Gluten-Free Lemon Cake -- The One I Baked Before Everything Changed

Easter week. I cooked for three days. Wednesday: scalloped potatoes assembled. Thursday: deviled eggs made, rolls proofed and baked, lemon bars baked, sheet cake baked. Friday: ham scored and studded with cloves and refrigerated. Saturday: cooking began at 10 a.m. Sunday we ate at 1 p.m. and nobody left until 5.

Ella (3) climbed into my lap between the ham and the pie and said, "Auntie Brenda, book." I said, "Baby, the book is not a picture book." She said, "Book please." I brought the book. She put her finger on my photograph and said, "Bendah." I said, "Brenda." She said, "Bendah." I accepted. She flipped pages. She stopped on a page with a photograph of my slow cooker. She said, "Soup." I said, "Yes." She kissed the book. She kissed the book. Steve laughed so hard he choked on his deviled egg. Hannah took a picture. I will have that picture forever.

Tuesday (April 19) is release day. Sarah is coming to Grand Island for the event at Hastings Bookstore on Tuesday evening. A signing. She will be in the audience. So will Dave, all four kids, Gayle, Steve, Louise, and apparently every woman in my knitting group — wait, I am not in a knitting group; that was a joke Dave made at breakfast; apparently, however, every neighbor on our block is coming. I have been told to expect "everyone." I do not know what "everyone" means. I know I will wear a navy sweater. I know I will have a pen. I know I will not cry. (I will cry.)

Drove a Hastings run Wednesday, a short one, because I wanted to be home for Easter prep. My dispatcher Marcy sent me an e-card. She said, "Brenda. Go sell your book." I cried a little in the truck. This is becoming a problem. I cry a little now. Gayle does not believe me when I mention this. She says, "You have not cried since 1983." She is right, historically. I am making up for lost time. I do not apologize.

Sunday night, after the family left, the kitchen a disaster, the kids in their rooms, Dave at the sink: I stood next to him and dried while he washed, and we did not talk for twenty minutes. It was the best twenty minutes of my week. Forty-one years from now we will do this with three times the grandchildren and the same peace. I am already living in it.

The lemon bars were Thursday’s project, tucked between the deviled eggs and the rolls, and that tangy-sweet smell filling the kitchen is exactly what Easter week is supposed to smell like to me. If you want something that carries all of that brightness but works just as well for a crowd as it does sliced quiet and late, after everyone has gone home, this Gluten-Free Lemon Cake is the one — it travels beautifully, it keeps, and it made every person at my table ask for the recipe before they hit the door. I have been making it long enough now that I do it without looking at a card, which is the only true measure of a keeper.

Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (with xanthan gum)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
• 1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• For the glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 2–3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

1. Prep the oven and pan. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs and flavor. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth. The batter may look slightly curdled — that’s normal.
5. Combine wet and dry. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions, stirring gently with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
6. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 32–38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges are just pulling away from the pan.
7. Cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before glazing, at least 30 minutes.
8. Make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and pourable, adding juice a little at a time to reach a thick but drizzleable consistency. Stir in the lemon zest.
9. Glaze and serve. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake, letting it drip naturally over the edges. Allow the glaze to set for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 275 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 43g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 175mg