture will be a little frothy).
- In a second mixing bowl, add 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend (or AP flour if not gluten free), 1 tsp. baking powder, and ¼ tsp. of kosher salt. Stir until completely combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing thoroughly each time more dry ingredients are added. Continue until all of the wet and dry ingredients are completely combined.
- Place a small sauce pan on the stove top and heat to medium-low.Add ½ cup (equals 1 stick) of unsalted butter. Heat until the butter melts.
- Once the butter has melted, add 1 ¼ tsp. of ground cardamom. Stir the cardamom into the butter and heat for 1-2 minutes.Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Add the melted, spiced butter to the batter slowly and stir until completely combined. Continue until the butter is completely incorporated into the batter (the batter will be thick and smooth).
- Add the 3 Tbsp. of lemon juice and 3 tsp. of lemon zest to the batter. Stir the batter until all of the ingredients are completely combined.
- Generously grease an 11x7 inch baking dish with butter or cooking spray to prevent the cake from sticking to the surface as it bakes.
- Sprinkle ⅓ cup of slivered or sliced almonds (or unsalted chopped nuts like pistachios or hazelnuts) evenly across the bottom of the baking dish (alternately, you can omit the nuts completely if you prefer).Pour the batter into the baking dish and even it out with a spatula so that it bakes evenly.
- Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the edges of the cake are slightly crispy and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.Baking times may vary slightly.Remove the baking dish from the oven and allow the cake to cool slightly.
For The Lemon Glaze:
- Squeeze ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice.
- Place a small sauce pan on the stove top and add the ¼ cup of lemon juice along with ½ cup of granulated sugar and ⅛ tsp. of kosher salt to it.
- Turn the heat to medium-low, stir the sugar and lemon juice mixture, and simmer until the sugar has dissolved and has developed a syrupy consistency. This may take a few minutes.After the mixture is syrupy, remove the pan from the heat.
- Using a pastry brush, brush desired amount of the lemon glaze evenly over the top of the cake. Feel free to use as much or as little of the glaze as you like.
- To Serve: Serve the cake on its own, or top with fresh fruit of choice and whipped cream (optional),
Notes
The nutrition facts include the lemon glaze.
You will need 2-3 large lemons to make this cake.
Feel free to use unsalted, chopped nuts of choice such as pistachios or hazelnuts in place of the almonds. Alternately, you can omit the nuts entirely.
Use as much or as little of the lemon glaze as you like. Add more glaze if you prefer a sweeter, more vibrant lemon flavor.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 510kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 210mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 564IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 2mg