Try this cake for an easy dessert option, with the bonus that it also doesn’t contain much sugar, or even fat, as it uses the oils from the almond flour. You can certainly make this without the limoncello if you don’t have it on hand, or don’t care to use it. Lemon and berries go together so well, that’s why I’ve paired this moist cake with Strawberry Cream, a lightly sweetened heavy cream whipped with diced strawberries, and then topped it with more fresh berries! Here in Santa Cruz County, Ca we are very near to fields and fields of delicious sweet berries of all kinds! Yum! Often, I just serve each piece with the toppings each person desires, or without the toppings, as my husband prefers.
Gluten Free Lemon Almond Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour packed when measured, gf
- 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour gf
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder gf
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda gf
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1/8 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
- 1/4 cup milk 2% milk, whole milk, or almond milk
- 1 tablespoon limoncello gf
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract gf
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
- 2 pints mixed fresh berries to top the cake or each serving
- Powdered sugar for dusting the top
- Strawberry Cream recipe below
- Limoncello to drizzle on top of each slice, if desired
Strawberry Cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar gf
- 6 fresh strawberries rinsed, dried completely, stems removed and finely diced
Instructions
- Cut a circle of parchment to fit the bottom of your 8″ or 9″ springform pan or cake pan. Grease the parchment piece. Sprinkle a teaspoon of gf flour or almond flour on the parchment and tip the pan back and forth to distribute.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Sift together the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Beat the eggs in a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer. Add the sugar, maple syrup or honey, milk, vanilla, limoncello, lemon zest, and olive oil.
- Add in the sifted dry ingredients and mix on medium low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth and fluffy. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 30-38 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
- Remove to a rack to cool for 20-30 minutes before removing the spring form outside and inverting onto a cake plate to remove the parchment piece, and then turning right side up on a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Dust with powdered sugar. Slice, and serve with fresh berries and strawberry cream or sweetened whipped cream. Or top the cake with the strawberry cream mounded up, with berries on top. Drizzle a little limoncello on top of each slice if desired.
Strawberry Cream
- Whip the cream until it begins to thicken in a stand mixer, bowl with hand mixer or in a tall container if using an emulsion blender**. Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until mostly thickened and soft mounds are forming. Add half of the strawberries and continue to whip until the cream is light pink and the cream is both fluffy and soft mounds have formed. Fold in the remaining cut strawberries.
- Refrigerate until chilled well and ready to serve. Top Gluten Free Lemon Almond Cake with assorted berries and strawberry cream.
- **To use the emulsion blender, use the whisk attachment until soft mounds begin to form. Add in the powdered sugar. Change the attachment to the chop/beater to add 1/2 of the strawberries. Finish by using the whisk attachment until the cream is a thick but soft and fluffy cream. Fold in the other half of the cut strawberries.