This amazing paleo lemon crumb cake is deliciously sweet/tart and bursting with fresh lemon flavor! It starts with a perfectly moist lemon cake layer, topped with lemon curd, piled with crumb topping and drizzled with lemon glaze. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo will become a favorite dessert with the first bite!
As promised, it’s recipe #2 of our unofficial lemon-dessert weekend! Hopefully you didn’t miss yesterday’s Perfect Paleo (and nut free) Lemon Bars, but if you did – you know where to go for double the lemony fun 🙂
This has been a MUCH anticipated recipe since I made it, um, 4 days ago. I surprised myself with just how incredible it turned out, even though I had pretty high hopes in the first place.
I posted my results on Instagram stories, and I immediately received tons of requests to get the recipe up ASAP! So, here we are – with an absolutely perfect paleo lemon crumb cake (with a creamy layer of lemon curd!) on a Sunday – just in time for brunch!
You’ll notice that I didn’t write out the recipe for the lemon curd, but linked to it – since I used the exact same lemon curd recipe that I used for my lemon curd tartlets.
You’ll only need about 1/2 cup lemon curd for this recipe, so you’ll have to decide what to do with your leftovers! (A few suggestions – spread it on banana bread, or dollop on a blueberry muffins, or, if you’re brave and bold, eat with a spoon.)
Back to the cake though. The cake recipe is similar to the recipe I used for my cranberry orange coffee cake and orange poppy seed muffins. Lots of citrus, some coconut oil, and maple sugar to sweeten to keep the color light and lemony.
If you prefer, you can use coconut sugar, however, the color of the cake will be significantly darker! I also used maple sugar for the topping, so the same rule will go for that, too.
As long as you use a granulated sweetener (and not honey or maple, which would impact the liquid/dry ratio) the cake will be just fine.
You can see how I layered the lemon curd over the unbaked batter in the above photos, then covered with lots of crumb topping to bake.
It will probably seem like you have a ton of crumb topping, but it will all bake together well and make for tons of flavor and texture in each bite.
I decided to give you options for the icing/glaze, since there are SO many ways to create a white icing, but everyone has their own preferences about what ingredients they use/have on hand.
The simplest icing (and what is shown in the photos) is organic powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice.
While not technically paleo if you use organic powdered sugar, you can also make your own powdered sugar by putting your maple sugar in a food processor until fine like powder, then mixing that with your fresh lemon juice.
I also tested a honey-sweetened icing – super simple – using raw honey, lemon juice, and tapioca flour. The consistency completely mimicked the traditional icing, however when tasting it, I noticed more of a “powder” in the texture. However, once on the cake, this is something I doubt you’d notice at all.
And because I might be crazy, I’ll give you 2 more icing options! If you’re a coconut butter fan, you can’t go wrong with gently melted coconut butter with a bit of honey or maple syrup mixed in.
You can also add lemon juice (room temp) to this mixture, although it occasionally becomes a problem for the texture of the coconut butter, making it clumpy instead of smooth.
Lastly, I made a great glaze for my cinnamon rolls that is essentially sweetened condensed coconut milk. It’s more work (since you have to cook it!) but once it cools it’s perfect for drizzling and would work well on this cake.
To sum up:
1.) You MUST make this cake! There are many steps involved and yes, it’s more work than other crumb cakes, BUT, it’s easy (promise) and the results are well worth it.
2.) You can make the lemon curd right before preparing the cake, OR up to a day ahead of time.
3.) The cake has 3 layers which all bake at the same time – cake batter, lemon curd, and crumb topping.
4.) Fresh lemon juice is a must for this recipe (and all lemon recipes, in my opinion!) Again, it’s a bit more work, but WELL worth it.
5.) This recipe will be LOVED by everyone in your house, and anyone you serve it to. I don’t care how picky they are – seriously – my 6 year old WHO EATS NOTHING NOT EVEN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES really enjoyed this cake!
So there, I think I’ve gotten my point across. Let’s get our aprons on and ovens preheated, oh and start squeezing those lemons – let’s go!
Lemon Crumb Cake with Lemon Curd {Paleo}
Lemon Crumb Cake with Lemon Curd {Paleo}
This amazing paleo lemon crumb cake is deliciously sweet/tart and bursting with fresh lemon flavor! It starts with a perfectly moist lemon cake layer, topped with lemon curd, piled with crumb topping and drizzled with lemon glaze. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo will become a favorite dessert with the first bite!
Ingredients
Crumb topping:
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup organic refined coconut oil solid
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp maple sugar coconut sugar will work too, but the color is much darker
- finely grated zest of one med lemon
Cake:
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice about 2-3 lemons
- Grated zest of 1 medium lemon
- 3 Tbsp organic refined coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
- 2/3 cup pure maple sugar coconut sugar will work too, the the color will be much darker
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup homemade lemon curd**
Icing:
- 2/3 cup organic powdered sugar Paleo option***
- 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 x 8” square baking pan with parchment paper on the bottom and sides, for easy removal.
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Prepare the lemon curd, then set aside to cool to room temp while you prepare the cake. Lemon curd can also be made ahead of time, if preferred.
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Next, make the crumb topping by blending all ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until a texture is crumbly, chill in the fridge while you prepare the cake batter.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice and zest, coconut oil, vanilla and almond extract, and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda and salt. Stir the dry mixture into the wet until well combined and smooth.
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Using a silicone spatula, transfer cake batter into the parchment lined cake pan and smooth out evenly. Using a Tbsp, dollop the lemon curd over the cake batter, leaving 1/2” around the perimeter, then gently swirl with cake batter.
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Sprinkle crumb topping all over the top to cover completely, then bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 mins until cake is set in the center.
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Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving. For toppings, you can dust with organic powdered sugar (not paleo), drizzle on icing and garnish with grated lemon zest.
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While cooling, prepare the icing/glaze of choice. Whisk together ingredients until you get a consistency that you can drizzle (if making your own powdered sugar, do this ahead of time) then use a spoon to drizzle icing over the cake as desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*The glaze for my cinnamon rolls would also work well - find the recipe here. **Find my easy recipe for lemon curd here.
***You can make your own powdered sugar with maple sugar by blending it in a food processor until powdery, and using it in place of organic powdered sugar. Note, the color will be darker.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Lemon Crumb Cake:
Want More Paleo Baking Recipes? Try One of These!
Key Lime Pie with Coconut Pecan Crust
Orange Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Carrot Cake with Coconut “Cream Cheese” Frosting
Lemon Blueberry Muffins {Nut Free}
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Do you think I can add blueberries and get the same result in texture regarding the cake? Thanks in advance and excited for the recipe either way 🙂
Loved this! Made it for a birthday and my non-paleo family complimented it:)
I want this cake..been dreaming about it since I found your recipe a few months ago. It looks delicious!! I’ve made it twice. The first time I used a jarred lemon curd from Trader Joe’s. Great flavor and texture but divots in the top. Second version I used coconut sugar instead of organic granulated sugar, made your lemon curd (yum!), and oops, added about 3/4 cups of fresh blueberries. What came out of the oven was a dense, under-baked mess. Seemed like moisture was trapped in the cake so it did not rise or breathe while baking. Both baked at 350 for 40 minutes. On to try number three. Going back to granulated sugar and no fruit. I did not realize how much difference an ingredient could make!! The coconut sugar really changes the color too. I will get this right! Thank you for the recipe (and challenge to color within the lines).
This looks absolutely divine! It’s my birthday in a few days and I am going to make this as my birthday cake. Question – can this cake be frozen and defrosted when needed? Thank you so much for sharing so many fabulous recipes. This site is truly a gold mine for yummy, healthy food.
Just made this recipe and it turned out great! So delicious. 😋 My one mistake, which didn’t affect the taste, was that I swirled the curd into the batter. Because I jumped right to the recipe I missed the picture that showed it sitting on top of the cake batter. I would have liked that better. The instructions say, “ …then gently swirl with cake batter.” so I thought it was supposed to swirl it into the batter. 🤦🏼♀️ Still terrific look and flavor.
I don’t understand, where is the instruction/ingredients for the curd???
Is there a difference in using unrefined or refine coconut oil. Hard to find refinded by me. THANKS