This cake is insanity, y’all.
I know I say everything is ‘insanity.’ Consider me at a loss for spiffy adjectives. I’m spent.
BUT. I can assure you that repeated adjectives aside, this cake rocks. It’s light and tender, has a nice, moist crumb, and packs a seriously divine lemony punch with nutty, crisp poppyseeds swirled throughout. Then it’s topped with this liquid gold lemon glaze that’s ahhhmaaaazing. And? It’s completely gluten-free, dairy free, and vegan.
You’re welcome.
I’m convinced the only thing it’s missing is a pair of wings, because this cake is on another level of heaven and it’s an angel for those who suffer from gluten intolerance or those just looking to avoid gluten and dairy.
So yeah. This amazing cake. You need it.
Don’t like lemon? (Who are you, you monster.) Feel free to use lime, orange, or even grapefruit to flavor this citrusy cake. But I prefer the sweetness and subtle tartness of lemon and plus, lemon + poppyseeds = BFFs. They told me so. They also told me to tell you that your face called. It’s missing cake.
Get it.
- 1 pkg Bob's Red Mill GF Vanilla Cake Mix
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ½ cup water, at room temperature
- Juice of one lemon
- Zest of one lemon
- 1 Tbsp poppyseeds
- FOR GLAZE:
- Juice of one lemon (about ¼ cup)
- Zest of one lemon
- About 2 cups powdered sugar (ensure it's gluten-free)
- Raspberries, lemon slices for garnish, optional
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Liberally grease a round 9" cake pan with vegetable-oil cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, applesauce, oil, water, juice and zest and beat with a hand mixer for about 1 minute or until combined. Fold in the poppyseeds. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan before gently turning over onto a wire rack set over wax paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth and pourable. You don't want it super thin, like water, but more syrupy and thicker, so adjust with more lemon juice or powdered sugar if needed. Drizzle the glaze over the cake and spread it out to the edges so the entire cake is covered. Serve garnished with raspberries and lemon slices, if desired. Serve immediately or store leftovers airtight at room temperature for up to 1 day.
This cake gets its base mix from Bob’s Red Mill, the leading manufacturer of gluten-free and dairy-free baking mixes made from only the finest ingredients. This cake is moist, tender and absolutely delicious thanks to this easy-to-use gluten free cake mix and from the zest of those freshly-squeezed lemons. I also love the nutty crunch of the poppyseed!
For more info on Bob’s Red Mill, be sure to check out their website!
Have a super sweet Sunday!
xo, Hayley
Jessica @ Sweet Menu says
Yum! This looks so lovely, I can’t believe its GF and vegan too – amazing!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks a ton, Jessica! xoxo!
June Burns says
Mmm that looks like an awesome cake! Love that it is vegan too 🙂
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks so much, June!
Hannah says
So..I’m vegan, and have been following your blog for years (without commenting….I know!) due to my massive sweet tooth. Really, just to drool over your crazy interesting creations. I am SUPER thrilled to see a vegan dessert up in here!
thedomesticrebel says
Hannah, I’m so happy to hear you’re a fan! <3 That makes me giddy, and I'm so glad I could finally create a vegan recipe for you!
Zainab says
I think the sauce has me quivering!!! Good lawd lady! Lemon to it’s finest degree!!
thedomesticrebel says
Thanks so much, Z!
Melanie says
Mmmmm this looks so refreshing and seems simple enough, I can’t wait to try it! Also, thanks for pointing out to make sure that the powdered sugar is GF, once you mentioned it, I realized I’ve heard that before but I know I haven’t been good about that.
-Melanie-
http://www.theseblankwalls.com
thedomesticrebel says
Absolutely! Sometimes you just never know! 🙂 Thanks Melanie!
Ida Dohoney says
I am new to you and your fantastic recipes not to mention the presentation which I think, no I know, I enjoy as much as the food you present. Thanks special for the GF cake, for my hubby.
thedomesticrebel says
Welcome Ida! So glad to have you here!
Hannah says
I am currently doing a school assignment on vegan baking — so naturally I turned to you (my favorite baking blog)! I am not disappointed. I tried out this cake as soon as I saw this recipe. It was so amazing — my entire family loved it! The raspberry with lemon was divine. My only complaint is that while, yes, this cake is deliciously moist, mine also came out very dense. It was very hard to cut (and therefore, chew). I think that will sort itself out as I get more practice with the recipe though.
thedomesticrebel says
Hannah, sorry your cake was super dense! I remember this cake being quite dense, but not hard to chew. I apologize for your issues! But thank you so much for the sweet compliment. I hope you get an A on your assignment! xoxo.
Kayla says
I’m allergic to apples (but this cake looks so delicious!!!!) so I am curious about the purpose of the applesauce in this recipe. Is it as an egg replacer that I could try flax instead?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Kayla! It helps replace the eggs, yes. You could try a flax egg!