Lemon Pound Cake Gluten Free

I've been missing pound cake! I tried making it gluten free one day and it was a flop. A family member made a request for vanilla cake. That recipe I have not shared yet but it is based on Bob's Red Mill Magically Moist Almond Cake. That cake is so very nice in moistness, taste and texture. My daughter was so disappointed when I brought the pound cake rather than the almond cake.  I made the lemon pound cake because I wanted to try a lemon pound cake using lemon puree. I had made tangerine puree before and was guessing I could use the same procedure for making lemon puree.

I found several recipes for lemon puree but many of them called for heavy amounts of sugar. I was making this pound cake low sugar. I thought it wouldn't hurt to experiment not using granulated sugar. I made the lemon puree without any sugar. I suppose I could have used a sugar substitute, but first I wanted to try it without any sweetner -- as I did with the tangerine/clementine puree.

Directions for Making Lemon Puree

It takes two lemons for each cake. I usually do about 6 lemons because 6 aren't much more trouble nor anymore messier than pureeing two lemons. I freeze the extra puree for another time.

1. Place the lemons in water (just covering the lemons) and bring to a boil. A few recipes state to boil for 45 minutes to get rid of the bitter taste in the peel. Another said to boil for 2 hours. I boiled for an hour, poured out the water and boiled again for 30 minutes.

2. Let the lemons cool, place them on a cutting board (with raised edges), cut the ends off the lemons and open the lemons to get out the seeds. (Mine slightly split open while boiling.)

3. Place lemons with peel and any juice on the board in a food processor. Process until a paste is formed. Freeze any left over in a zip plastic bag. Press the puree flat (letting out air), freeze on a metal pan. Then the bags of  puree can be stacked. I stacked them with the clementine puree.

4. I found that there was no need to add any sugar to the puree. The sugar or sweetness in the recipe for the cake was enough. Add a sweetener of choice if you find it needs to be sweeter.

The Pound Cake

Several of the gluten free pound cake recipes stated to leave the cake in the pan until it was cool. I understand why because gluten free cakes are very delicate while hot. But the first time I made it and left it in the pan to cool, it sweat and the bottom of the cake was slightly wet with water dripping off the parchment paper. The cake needs to be removed from the pan about 5-10 minutes after removing from the oven. Lining the pan with parchment paper lapping over the side helps with removing the pound cake. The second time I made the cake, I removed the pound cake with the parchment paper. It had not sweat and it didn't fall apart. Just make sure that it is lifted with the parchment and let it cool in the parchment paper on a cooling rack.


Flavoring and Variations

This pound cake can be given any flavor you want. So far I have made it lemon, clementine and chocolate. All three flavors were great. Another time I may make it just vanilla or spice. Chocolate chips would be great in it. This cake will be very moist and will last several days in the fridge. The last slice will be as a good as the first -- within limits. The cake will need to be sliced and frozen to last longer than a couple of days. I wrap each piece in a paper towel or parchment paper and then in a plastic zipper bag. They can be stacked better if parchment paper is between each slice. I prefer the parchment paper but the paper towel absorbs moisture as the cake thaws.

Anything gluten free will usually dry out quickly. You can notice that this is a small pound cake. There are a couple of reasons for that. The cake doesn't keep on the shelf for longer than a couple days because there are no preservatives in the batter and gluten free batters just dry out quickly. Another reason the cake is small is gluten free baked goods rise better when in smaller amounts of batter. The baking pan can make the difference, also. Pans that have straight, not slanted, sides help the gluten free dough or batter rise better. I notice a big difference, especially in bread dough rising, when I bought Big Daddio's small straight-sided loaf pan. Lining the pan with parchment paper gives cake and bread batters a help in rising.

Since this cake is not made with wheat flour, do not expect it to have a tremendous smooth texture. It is smooth but not as smooth as when made with wheat flour. This pound cake is made from almond flour and will have the texture of almond flour. Purchasing super fine almond flour will help with a smoother texture but it will be more expensive. I found that grinding the almond flour in a coffee mill helps to make it finer. Be careful and not grind it too long or it will become almond butter.

The Tangerine/Clementine Puree worked very nicely in this recipe, also.

Clementine Pound Cake

I made the cake lower in sugar but it doesn't have to be. Substitute the Stevia in the Raw for regular granulated sugar and the Truvia brown sugar for regular brown sugar.

Variations:
Chocolate: add 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (or more if wanted) cocoa to the dry ingredients plus another
       tablespoon of brown sugar
Vanilla: use only the vanilla flavoring as stated in the recipe
Spices: ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, allspice
Extracts: any that you like can be used

I haven't tried it yet but I think that the pumpkin puree can be substituted for the lemon puree. With the pumpkin spices, that would make a wonderful pumpkin pound cake.

Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1/2 cup cream cheese (4oz), softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw (or granulated sugar)

1 tablespoon Truvia brown sugar blend (or regular brown sugar)

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4-1/2 cup lemon puree

2 cups almond flour

3 tablespoons coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 4x8-in loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving ends so that the cake can be lifted easily out of the pan.

2.  Whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt and any dry spices used.

3. With electric mixer, cream butter, cream cheese, sugar, sugar substitute and brown sugar.

4.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon puree or any other flavoring being used.

5. Gradually add dry ingredients to egg mixture while beating on medium speed. Pour into parchment lined loaf pan.

6. Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest and cool for 5-10 minutes in pan. Remove the cake from the pan using parchment paper. Do not cut the cake until cool. Otherwise, it may fall apart. Remember, gluten free products are more delicate.

7. Serve with ice cream, berries or whipped cream, if desired


Resources:

"Almond Flour Pound Cake." How Stuff Works. Publications International, LTD, n.d. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2015. <http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/almond-flour-pound-cake-recipe.htm>.

Andrews, A.J. "How to Line a Loaf Pan?" EHow. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ehow.com/how_10012060_line-loaf-pan.html>.

"Culinary Parchment 101: Lining a Loaf Pan." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRJ2r3Em5aw>.

N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/magically-moist-almond-cake/>.