Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake (video)

February 21, 2020 By Jeanine Friesen 29 Comments

I love the simplicity of this Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake. The tangy lemon curd is cooked up while the cake is baking, and in no time, you have a cake that is so moist, and definitely company-worthy.

I’m going retro again with this Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake. If you haven’t tried making a poke cake before, you really should.

I’ve got a few more flavour ideas in my head, and I can’t wait to try them out, but today I’m sharing this tangy gluten free Lemon Poke Cake, so pucker up!

What is a poke cake?

Simple – bake a cake, poke it full of holes, and then pour something (pudding, curd, Jello) over the cake, and let it seep into the holes that you poked.

It’s sort of a genius way to add more topping to your cake.

Instead of the cake just having lemon curd across the top (which would also be good), it goes down into the cake, leaving little pockets of lemon curd throughout.

The best way to zest and juice lemons:

Use a handheld stainless steel zester to remove the zest from citrus. You just grate the colored part of the fruit, not the white part. The white is pith, and it will make your curd bitter.

Be sure to zest the lemons before you juice them. Cold lemons are easier to zest, while warm lemons yield more juice.

Once you have removed the zest, warm the lemons slightly by microwaving them for 30 seconds, then roll the lemons with the palm of your hand on the counter while pressing down slightly. This will help you to get the most juice from your lemons.

More gluten free lemon recipes you’ll love:

Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake recipe:

Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake

Yield: 9 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Bake Time: 35 minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

I love the simplicity of this Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake. The tangy lemon curd is cooked up while the cake is baking, and in no time, you have a cake that is so moist, and definitely company-worthy.

Ingredients

Lemon Cake:

2/3 cup( 107 g) brown rice flour
1/3 cup (57 g) potato starch
1/4 cup (31 g) tapioca starch
1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 g) xanthan gum
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
1/2 cup (125 ml) oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract

Lemon Curd:

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
3 large eggs
zest of 2 lemons (about 2 tablespoons, 30 ml)
6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter

Topping:

Whipped Cream (optional)

Instructions

Lemon Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, starches, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar and lemon zest, pressing the lemon zest into the sugar to release the oils (you can use your hands for this). The sugar should look like wet sand when you are done.
Whisk in the eggs, and once the mixture looks smooth and light yellow, whisk in the milk, oil, and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake in the preheated oven for 33-37 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Lemon Curd:

While the cake is baking, whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and lemon zest in a LARGE microwave safe bowl (an 8 cup glass measuring cup works well).
Microwave the curd for 5-6 minutes, WHISKING EVERY MINUTE, until the curd comes to a boil and thickens. How long this takes will vary depending on your microwave.
Place the butter, cut up into cubes, in a glass bowl, and place a mesh strainer over the bowl. Pour the cooked curd into the strainer, over the butter. This will remove the lemon zest and any bits of egg that may have accidentally cooked, giving you a smooth curd.
Stir the curd until the butter is fully melted.

Assembly:

When the cake comes out of the oven, use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes in the cake, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) apart.
Pour the hot curd over the cake, being sure to fill in all the holes. Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes before placing it in the refrigerator to cool completely.
Because the top of the cake is slightly domed, the curd will run to the edge of your pan, giving you a thicker layer of curd along the edges than in the middle. No worries, when the cake has been refrigerated for about an hour, use a spoon or offset spatula to spread the curd in an even layer over the cake. Store the cake, covered, in the refrigerator.
Top with sweetened whipped cream before serving (optional).

Notes

Be sure to zest the lemons before you juice them! Cold lemons are easier to zest, while warm lemons yield more juice. Once you have removed the zest, warm the lemons slightly by microwaving them for 30 seconds, then roll the lemons on the counter while pressing down slightly. This will help you to get the most juice from your lemons.
Although this cake is baked in an 8x8-inch pan, you can double the recipe (cake and curd), and bake it in a 9x13-inc pan. Baking time will increase slightly, insert a toothpick into the cake to test if the cake is completely baked.

Recommended Products

Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Don’t forget to PIN THIS RECIPE to your gluten free Cake Pinterest boards!

Recipe and images updated February 2020. Originally posted February 2015.

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Comments

Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
February 11, 2015 at 4:39 pm
Oh, Jeanine, this recipe’s going to be a really huge hit! Poke cakes are so cool, lemon anything is loved, and your cake just looks so darned good! Can’t wait to share this recipe on All Gluten-Free Desserts soon. 🙂
Shirley
Reply
- Jeanine says
  February 11, 2015 at 5:53 pm
  Ah, thank you so much, Shirley! I loved this cake – so easy, but the curd is so tart and tangy, just the way lemon should be. 🙂 I’d be honoured to be featured on All GF Desserts, thank you!
  Reply
Pam Solomon says
February 11, 2015 at 7:32 pm
Oh My!! This looks so good! I love lemon anything! I can’t wait to try this recipe Thanks for posting it!
Pam
Reply
- Jeanine says
  February 12, 2015 at 7:24 am
  My pleasure! Enjoy the cake (I know I did!) 😉
  Reply
Susan Holdman says
February 12, 2015 at 7:59 am
Jeanine, going to stay with friends awhile and I always want something sweet. This recipe is perfect and I can make a sugar free version for my Aunt. Thank you from a multiple foods allergy woman.
Reply
- Jeanine says
  February 12, 2015 at 8:18 am
  It’s always nice to have a little something sweet! 😉 Enjoy, Susan!
  Reply
  - Susan Holdman says
    February 12, 2015 at 8:36 am
    You responded really quick. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you.
    Reply
    - Jeanine says
      February 12, 2015 at 8:53 am
      Haha, not always, but I’m trying…
      Reply
Cindy says
February 12, 2015 at 2:13 pm
By chance has anyone tried this with a non-dairy milk?
Reply
- Jeanine says
  February 12, 2015 at 2:15 pm
  No one has reported back yet, but I think it would work without a problem.
  Reply
- Jacqueline says
  February 22, 2015 at 10:49 am
  Yes. I used almond milk and it was amazing!
  Reply
Jacqueline says
February 22, 2015 at 10:47 am
Oh my!!!! This is our new family favorite hands down!!! It was SUPER simple and turned out PERFECT!! YES, by the way, I used almond milk and it was amazing! Thanks is much for this insanely good recipe!
Reply
- Jeanine says
  February 22, 2015 at 8:04 pm
  Thanks so much, Jacqueline! So glad to hear that, and thanks for sharing what dairy free milk you used as well!
  Reply
Jacqueline says
February 26, 2015 at 1:32 pm
The new favorite cake has been requested for my son’s 15th b-day cake! Yup, we love it that much. I have a form that makes a check board 3 layer cake. I’m going to try coloring the batter to add some extra festivity. I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
Reply
- Jeanine says
  March 5, 2015 at 12:09 pm
  So glad to hear that, Jacqueline! Happy Birthday to your son! Hope that the checkerboard effect worked for you!
  Reply
Linda D. says
April 17, 2015 at 10:13 pm
I love retro desserts. Stumbled on your post at the EXACT moment I was looking for a homemade lemon curd recipe to recommend. And you make it in a microwave! This made my Friday night. Yes, I party hard.
Reply
- Jeanine says
  June 26, 2015 at 9:22 am
  Haha, sounds like the parties at my house, Linda! 🙂 Hope you enjoyed it!
  Reply
Kyla says
June 25, 2015 at 8:41 pm
Another delicious recipe! I cut the sugar back to 3/4 cup and used prepared lemon curd cause I had some in the fridge, and it was so good! I can’t wait to make this cake over and over 🙂 Thanks!
Reply
- Jeanine says
  June 26, 2015 at 9:23 am
  Sounds great, Kyla! Thanks for sharing what you changed, I appreciate that. Glad it was a it! 😀
  Reply
Clarissa says
August 21, 2015 at 3:12 pm
I’m just now getting ready to make this dessert to take to a family picnic, and had a question about the last photo in your recipe. It’s a cut piece of the cake with a white topping of some kind on top of the lemon curd. There’s no reference to it, and it’s not listed in the details of the recipe. Could you please tell me what it is, and share the recipe for it also. Thank you very much! I love lemon anything, and can’t wait to taste this yummy looking cake!
Clarissa
Reply
- Jeanine says
  August 21, 2015 at 3:19 pm
  Hi Clarissa! Sorry about that, it’s just lightly sweetened whipped cream. 🙂 It’s optional, but yummy.
  Reply
sf says
March 8, 2016 at 1:03 pm
I have a commercial GF baking mix. How much of it should I use in place of all those individual ingredients?
Reply
- Jeanine says
  March 8, 2016 at 2:30 pm
  I don’t use all purpose mixes, since they are ALL made differently. You could try subbing the flours & starches with an all purpose blend, and if it has xanthan or guar gum in it, be sure to omit that as well.
  Reply
rebecca says
July 29, 2017 at 3:50 pm
would this be as successful using a muffin tin instead? kinda want to try it!
Reply
Vivi says
June 6, 2018 at 8:56 am
Jeanine- I think I will use this recipe for my margarita cake – using line instead of lemon, adding some tequila in the curd and whipped cream. Yummmm
Reply
Dee says
April 11, 2019 at 2:40 pm
Jeanine….I’ve used your cookie recipes for years and have more recently started exploring the cakes. I made this for my son’s bday….we’re GF and had DF guests. Used coconut milk (the type from a can) along with a butter alternative for both the cake and the curd. Came out just fine. In fact, quite delicious.
Also want to add that I was kinda worried about whether the GF cake would really hold up with the curd on it…..I was imagining that pile of pastry GF squishy stuff that sometimes appears…..but it was still a cake after several hours of being poked and filled.
So thanks…..
Reply
Jenny spencer says
May 22, 2020 at 4:43 pm
Hello Jeanine! I can not wait to try this delicious looking poke cake. I was wondering what I should do since I am making this with GF all purpose flour. Will it still work?
Thanks,
Raine
I gave you all of my moms info FYI. 🙂
Reply
Jenny spencer says
May 22, 2020 at 4:47 pm
Hello Jeanine This is Raine again. I am thinking of making the curd with just a half cup of sugar. Thats ok correct. It is just a bit too much sugar.
Thanks again!
-Raine. 🙂
Reply
GwenH says
May 24, 2020 at 5:34 pm
Excellent cake Jeanine!! My Mom used to make poke cake all the time, I haven’t had poke cake since I was diagnosed with CD, I’ll have to make this into poke cake one day.
Today I was looking for a plain cake for a quick dessert and came to your blog and found this recipe. I didn’t make the lemon curd, just the cake with lemon and lime extract (didn’t have any lemon) and I made icing to put on the cake, it tastes excellent and nice and moist!
Reply

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