Description
My foolproof recipe for healthy lemon cake is ultra moist and perfectly fluffy. It's bursting with fresh lemon flavor thanks to plenty of zest and juice, with a tender crumb from almond and oat flour, Greek yogurt and olive oil. Super easy to make in one bowl, and I swear it tastes as indulgent as the classic!. Slather it a thick layer of healthy lemon cream cheese frosting for bakery vibes sans the refined sugar!
You'll need 2 total lemons for the cake and the frosting. (Though I like garnishing the cake with zest as well, so get 3 if you feel the same!) Note: do NOT bake this in a metal pan; it will come out bubbly. This was tested with a ceramic baking dish.
Ingredients
- 2 cups super fine blanched almond flour, packed (268g)*
- 1/3 cup oat flour (36g)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced (3 tbsp lemon juice)**
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- healthy lemon cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Unwrap brick of cream cheese for frosting and set it on a plate near the preheating oven to come to room temp (ideally do this an hour before you start making your cake). Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Place almond flour, oat flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium or large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Add yogurt, maple syrup, lemon juice and zest, eggs, olive oil, and vanilla. Whisk again until smooth. It should be a slightly thick batter yet pourable. If it seems too runny, add 2-4 tbsp more almond flour. Pour batter into lined baking dish, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, cool on a wire rack.
- While the cake bakes, make lemon cream cheese frosting.
- Let cake cool (I like to pop it in the fridge once it's not hot) then top with frosting. Slice into 12-16 pieces and devour! Store frosted cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (Frosted cake can be at room temperature for 2 hours then must be refrigerated.) Unfrosted cake can be stored at room temp for up to 2 days.
Notes
*Almond flour is pretty forgiving; just be sure to really pack it in the measuring cup. I use this kitchen scale to weigh flour for accuracy in baking.
**Do not use more than 3 tbsp lemon juice or the batter will be too acidic.
Nutrition info for 1 piece of unfrosted cake: Calories: 165, Fat: 5.8g, Saturated fat: 0.6g, Cholesterol: 35.3mg, Sodium: 132.4mg, Total carb: 12.5g, Fiber: 0.9g, Sugar: 7.3g, Protein: 4.6g,