Quick & Easy Lemon Rice Cake – Gluten Free

As I have told you many times I do love a cake which has a lemon flavour to it.  So it will come as no surprise that when trying to make a simple cake,  which is gluten free, I chose lemon as the flavour element.

Although this cake is gluten free the main driver for making it was to demonstrate how you can still bake a good cake even if you don’t have wheat flour of any sort.  I was lucky, insofar as I had all the ingredients already in my cupboard.  But I think they are all likely to be readily available in stores even if plain/all purpose flour is still in very short supply.

This cake is very easy to make and doesn’t have too many ingredients.  The main ingredient is rice flour and that is supplemented by potato starch.  Of course both of those need a leavening agent so baking powder and eggs are required.  Most baking powder, at least in the UK, is gluten free using maize flour or rice flour as the stabiliser.  But if you are gluten intolerant it is always best to check.

A subtle lemon flavour, from the zest of a couple of lemons can be enhanced further if required by a simple lemon icing drizzled over the top of the baked cake.

My cake baked very well and it tasted so good. I thought it would take about 50 minutes but I tested it after 40 minutes and it was clear that it was fully baked at that stage, so I removed it from the oven. Therefore although in the video I suggest 50 minutes my recommendation in the recipe is to bake between 35 and 40 minutes. I think this is ideal with a cup of tea, but equally could be served with fruit and cream as a dessert if desired.

• 210g(1 cup + 5 tbsp) rice flour
• 100g(1/2 cup + 1 tbsp) potato starch
• 180g(3/4 cup + 2 1/2 tbsp) caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs(large in the USA), at room temperature
• 200g(1/2  cup + 1/3 cup) natural yoghurt, at room temperature.(sour cream would work fine too, and maybe buttermilk or double cream)
• 16g (4 tsp) baking powder
• zest from 2 lemons, finely grated
• 60g(1/2 cup) icing sugar(for an icing if required)
• 2-3 tsp of lemon juice(for an icing if required)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F.
2. Grease and flour a 9 inch/23 cm round or springform cake pan.  Use rice flour for this to be gluten free.
3. Sift the rice flour, baking powder and potato starch into a a bowl to get them mixed together and free from any lumps.
4. In a large bowl place the eggs and start to whisk them together, by hand or with a hand mixer.
5. Slowly add the sugar whilst continuing to whisk, until the mixture is pale and thickened, about 4 -5 minutes.
6. Slowly add the yoghurt and the lemon zest, still whisking, until it is all combined and the mixture is still thickened somewhat.
7. Add the dry ingredients, one spoon at a time, still whisking, until the batter is fully combined.
8. Place the batter into the cake pan and spread to level off.
9. Bake in the oven for  35 – 40 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean.  Test it after 35 minutes.
10. If the top seems to be browning too quickly you can cover it, loosely, with aluminium foil.
11. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before turning out.
12. If you wish to ice the top mix the icing sugar with a little lemon juice and stir together.  Add just enough lemon juice to achieve the consistency you wish for your icing.   A thick icing, which just runs off a spoon is best I think.
13. Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake in zig-zags, or spread thinly over the top.