Name: Gluten Free Lemon and Blackcurrant Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 175 g caster sugar; 175 g unsalted butter, (softened); 125 g self raising gluten free flour (+ 1 tsp extra for the blackcurrants); 50 g ground almonds; 3 large eggs; Zest of 2 lemons, (reserve juice for syrup and icing); 100g blackcurrants; Juice of 2 lemons; 100 g granulated sugar; 200 g icing sugar; Juice of 1 lemon; 55g blackcurrants; 1-2 tbsp flaked almonds (optional, for topping)

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links for which I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more info, check out my Disclosure Policy. Thank you for your support!

If you love a lemon drizzle cake, this fruity Gluten Free Lemon and Blackcurrant Cake is the perfect zesty, summer recipe.

A fun twist on my gluten free lemon drizzle cake recipe, this cake is soaked in a lemon syrup and packed with juicy blackcurrants.

I’ve also topped it with an easy blackcurrant icing to give it this glorious pink colour – with some flaked almonds to add a little extra texture and decoration.

Great for a gluten free afternoon tea

I think the blackcurrant icing on this cake really makes it pop – it would make the perfect centrepiece for a party or gluten free afternoon tea.

It’s made my simply pushing blitzed-up blackcurrants through a sieve into lemon juice and icing sugar to produce this tangy pink icing.

If you wanted to cheat on this though, you could use a teaspoon of blackcurrant juice or even Ribena instead of sieving your blackcurrants.

Either way, it’s the perfect combination of sweet and sharp and possibly the best colour ever!

A fruity twist on lemon drizzle

I used frozen blackcurrants in this gluten free lemon and blackcurrant cake, but you could change this up for blackberries or blueberries if you prefer.

In fact, most berries would work – but I think lemon and blueberry is such a common flavour combination. I wanted something different!

I know blackberries are ripe for picking at the time of writing this, but I definitely urge you try it with blackcurrants first, it’s just delicious.

Of course the flaked almonds on top are also an optional decoration, but with ground almonds in the cake to give it a better texture, they made a lovely decoration.

What do I need to make this gluten free cake?

The full method for my gluten free blackcurrant and lemon cake is down below in a printable recipe card.

But for the shopping list you will need:

For the cake:

175 g caster sugar
175 g unsalted butter, (softened)
125 g self raising gluten free flour (+ 1 tsp extra for the blackcurrants)
50 g ground almonds
3 large eggs
Zest of 2 lemons, (reserve juice for syrup and icing)
100g blackcurrants

For the syrup:

Juice of 2 lemons
100 g granulated sugar

For the icing (optional):

200 g icing sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
55g blackcurrants
1-2 tbsp flaked almonds (optional, for topping)

It may look like a lot of ingredients but a lot of them are actually used in multiple parts of the recipe.

For example, use the lemon zest in the cake and the juice for the syrup.

The third lemon’s juice goes into the icing, but you could use the zest to decorate the cake so as not to waste it!

You can also use caster sugar instead of granulated sugar in the syrup – I prefer granulated as I like the crunch it gives it, but either works really well.

And if the icing is too much for you, you could always add the blitzed blackcurrant juice to the syrup instead and omit the icing part.

Can I make this recipe dairy free?

My gluten free lemon and blackcurrant cake can actually really easily be made dairy free too.

Just use Stork baking block instead of butter – it’s my go-to when it comes to making dairy free cakes.

In terms of making it vegan, I’ve not tried it with an egg replacer so if you give it a go, please let me know.

This recipe is seriously easy to adapt. You could even switch it up and change the lemon for limes if you want to make it multiple times.

I made this recipe in a 20cm round cake tin but you can also make it in a 2lb loaf tin if that’s all you have.

If you do this, you’ll need to cook it for around 50 minutes to 1 hour – it takes slightly longer than cooking in a round tin!

How do I stop the fruit from sinking?

Getting fruit to not sink in a cake is hard – it tends to add moisture and weight to the mixture which drops to the bottom of the tin as it cooks.

I always roll my blackcurrants in flour – but this sometimes doesn’t stop it.

To be honest, for me the joy in this particular cake is that the berries DO sink to the bottom.

It creates this juicy, Ribena-esque layer at the bottom of the cake which looks lovely and just tastes fantastic.

If you really want to avoid this, you could try adding half the blackcurrants to the mixture then sprinkling the other half on top.

However on this one occasion I say go with the sinking – you won’t regret it!

My gluten free lemon and blackcurrant cake

If you’re after a super vibrant, zesty and easy gluten free bake then you’ve certainly come to the right place.

This makes enough for around 12-16 people, depending on how big a slice you fancy!

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!

And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.

Gluten Free Lemon and Blackcurrant Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This gluten free lemon and blackcurrant cake is a zesty, fruity bake. Packed with juicy blackcurrants, soaked in a lemon drizzle and topped in a vibrant blackcurrant and lemon icing.