Rich, buttery, and delightfully simple! A good pound cake is one of those desserts that can confidently stand alone. Once you try this pound cake recipe, you’ll never need any other!
Want a gluten free pound cake recipe that is full of flavor and has a tender crumb? This is it! Adding cream cheese for richness and a touch of lemon juice for tenderness is the trick to the best gluten-free pound cake.
A great pound cake is hard to beat, but a bad pound cake…well, to me, that’s easy to pass on.
Many gluten free pound cake recipes (and classic pound cake recipes) end up dry and bland, which is why I went on a mission to create the best gluten free pound cake!
This recipe is silky-smooth, rich, and moist—thanks to cream cheese whipped into the batter! Since it doesn’t need frosting or any toppings, it’s great for cutting into thick slices and taking to a party or picnic.
Top this pound cake with fresh berries and cream, or serve it alone as a sophisticatedly simple dessert.
It might just become one of your new favorite desserts!
If you love desserts with strawberries and cream you also might like this gluten-free trifle or this gluten-free angel food cake.
Why You’ll Love this Gluten-Free Pound Cake Recipe
- Buttery and moist
- Rich flavor
- Soft & smooth crumb
- Not dry
- Comes together quickly
Ingredient You’ll Need
The biggest trick to this gluten-free pound cake recipe is to use softened cream cheese to stabilize the crumb. It makes for the perfect texture and cake rise!
Here are a few more notes on the key ingredients. If you have any additional questions feel free to leave me a comment below!
- Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour: This gluten-free cake turns out best when you use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Look for a gluten free all purpose flour blend that contains xanthan gum so the cake has the structure it needs. This is my favorite brand for this recipe.
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese adds stability and richness to create moist crumbs. Make sure it’s softened for best results!
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice adds a nice tang to the cake batter and helps to activate the baking powder, resulting in a lighter cake.
- Baking Powder: I use a good amount in this recipe for the perfect rise.
How to Make Gluten Free Pound Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 8 ½ by 4 ½-inch loaf pan and lightly coat the pan with flour. Tap out any excess flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, lemon juice, large eggs and room temperature cream cheese. Mix on medium speed for about 1-2 minute until well combined.
- With the stand mixer or electric mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in the melted, unsalted butter. Continue to mix on low and add the dry ingredients a little at a time until fully incorporated and you have creamed butter. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again until the batter is totally smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325F and continue baking for 35-40 minutes. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife down the sides of the pan and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Let the cake cool for 2 hours before slicing. Enjoy!
Storage/Freezing Instructions
- To store: Store your cake by covering the pan in plastic wrap, or by placing leftovers in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to two days.
- To freeze: Wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap, then store in the freezer for up to a week.
Gluten-Free Pound Cake Variations
- Add 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract for almond pound cake.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract and the zest of 2 lemons for lemon pound cake.
Glaze Ideas
- Simple glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon milk whisked together until smooth then poured over the cooled cake.
- Lemon glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon lemon juice whisked together until smooth then poured over the cooled cake.
For more gluten-free cake recipes, try this gluten-free lemon cake, these gluten-free cupcakes or this gluten-free pineapple upside down cake.
This gluten-free pumpkin bread and gluten-free cranberry bread also have the perfect texture!
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Lightly flour the pan for easy removal of the pound cake once it is baked!
- Don’t forget to let the cream cheese soften to room temperature before adding it to the cake. This will make for a silky-smooth, stable pound cake recipe.
- Pound cake can easily be eaten plain, but you can also top yours with whipped cream, berries, or even ice cream, if you’d like. You could also make a simple glaze with powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, or almond extract.
More Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you try this pound cake, be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Perfect Gluten-Free Pound Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ⅓ cup gluten-free 1:1 baking flour 200 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Other:
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar 250 grams
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature, 113 grams
- ½ cup butter melted, 113 grams
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 8 ½ by 4 ½-inch loaf pan and lightly coat the pan with flour. Tap out any excess flour.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the sugar, lemon juice, pure vanilla extract, eggs and cream cheese. Mix on medium speed for about 1-2 minute until well combined.
- With the mixer running on low, slowly pour in the melted butter. Continue to mix on low and add the dry ingredients a little at a time until fully incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl and mix again until the batter is totally smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F, then reduce the oven temperature to 325F and continue baking for 35-40 minutes. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife down the sides of the pan and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Let the cake cool for 2 hours before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Add 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract for almond pound cake.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract and the zest of 2 lemons for lemon pound cake.
- Simple glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon milk whisked together until smooth then poured over the cooled cake.
- Lemon glaze: 1 cup of powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon lemon juice whisked together until smooth then poured over the cooled cake.
I don’t have a stand up mixer. Will a regular small beater work?
Hi Ann, you can definitely use an electric hand mixer with this recipe. We hope you enjoy the cake!
This is my go-to pound cake recipe!! It’s so moist and delicious!!! No one guesses it’s gluten free!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear you love this pound cake recipe, Tammy! Thank you for taking the time to share your kind feedback with us!
Hi I recently seen some of your recipes on instagram and am excited to try a few for my son. He is on the spectrum and has some restrictions. He cannot eat fruit and sugar combined separately is ok just not together. So I wanted to ask what you would recommend? Can I substitute the lemon juice for vinegar or something else? Thanks.
Hi Brandy, you can try replacing the lemon juice with white vinegar. Use half the amount when using vinegar, just 1 tsp. We’d love to hear how it goes!
Hello Erin!
I love your recipes, they always come out great. You say to use a flour blend with xanthan gum in it already, but if it doesn’t, how much xanthan gum would you use for this recipe?
Thank you!
Hi Michelle, the general guideline is to use 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum for every 1 cup of flour, if your blend doesn’t already include it. We hope you enjoy the pound cake!
Perfect pound cake indeed. The recipe is easy to follow and the end result is delicious. Thank you!
Yay! Thank you for the positive feedback, Liz. We’re glad you liked the recipe!
I did not have much hope for this since I’ve tried tons of GF pound cake recipes that have left me underwhelmed. I made this as written with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour, which I sifted since I’d read reviews that it could be grainy. It was phenomenal in taste and texture. It was a touch sweet for my taste (easily remedied), but my parents who are GF loved it as is! We all think it’s the best GF pound cake we’ve had. Thanks for the super recipe!
Thank you for such a rave review, Caroline! We are so happy everyone loved the pound cake!
Hi, does this freeze well?
Hi Janis, thank you for your question. The pound cake can be stored in the freezer for up to a week. Just wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and it’s good to go. We hope this helps!
Christie, I tried to freeze it, problem was that it is easily sliced when frozen and it was too irresistible and I ended up eating a slice or two from the freezer each day , not sure it even made it a week in the freezer!
We’re so glad you loved it so much, Nicole! Thanks for sharing your kind feedback with us!
I have diabetes in the family
Would splenda work instead of sugar?
Hi Teresa, good question! Granulated sugar is important for the proper texture and crumb with this recipe. We can’t say how Splenda would change the outcome. If you decide to give it a try, let us know how it goes!
I’ve made this cake twice and it was amazing! Both times I doubled the recipe, the first time it made a Bundt cake, and the second it made three 8-inch layers.
That’s great to hear, Haley! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with this gluten-free pound cake recipe. Happy baking!
Could I use fresh lemon juice to make a lemon pound cake? If so, how much would you suggest adding?
Hi Corina, the recipe includes 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, but you can add 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract and the zest of 2 lemons for lemon pound cake. You can also add a lemon glaze using 1 cup of powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon lemon juice. We hope you enjoy the cake!
If using gluten free ALL PURPOSE baking flour instead of 1:1 Baking Flour
does the 1 t. of baking powder need to be adjusted?
Hi Jane, we haven’t tried all-purpose flour with this recipe, but generally it can be used in place of the gf flour at a 1:1 ratio without further adjustments. We hope you enjoy the pound cake!
The nutrition info doesn’t say how much it is for. Is it for a one inch slice or a loaf or what?
The nutrition information is for 1/8th of the recipe. I hope that makes sense!
What about substituting coconut sugar for the regular sugar? When I tried doing it by weight the coconut sugar would have been a lot more by measure, so I played it safe and used regular sugar. How do you account for the difference and which measure to use when using the coconut sugar?
I don’t recommend using coconut sugar here. Granulated sugar is important for the proper texture and crumb. Sorry about that!
Could dairy free cream cheese be used for this recipe?
Hi Rose, yes, the consistency won’t be totally the same – but you can use Kite Hill cream cheese and Earth Balance buttery sticks to make this dairy-free. We hope you enjoy the pound cake!
I made this yesterday using Cup4Cup flour and it was AMAZING! I live in Utah and had to bake an additional 15 minutes (likely due to altitude) but I covered it with foil for that 15 minutes so that it didn’t get too brown. This was a fantastic cake! Moist and spongy – perfect for strawberries and cream.
I’m so glad it worked well for you at a higher altitude! Strawberries and cream are my favorite too 🙂
This cake turned out perfect! Just wondering if you have tried a substitute for the sugar.
The sugar is important for the structure of the cake so I wouldn’t reduce it by too much. It will probably work well with just 1 cup of sugar!