Gluten-Free Citrus Poppy Seed Cake

This Gluten-Free Citrus Poppy Seed Cake comes together in just a few minutes with a handful of ingredients. This cake is light, very easy to make & packed with the bright flavors of lemon and orange.

I never thought the classic Lemon Poppy Seed Cake can get any better (because it's already one of the yummiest cakes) but yes it can! Try adding orange zest to it and the flavor that you will get will blow your mind! (you will never make lemon poppy seed cake only with lemon)

Gluten-Free Citrus Poppy Seed Cake Recipe

This cake is light, spongy, flavourful, zesty, perfectly sweetened and just so delicious!

It is perfect to have it as a dessert or a mid-day snack with coffee or tea.

You will love this cake if you love:

• Bright & citrusy flavors
• Soft & spongy cakes
• Poppy Seed desserts

What ingredients do you need?

Eggs

Lactose Free Yogurt

Sugar

1 Lemon (zest & juice)

1 Orange (zest & juice)

Natural Cooking Oil (such as canola or sunflower)

Vanilla Extract

Poppy Seeds

Gluten Free Flour

Baking Powder

Pinch of salt

How to make this Gluten-Free Citrus Poppy Seed Cake?

This is the easiest cake to make! Here are the 3 simple steps that you will need to follow:

STEP 1 - MAKE THE CAKE BATTER

Start by preheating the oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F). Line a 9x9 inch cake pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, yogurt, juice, and zest from one lemon and one orange, natural cooking oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined, being sure the batter is completely mixed. Stir in the poppy seeds.

STEP 2 - BAKE THE CAKE

Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

STEP 3 - MAKE THE LEMON ICING

Stir the powdered sugar and 6 teaspoon of lemon juice together until you get a thick even mixture. (You can add more lemon juice to make it runnier, or more powdered sugar to make it thicker, as required.)

Pour the icing over the cake, letting it fall down the sides. Let set 5 minutes, slice and enjoy.

What flour to use to make it?

I like to use my universal homemade gluten-free flour blend. Which is a mix of the following flours :

1. White Rice Flour

2. Brown Rice Flour

3. Sweet Rice Flour (Glutinous Rice aka Sticky Rice)

4. Tapioca Flour (tapioca starch is the same as tapioca flour)

5. Xanthan Gum

If you can’t make that one, you can try with any gluten-free flour mix (just make sure it contains xanthan gum because that helps in binding the dough). The final result using different flour mix might vary slightly, depending on what flours your mix contains.

To find the recipe for my gluten-free flour mix click, HERE.

storing tip:

This cake will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it, simply cut the cake, put the pieces in a freezer-friendly container, and place it in the freezer. When you want to have it thaw at room temperature. You can keep t in the freezer for up to 3 months.

*fodmap tips:

*To make sure that your flour mix is fodmap friendly I recommend that you make your own gluten-free flour mix, I always make this one. Or always read the ingredients of the store-bought gluten-free flour mixes. Make sure your mix doesn’t contain soy flour, chickpea/besan/gram/garbanzo bean flour, lentil flour, coconut flour, amaranth flour, or lupin flour.

*All the ingredients used in this recipe are FODMAP friendly, however, As a general rule always read the labels of the ingredients that you use as there can be sneaky FODMAP’s in any product. To educate yourself on which foods are high in FODMAP’s I’d strongly recommend downloading Monash Unversity FODMAP Diet.

*gluten-free tip:

If you are celiac or highly sensitive to gluten, buy certified gluten-free baking powder. Baking powder is naturally gluten-free, however, depending on the manufacturing place and process there can be cross-contamination.