This naturally gluten free Flourless Whole Meyer Lemon cake is made with the entire lemon, peel and all, in the Mediterranean tradition, it has a tender texture and an explosive lemon flavor.
I spent the day before we left clearing out the kitchen like I always do before a trip that’s going to be more than a couple of days long. I promised myself I wouldn’t cook anything so I could focus my attention on cleaning up, packing, getting the dog squared away with the pet sitter, and paying stray bills. That all went out the window when I saw I had four plump Meyer lemons sitting in the fruit bowl. You can’t throw Meyer lemons in the garbage. That’s a sacrilege.
My Flourless Whole Tangerine Cake was the inspiration here. Cakes made with whole citrus fruit are a Mediterranean specialty; they’re made with the whole fruit, peel and all. There is no wheat flour in this cake, just almond meal, so it has a fabulous moist dense texture and is naturally gluten free. In addition to the 3 whole lemons in the cake I added a touch of lemon extract and a super tangy lemon icing so this cake is really the essence of ‘lemony-ness’.
This flourless whole Meyer lemon cake is probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are a citrus fanatic like I am, I think you will love it. The fruit is boiled before pureeing, and that takes away any unpleasant bitterness in the peel. The combination of the whole pureed fruit and the almond meal makes for a very moist, but not soggy, cake.
Traditionally this kind of cake would be served plain, maybe with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, but I went over the top with a puckery lemon icing. I originally added it because the surface of my cake was a little jagged and wasn’t very attractive for photographing, but I’m so glad I did, it makes the cake extra special. It’s the kind of cake you can serve to guests, or eat, sliver by sliver, all week long.
A note about flavor — I am a big fan of pure flavor extracts. I’m talking about pure natural extracts, not artificial flavorings. I think they add a nice boost in certain cases and in this case the lemon extract just enhances the citrus flavor of the cake. It’s handy to have a selection in your cupboard, especially as we go into the holiday and baking season. In addition to almond and vanilla I keep spearmint, peppermint, lemon, orange, rum, and coconut extracts around. I’m searching for maple extract, which is a little harder to find. There are lots of varieties available, ranging from pistachio to watermelon and cardamom. Just remember to say away from anything with the words ‘artificial’ or ‘imitation’ on the label. Olive Nation has a great selection if you’re interested.
If you love gluten free desserts, try some of my others, I love this Belgian Flourless Chocolate Cake, I’ve been making it for years, and it’s always a hit with guests. Yotam Ottolenghi’s Flourless Coconut Cake is an unusual gluten free cake for coconut lovers.
Reader Rave ~
“I absolutely love LOVE love this recipe and made it many times. But today I tried something different. I made cupcakes. Worked perfectly. A muffin tin was used but I poured the batter into larger sized paper muffin cups. Wasn’t sure how much to put in each and guessed, filled about 2/3 up and got 11 (of the 12) filled. Perfect. Was able to peel the paper off without any issue and the resulting cupcakes were super moist and as good as the larger sized cake.” ~ Andrew
Flourless Whole Meyer Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 large Meyer Lemons, approximately 12 oz, total to yield 1 cup of whole lemon puree
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 cups almond meal
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp lemon extract
for the lemon icing
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Set oven to 325F
- Wash the lemons and put them in a pot. Cover them with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes.
- Drain the lemons and let them cool until you can handle them. Cut them open and remove the seeds, but keep everything else. Do this on a plate so you can retain all the juices. Once you have removed all the seeds, put everything into a food processor. Process until finely pureed. You may need to pulse the machine at first, and scrape down the sides as necessary to get everything smooth. This will only take a couple of minutes. You will need one cup of lemon puree for the cake.
- Beat the eggs and the sugar until pale in color. Add the lemon extract.
- Fold in the almond meal, baking powder, and lemon puree. Mix until thoroughly combined.
- Turn the batter into a greased 9" springform pan. Smooth out the surface so it is even.
- Bake for about 50 -60 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then gently release the sides of the pan and remove the cake to finish cooling.
- Make the icing while the cake is cooling. Combine the sugar with the butter and lemon juice. Beat until smooth and creamy. Adjust the texture by adding more sugar or more lemon juice. If you prefer a less tangy icing, use less lemon juice and add a little milk or cream. Spread the icing on the completely cooled cake.
The cake turned out well; moist, excellent texture. The bitterness was subtle, but I’m not a fan of marmalades for that reason. I like the recipe, though, so I’m going to try substituting applesauce and Meyer lemon juice and zest for the boiled lemon purée.
I’ll post how it turns out.
Is a springform pan a must or can it be done in a rectangular/square/round regular pan? I just don’t have a springform.
Thanks in advance!
You could do it in a regular pan, Donna, you just won’t be able to remove it easily. Maybe if you line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment that might help.
Hi there, I just came across your recipe and it looks amazing! Unfortunately I can not find Meyer lemons right now. Could I make this with any type of orange and would the rest if the ingredients need to be modified (due to swee
Yes you can Chelsea – I have another recipe that uses tangerines here:https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/minimal-monday-flourless-whole-tangerine-cake-gluten-free/
Absolutely love this recipe. I was skeptical about boiling the lemons but it all worked out perfectly. I think I’m going to make a couple batches of the boiled lemon purée to put in the freezer for future cakes. Can’t wait to try the tangerine cake recipe.
Making a couple batches of the purée to freeze is great…when I’m ready to make a cake, I can skip the first step and simply defrost. Easy and delicious! I love this recipe and have since started making it with Satsumas also.
I love this Kristin ~ that means you can take advantage of citrus season to enjoy later.
I did not have Meyer lemons, so I just used regular lemons. I love the texture of this cake but the after taste is just awful! I am thinking the Meyer lemons are a must. Any suggestions as to why the after taste turned out so horrible. I did also actually make this in a 9×13 and like I said the texture is awesome, I just cooked it for 25 minutes instead of 50.
Meyer lemons are very different from regular lemons, particularly when it comes to the skin. Meyers have a thin skin that is not very bitter, whereas regular lemons have thick skin which can be extremely bitter. I know meyer lemons can sometimes be tough to find, especially in summer. If you can wait till they are back in season, you’ll have better luck!
Hi! I want to make this for my brothers birthday but I really need to make it in advance. Does it keep well? How many days in advance can I make it and will it dry out? How do I store it?
Thanks!
If you want to make it ahead, I would wrap it well in plastic and keep in the fridge. Don’t frost it until you are ready to serve.
this recipe looks great, especially the frosting!!!, but I am going to try it with gluten free flour because I can’t have almonds. I plan on adding 1/2 cup or so of fat (butter, shortening, oil, I dunno which) to make up for the almonds. I’ve done this with other recipes that used almond flour and it has worked so hopefully it turns out ok with this.
let me know, Joseph!
This may be a longshot, but how did your cake turn out Joseph? I can’t have almonds either, and a friend was raving about this recipe. I’d love to know if the gluten free flour/added fat worked out. Thanks so much!
Have you tried a paleo version, maybe with a coconut milk based icing, and coconut sugar or raw honey for the sugar replacement in the cake? Thanks,
I haven’t tried that but I think it should work, you would just have an extra flavor in there from the coconut.
can you use regular flour with this recipe? Or even substitute half regular flour and half almond flout?
I’m pretty sure regular flour won’t work, Sharyn, sorry, I don’t think the texture would be as good.
I made this last Friday for Passover since it is flourless. My lemon extract had evaporated, so I used vanilla instead. It was yummy, but still a little bitter. But the bitterness completely dissipated by day 3 or 4. I think I will make this cake in advance from now on, but it will definitely be part of my Passover repertoire. Thanks so much for a new gluten free option.
Good to know, Sue. Hope you had a wonderful Passover!