Go Back
Gluten-free lemon drizzle loaf cake on a long white plate, golden-brown crusty top with a lengthwise crack and sugary glaze, four slices cut and fanned out at the right showing a soft yellow crumb

Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake with Yogurt

This gluten-free lemon drizzle cake, baked as a loaf, has a soft, fine crumb and a crunchy lemon sugar crust. It is made with Schär Mix C (cake and cookie mix), ground almonds and 10 % fat yogurt, which keeps the crumb moist.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: European
Calories: 315
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g Schär Mix C (Kuchen & Kekse / Mix Dolci), gluten-free cake and cookie flour mix about 1 3/4 US cups; check the label
  • 50 g ground almonds about 1/2 cup; check the label. Alternative in the notes
  • 140 g soft butter, room temperature about 1 1/4 sticks; plus a little for greasing the pan if you do not line it
  • 120 g yogurt, 10 % fat about 1/2 cup; room temperature
  • 180 g fine granulated sugar about 7/8 cup
  • 15 g Bourbon vanilla sugar 1 sachet; check the label
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 4 eggs, size M US large; room temperature
  • 10 g gluten-free baking powder about 2.5 tsp (e.g. a tartar-based one); check the label
  • 2 very large organic lemons washed in hot water; use 3 if your lemons are smaller. Zest and 60 ml (1/4 cup) juice go into the batter, about 50 ml more into the glaze
  • 30 g icing sugar, sifted about 1/4 cup
  • 70 g fine granulated sugar about 1/3 cup; gives the crunch
  • 50 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice 3 1/2 tbsp

Method
 

  1. Prepare the pan and the oven. Line a 30 x 10.5 x 6 cm (12 x 4 x 2.5 in) loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper, or grease it well with butter. Heat the oven to 175°C (350°F) conventional (top and bottom heat), or 155°C (310°F) fan. Conventional heat is recommended for gluten-free baking.
  2. Zest and juice the lemons. Wash the lemons in hot water and dry them, then grate the zest finely. Squeeze the lemons and measure 60 ml (1/4 cup) juice for the batter and 50 ml (3 1/2 tbsp) for the glaze. Two very large lemons were enough; with smaller lemons you may need three.
  3. Cream the butter. Beat the soft butter (140 g) with the sugar (180 g), vanilla sugar, salt and lemon zest on the highest setting for at least 4 to 5 minutes, until creamy and pale.
  4. Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed, about 30 to 45 seconds each, before adding the next.
  5. Add the yogurt. Briefly stir the room-temperature yogurt (120 g) into the butter and egg mixture.
  6. Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the Schär Mix C, ground almonds and baking powder well.
  7. Finish the batter. On low speed, mix in the flour mixture in turns with the 60 ml lemon juice, only briefly, until the batter is smooth and creamy. Do not overmix.
  8. Fill the pan. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
    Smooth pale yellow cake batter in a dark loaf pan lined with brown parchment paper, before baking
  9. Bake. Bake on the middle rack at 175°C (350°F) conventional for about 45 to 50 minutes.
  10. Test for doneness. Near the end of the baking time, insert a wooden skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
    Freshly baked lemon loaf cake still in the pan inside the oven, deep golden top with a wide lengthwise crack, parchment paper standing up around it
  11. Mix the glaze just before the cake comes out. Measure the icing sugar (30 g), sugar (70 g) and lemon juice (50 ml) ahead, but stir them together briefly only when the cake is done and you are ready to pour, so the granulated sugar does not dissolve completely.
  12. Glaze the hot cake. Take the baked cake out of the oven and, while it is still in the pan, prick it all over several times with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Right after baking, while the cake is still hot, drizzle or spread the sugar and lemon juice mixture evenly over the hot cake.
    Hot baked lemon loaf in the pan seen from above, lemon-sugar glaze pooling in the lengthwise crack and sugar crystals on the golden crust
  13. Cool. The juice soaks into the warm cake while the icing sugar and fine sugar crystals dry on top into a glittering, crunchy crust. Let the cake rest in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes, then carefully lift it out and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
  14. Slice and serve. Cut the cooled loaf into slices.
    Gluten-free lemon drizzle loaf cake on a long white plate, golden-brown crusty top with a lengthwise crack and sugary glaze, four slices cut and fanned out at the right showing a soft yellow crumb

Notes

Gluten check: use Schär Mix C and check the label of the exact product. Check the baking powder, vanilla sugar and ground almonds on their labels too (everything used for the photographed cake was gluten-free by label), and use clean, well-washed tools and pan. This is a reminder to read labels, not a guarantee or certification.
Pan: 30 x 10.5 x 6 cm (12 x 4 x 2.5 in), about 1.8 to 1.9 liters. The source says the batter amount is matched to this pan so the cake forms a dome without overflowing. A parchment strip makes lifting the cake out easier.
Oven: conventional heat (top and bottom) is recommended for gluten-free baking, as the cake stays juicier. Bake on the middle rack.
Lemons: 2 very large lemons were used; with smaller lemons you may need 3 to get about 110 ml juice plus the zest. Glaze juice: 50 ml (3 1/2 tbsp) was used.
Optional, untested: the source suggests cutting a line about 1 cm (1/2 in) deep along the loaf after 15 minutes with a sharp knife dipped in cold water for a neat crack. The cake in the photos was not cut; it cracked on its own.
Almond alternative (untested): the source suggests 40 g Schär Mix C plus 30 ml (2 tbsp) milk instead of the 50 g ground almonds. The cake in the photos was made with ground almonds.
Storage: well covered (cake dome or tin), the cake stays moist at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, according to the source.
Nutrition values are an estimate calculated from the ingredient list, not a lab analysis. They count 12 slices (assumed) and the whole glaze.