Almond Flour Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

This gluten-free Almond Flour Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is filled with fresh lemon flavor and poppy seeds and topped with a rich lemon cream cheese frosting!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Canadian

Keyword almond flour, cream cheese frosting, gluten-free, lemon, poppy seed

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 28

Cooling Time 2

Total Time 2 43

Servings pieces

Calories 255kcal

Author Leanne

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups fine blanched almond flour
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup cane sugar
3 tablespoons lemon zest about 3 medium lemons
4 large eggs room temperature
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

For the frosting:

4 ounces full fat cream cheese room temperature
1/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted if lumpy (plus more if necessary)
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan and line it with slightly overhanging parchment paper.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the almond flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub between your fingers to release the oils from the zest. The mixture will feel wet.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar/zest mixture, oil, lemon juice and almond extract.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and use a spatula to gently fold in. Be careful not to over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to spread it out evenly.
Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan before frosting.
To make the frosting, use a stand or handheld electric mixer to cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice and zest, and beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides as necessary.
Spread frosting over cake and top with extra lemon zest (optional).

Notes

While you can simply add the sugar and zest to the wet ingredients separately, I like to rub them together so the oils release from the lemon zest. This will maximum the cake's lemon flavor.
If you don't have a kitchen scale to weigh your almond flour, make sure to measure it by using the spoon and level method and a dry measuring cup.
Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated. If you over mix the batter, the cake will turn out dense and may even sink in the middle.
I don't enjoy an overly sweet cream cheese frosting, so I didn't use a lot of powdered sugar. This results in a thinner frosting. If you prefer your frosting sweeter and/or thicker, just add more powdered sugar.

Nutrition