Very Best Gluten-Free Ricotta Lemon Loaf

Gluten-Free Ricotta Lemon Loaf with Light Fresh Lemon Icing. The gluten-free cake that tastes like fresh lemons. Very moist, extra lemony, made with ricotta cheese. Each slice is lightly drizzled with fresh lemon icing. A ricotta lemon loaf that’s just a touch more delicious.

This gluten-free loaf is everything. It’s buttery, light, moist, has a perfect crumb and a zing from fresh lemons. But even more importantly, it tastes soo good! I could not be more excited to share this ricotta lemon loaf today. It is all the things a lemon loaf needs to be and better.

Ricotta Lemon Loaf Recipe Notes,

In these notes, I will explain how to get that perfect crumb. It’s in the small details that make this ricotta lemon loaf perfect.

This gluten-free cake recipe is made from plenty of fresh lemons and lemon zest.

Before I zest the lemons, I remove the impurities, including wax, from the peel. To do this, I pour boiling water over the lemons and soak them for one minute. Then I drain the water and wipe the lemons with a dry clean cloth.

a punch of fresh lemon flavour,

First, I mix the nutrient packed lemon zest with sugar using an electric mixer. Doing this first helps release some of the essential oils from the zest. It makes all the difference in flavour.

Next, I cream the butter until fluffy. For this ricotta lemon loaf recipe, the butter, eggs and ricotta must be at room temperature for best results.

If you are short on time or forget to bring your ingredients to room temperature, here is a tip.

Fill a large bowl with warm water about 120 F, place the eggs, butter still in the paper and ricotta in a measuring cup into the water for 10 minutes. Do not submerge the ricotta in the water. Done!

adding eggs to the butter mixture,

Next, mix in one egg at a time. This will maintain a creamy and airy butter mixture. In the end, very briefly mix in vanilla and ricotta cheese until just combined.

To keep the batter lump-free, I alternate flour mixture with lemon juice and use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix everything until smooth. 

Don’t worry if the batter might look slightly curdled. This is due to the acidic lemon juice. The final result will be melt in your mouth cake crumb.

baking for a perfect lemon loaf crumb,

First, I brush the loaf pan with oil and then line it with parchment paper. By oiling the pan first, the parchment paper will stick easily to the pan.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.

The lemon loaf takes about 70 minutes to bake. To avoid browning too quickly, after 45 minutes, loosely cover the loaf with foil paper shiny side facing up and continue baking.

Rest the lemon loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack to fully cool.

No lemon loaf is complete without lemon icing!

I find that 1 cup of powdered sugar (icing sugar) with 6 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice will give you the optimal consistency. The icing should be thick. If you want the icing to be thinner, add 1/2 teaspoon at a time of lemon juice until you reach desired consistency.

Once cooled, drizzle the top with lemon icing with the icing dripping down the sides. Or, you can use royal cream cheese frosting.

This cake doesn’t need anything else besides the icing. However, adding a few thin slices of lemon make the lemon loaf look fresh and pretty.

To store, the lemon loaf will keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place for about 3-4 days.

I promise you this gluten-free ricotta lemon loaf is so much better than the words can describe. Enjoy!