This healthy lemon cake is light, naturally sweetened, and made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour, olive oil and honey. Top it off with a zesty lemon cream and swirls of raspberry preserves, and this gluten-free dessert will be a new staple that the whole family will love!

WHY I MADE THIS HEALTHY LEMON CAKE!

Because it’s officially spring, it seemed like the right time to share a new spring recipe! I’ve had lemon cake on my mind lately, and that’s exactly how this Lemon Raspberry Cream Cake was born.

This gluten free cake is naturally sweetened with honey, made with almond flour, and it’s bursting with fresh lemon flavor! When I shared my first Gluten Free Lemon Cake recipe last year, I loved it for its simplicity. In my opinion, an easy recipe is a great starting point for so much more deliciousness, and I kept thinking about how great it would be to create a lemon cake that’s both layered with lemon cream, and slathered in fresh fruit preserves.

I baked this cake in a square baking pan, cut it into eight pieces, and stacked them to create four layered cake slices, but you can certainly just enjoy and serve these cakes without stacking them. In fact, you could even eat this cake with no cream or raspberry on top–the choice is yours!

I hope you love this lovely lemon spring cake. If you do, be sure to leave a review and a comment letting me know what you think!

MY GLUTEN FREE LEMON CAKE RECIPE

The full instructions on how to make this easy lemon cream cake is in the recipe card at the bottom of this blog post, but here’s a quick overview of how to make it.

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to view the full recipe and get all of the measurements and instructions!

• Prep: Line a cake pan with parchment paper. I used a square cake pan this time around.
• Mix the wet ingredients: Whisk together the olive oil, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and eggs until smooth.
• Add in the dry ingredients: Stir in the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until a thick batter forms.
• Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden on top.
• Make the lemon cream: Whip together the cream, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and vanilla until soft peaks form.
• Assemble: Spread the lemon cream over the cooled cake, dollop raspberry preserves on top, and swirl it all together!

RASPBERRY LEMON CAKE KEY INGREDIENTS

The full ingredients list is in the recipe card below, so make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see what you need to make this recipe!

Here is a quick overview of what you need to make this easy raspberry lemon cake at home:

• Olive oil: Keeps the cake moist and tender!
• Honey (or Maple syrup): Natural sweetener that also adds moisture.
• Lemon: Obviously needed for gluten free lemon cake 🙂 Lemon juice and zest both provide the cake’s signature bright, citrusy flavor.
• Vanilla: Needed for any cake, imo! Vanilla rounds out all of the great lemon flavors.
• Eggs: Bind the batter together, add structure, and contribute to a light texture. See the FAQ section below on an idea for a vegan egg substitute.
• Almond Flour: Our gluten free flour base, which provides structure while keeping the cake super duper moist.
• Tapioca Flour: A key ingredient that gives this cake its wonderful crumb and texture. Tapioca flour also helps bind the batter.

HOW LONG DOES THIS GLUTEN FREE LEMON CAKE TAKE TO MAKE?

This layered lemon cake recipe has a few different components to it, but they all come together quickly and easily. The full recipe is below, but here’s the gist of it:

• Prep time: 20 mins
• Bake time: 25 minutes

In total, this easy lemon raspberry cake recipe will take less than an hour total to make!

HOW TO STORE THIS HEALTHY LEMON CAKE?

I recommend storing the lemon cake, lemon cream, and raspberry preserves in the fridge separately to prevent the cake from getting soggy over time. So, be sure to only top the cake with the cream and the preserves when you’re ready to serve it.

You can store any leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

GLUTEN FREE LEMON RASPBERRY CAKE FAQ

1. Is this lemon cake actually healthy?

In my opinion, yes! This recipe swaps out refined flour and white sugar for more nutrient-dense alternatives like almond flour, olive oil, and honey.

2. Can I make this cake dairy-free?

Yes, you can. For the lemon cream, simply swap the heavy whipping cream for cold coconut cream and use a dairy-free Greek-style yogurt. The rest of the recipe is already dairy-free!

3. Is this recipe gluten-free?

Yes! Instead of traditional flour, this healthy lemon cake recipe uses almond flour and tapioca flour, which are both naturally gluten-free.

4. Can I substitute the eggs to make it vegan?

Though I haven’t tried it for this recipe, you can try using flax eggs instead of traditional eggs. All you need to do is combine 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg. Note that the texture of the cake may be slightly denser.

The honey would also need to be swapped for maple syrup to keep this recipe vegan.

5. Can I use a different sweetener?

Honey and maple syrup are my favorite natural sweeteners, and both work really well in this recipe. You could also experiment with agave nectar as a 1:1 swap.

6. Why did my cake come out too dense?

If you follow this recipe exactly, you should have a light and fluffy lemon cake! Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before mixing, as this helps create a lighter batter. Also avoid over-mixing the dry ingredients once they’re added.

7. How should I store this cake?

I recommend storing the lemon cake, lemon cream, and raspberry preserves in the fridge separately to prevent the cake from getting soggy over time. So, be sure to only top the cake with the cream and the preserves when you’re ready to serve it.

You can store any leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

8. Can I make this cake ahead of time?

Sure! You can bake the gluten free lemon cake a day in advance and store it wrapped at room temperature. Make the lemon cream and assemble just before serving for the best texture.

9. What can I use instead of raspberry preserves?

Any berry preserves works beautifully here — strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry are all great options. You could also use a fresh berry compote if you prefer a lower-sugar alternative!

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If you love this recipe be sure to leave a review! And feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments via my Contact page. You’ll hear back from me soon!

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