Gluten-Free Lemon Pound Cake

THE CAKE

¾ cup milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

½ cup butter, room temperature

1½ cups turbino sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ cups white rice flour + ¼ cup for flouring the loaf pan

½ cup tapioca starch (aka tapioca flour)

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest

1 drop lemon oil or ¼ teaspoon lemon extract (optional)

LEMON ICING

2 Tbs. butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 Tbs. lemon juice

¼ t. vanilla

Milk to thin 

For the Cake:

1. Preheat oven  325 degrees.

2. Mix milk and vinegar in a cup - it should thicken slightly.

3. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl beat until combined the sugar has mostly dissolved into the butter.

4. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition.

5. Sift flours, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt into a separate bowl.

6. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture and combine very well - don’t worry about over-mixing because there is no gluten to “toughen” the cake. 

7. Add ½ of the milk and vinegar mixture and mix very well. Repeat step 7 and 8 and finish off with remainder of flour mixture. 

8. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest and optional lemon oil.

9. Butter and flour a 9” x 5”  loaf pan with remaining rice flour and pour the batter in evenly.

10. Bake for 50-60 minutes. 

11. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan onto a cooling rack with paper towels under it. Cool the cake completely.

For the Icing:

Combine powdered super, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until smooth, adding milk by the teaspoon to bring it to the right consistency. Pour over cooled cake and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes to set up.