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Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake (video)

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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.

Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake recipe

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!

Poke Cake prepared with poked holes

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.

a fork stuck in a piece of lemon poke cake

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.

Piece of lemon cake on a white plate

More gluten free lemon recipes you’ll love:

Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake recipe:

Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake

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:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, starches, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
  3. 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.
  4. Whisk in the eggs, and once the mixture looks smooth and light yellow, whisk in the milk, oil, and vanilla.
  5. 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:

  1. 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).
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Stir the curd until the butter is fully melted.

Assembly:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Top with sweetened whipped cream before serving (optional).

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

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© Jeanine Friesen
Cuisine: American / Category: Desserts
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Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake recipe

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

Go retro with this crowd pleasing Gluten Free Lemon Poke Cake.

Comments

    • Jeanine says

      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

  3. Susan Holdman says

    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

  5. Jacqueline says

    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

  6. Jacqueline says

    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

  7. Linda D. says

    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

  8. Kyla says

    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

  9. Clarissa says

    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

  10. sf says

    I have a commercial GF baking mix. How much of it should I use in place of all those individual ingredients?

    Reply

    • Jeanine says

      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

  12. Vivi says

    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

  13. Dee says

    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

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