Lemon Cake

This Lemon Cake recipe with a delightful rosemary glaze that is also dairy free! Enjoy the combination of lemon flavors and aromatic rosemary, combined to create a cake that's simply divine.

This delightful recipe is perfect for those with dietary restrictions or anyone seeking a dairy-free dessert option bursting with flavor. Our moist and tender cake is made with the richness of olive oil, giving it a unique and indulgent taste. The infusion of zesty lemon adds a refreshing twist, while the woody rosemary glaze adds a touch of elegance to every bite.

Why you'll love this

Exquisite Flavor Combination

The harmonious blend of fresh lemon juice, zest and the earthy notes of rosemary creates a perfect winter flavor that will impress your loved ones.

Moist and Tender Texture

This cake is incredibly moist and tender, despite having no dairy in it thanks to the mixture of flours and olive oil.

Impressive Presentation

With its vibrant yellow hue and a drizzle of the aromatic rosemary glaze, this Lemon Cake will impress your loved ones. It's a visually stunning dessert that tastes as good as it looks.

How to prepare Lemon Cake

• Beat the eggs and sugar: Beat them until fluffy.
• Add the flavor bang: Add the lemon juice, zest and olive oil.
• Dry ingredients: Place the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and stir together and add to the lemon mixture.
• Cake batter: Combine until no dry patches remain.
• Bake time: Pour the cake into the prepared tin and bake until golden.
• Make the lemon soak: Whilst the cake bakes prepare the lemon soak.
• Soak it up: Poke holes in the warm cake and pour the soak up.
• Rosemary glaze: Create the rosemary glaze and pour over the still warm cake.
• Serve: Allow the cake to cool, slice and dig in!

Ingredients and substitutions for the best Lemon Cake

• Lemon: Verna lemons were most easy to source for this recipe, but honestly, any unwaxed lemon you have on hand works. You will want the skin to be as blemish free as possible for the zest.
• Sugar: The mixture of superfine or caster sugar and brown sugar gives sweetness for the lemon flavors to come to the fore. Icing or confectioner’s sugar is best in the glaze because it dissolves for glaze.
• Baking powder: This helps our cake rise so to create the nice light crumb and avoid a dense cake. Baking powder can expire, so it's best to check the best before date.
• Eggs: Room temperature eggs are essential to bind with the oil. This allows more air to be introduced and gives our cake that nice and light texture.
• Polenta: Ground cornmeal, the polenta helps create a really nice complimentary texture alongside the almond flour. You can substitute the polenta with semolina which will create a similar texture as the polenta.
• Flour: Plain or all purpose flour is best for a nice light cake crumb.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Lemon Cake:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F and greaseproof a cake tin.

Place the eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes on medium with a hand beater.

Add the lemon juice, zest and olive oil and beat until smooth and combined on medium, approximately 1 minute.

In a separate bowl, place the flour, ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and soda and pinch of salt and stir to combine.

Add the dry ingredients to the lemon mixture and beat on low until just combined.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and tap the edges slightly to remove air bubbles from the mixture.

Place in the oven and bake until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean, 30 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.

To make the lemon soak, place the water, sugar and rosemary sprig into a saucepan and simmer until it has reduced slightly and smells fragrent.

Remove from the heat, take the sprig out and add the lemon juice to the rosemary soak, stirring to combine.

Remove the cake carefully from the tin and while still warm, poke holes all over the top of the cake.

Pour the soak mixture slowly and steadily over the cake while still warm.

For the rosemary glaze, place the confectioner's sugar, rosemary and water into a bowl and combine until smooth and silky.

Pour onto the still warm cake so the icing melts into it, spreading the glaze on the sides with an offset spatula to cover over any patches.

Allow to cool fully before serving.

Slice and serve.

Equipment needed to make

Hand or stand mixer: To whip the eggs and oil for the batter, this is best done with a mixer.

Mixing bowl: You’ll need a medium mixing bowl to mix the batter.

Saucepan: To infuse the rosemary flavor, it's best to lightly cook in a saucepan.

Cake tin: The tin used here was 6 inches or 15 centimeters, so the cake ends up higher. You can use a larger cake tin up to 20cm or 8 inches for a slice that isn't too flat.

FAQs for the best Lemon Cake

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