Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake

Lite Lemon Loaf Cake

This brightly flavored Lemon Loaf Cake is a versatile cake that’s been lightened up just in time for the warmer weather.  This lemon flavored pound cake is not only gluten free; I’ve also trimmed over 1400 calories from my original recipe by using low-fat Greek yogurt to replace nearly 2/3 of the butter.  Fresh lemons bring the unmistakable flavor of summer to the gluten free pound cake.  A slice of this cake topped with seasonal berries makes an elegant lighter dessert that just can’t be beat.  And if you happen to be one of my lucky readers that’s actually trying to gain weight, you can easily return this cake to all of its full fat glory by replacing the Greek yogurt in the recipe with two additional sticks of butter.  But truthfully this lighter version is so good that you might want to use your extra calories for something else. A dollop of whipped cream or scoop of ice cream can only add to the luxury. 

Lite Lemon Loaf Cake

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time:  1 hour 10 min

Ingredients list

• 7 oz low fat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 lemon, (you’ll need the entire zest and 2 tbsp of the juice
• 2 cups Gluten Free Bisquick     

Video Tutorial: 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (or 175 °C) and spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with gluten free nonstick spray.
2. Grate the lemon zest into the sugar and stir to combine.
3. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and add the lemon juice and vanilla to the bowl with the eggs.   
4. To make the batter, using either a stand mixer or hand mixer beat the butter and yogurt together until smooth.  Add the sugar and lemon zest mixture and beat for about 2 minutes or until the mixture is light fluffy.  Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl periodically to ensure that everything is well incorporated. 
5. Add the vanilla, lemon juice and eggs one at a time making sure that each is incorporated before adding the next. 
6. Add about half of the Bisquick and beat until it’s well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the other half of the Bisquick. 
7. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out on top.   
8. Bake it for between for between 55 minutes and 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean and the cake has reached the desired color.  My cake passed the toothpick test at 55 minutes yet I still baked it for an additional 15 minutes since I prefer a more deeply colored crust.
9. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before removing it then cool it completely before slicing. 

Notes:  If you’re not following a gluten free diet you can use 2 cups of flour with 1 ½ tsp baking powder in place of the gluten free Bisquick.  This cake has a mild lemon flavor.  For a more intense lemon flavor you can substitute 2 teaspoons of lemon extract in place of the fresh lemon juice.  To make a lemon glaze combine 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with one cup of confectioner’s sugar and stir until smooth.  Then pour the glaze over the cooled cake.