This one-bowl Coconut Flour Lemon Cake with a lemon glaze is Paleo, gluten-free, and keto-friendly. This easy cake can be whipped up quickly for the perfect weeknight dessert.
This coconut flour lemon cake is bursting with lemon flavor. The cake is moist and soft. When I was creating it I used lite coconut milk to replace some of the eggs and it made the cake taste extremely moist.
The lemon flavor comes from 2 fresh lemons plus the zest of the lemons. My lemons were medium size so it took 1 and a half lemons to get 1/4 cup of lemon juice. If your lemons are huge then one lemon will work just fine. You can use store-bought lemon juice instead of freshly squeezed.
I created this recipe to be a one-bowl recipe. There is no need to use a stand mixer. Just make sure your coconut oil is liquid. Simply add all of the ingredients to the bowl starting with the wet ingredients and then whisk to combine. Then add all of the dry ingredients and whisk again and then pour the batter into a cake pan and bake until golden.
The glaze is a simple glaze made with powdered sugar substitute and lemon juice. The lemon glaze adds the perfect extra bit of lemon flavor to this cake.
You could always take this cake and make a 2 or 3 layer cake out of it by baking extra layers and then using lemon buttercream frosting.
Coconut Flour Lemon Cake Ingredients
Lots of ingredients, and lots of substitutions you can do (just check out the FAQ below).
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 cup lite coconut milk or carton coconut milk (or you can just make your own coconut milk)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted (or again – you can make your own coconut oil)
- ¼ cup lemon juice (2 lemons) + the zest of the lemons
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (did you know you can DIY vanilla extract? It’s easy, delicious, and a CLEAR step-up vs storebought)
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
- ½ cup swerve, lakanto, or coconut palm sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder (you can make your own baking powder at home!)
- ½ tsp salt
Lemon Glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar substitute (lakanto and swerve are my favorite brands)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
*Note: this makes a thick glaze. You can add more lemon juice or water to thin it out if you prefer thin glaze.
Coconut Flour Lemon Cake FAQ
Help! I can’t eat eggs. How do I make this egg-free?
I have never tested an egg-free version of this coconut flour lemon cake. I did decrease the number of eggs by using coconut milk. You can try replacing the eggs with a “chia egg”, bananas, applesauce or whatever you usually use in place of eggs. The cake will be denser using an egg replacer.
Can I substitute almond flour for coconut flour?
No, you can’t substitute coconut flour 1:1 for almond flour in this recipe. There are ways to convert a coconut flour recipe to an almond flour recipe but it would also require decreasing the eggs. For this recipe, I suggest you use only coconut flour or search for a Paleo lemon cake recipe. Why does this recipe use barely any coconut flour? Coconut flour is highly absorbent. Think of it like sawdust haha (you’ll understand once you start baking with it). Coconut flour recipes soak up all of the liquid so that’s why you need a higher amount of eggs and liquid ingredients. When you see a coconut flour-based recipe don’t be alarmed when the amount of coconut flour seems too low and DON’T be tempted to add more coconut flour unless you are used to baking with this special flour.
Can I use store-bought lemon juice instead of fresh lemons?
You can use store-bought lemon juice instead of fresh lemons in this coconut flour lemon cake. You don’t have to add the lemon zest but it does help to add extra lemon flavor.
If you love this lemon cake recipe, then check out my coconut flour cake, coconut flour chocolate cake recipe, keto mug cake, and keto lemon bars!
Coconut Flour Lemon Cake
One-bowl Coconut Flour Lemon Cake with a lemon glaze. This cake is Paleo, gluten-free, and keto-friendly. This easy cake can be whipped up quickly for the perfect weeknight dessert.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 44 minutes
- Total Time: 1hr 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 8 inch cake (8 slices) 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup lite coconut milk or carton coconut milk
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (2 lemons) + the zest of the lemons
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/2 cup swerve, lakanto, or coconut palm sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar substitute (lakanto and swerve are my favorite brands)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all of the wet ingredients: the coconut milk, eggs, coconut oil, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk together to combine.
- Next, add all of the dry ingredients: coconut flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together. The batter should be thick.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 to 44 minutes, until golden and a toothpick can be inserted and comes out dry.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove the cake and allow it to fully cool on a cooling rack.
- When the cake has cooled, make the lemon glaze. To make the lemon glaze mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk. Pour the glaze over the cake and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition info is based on using swerve sweetener. Sugar alcohols don’t count towards your net carbs since they aren’t digested. There is 3.9g net carbs per slice of cake.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1 slice (8 slices total)
- Calories: 200
- Fat: 15.8g
- Carbohydrates: 33.5g (3.9 net carbs)
- Fiber: 4.5g
- Protein: 5g
Hello, can I use cows milk instead of coconut milk for this recipe?
Yes, you can use cow’s milk instead of coconut milk 🙂
Hi Tiffany,
Love your recipes yet always check comments too, to be the best informed before I try one. There are several questions asked that aren’t answered, some even asked them nicely twice. Wondering if perhaps you can respond to them? Thanks so much, Wendy
Hi Wendy! I’ll be answering comments for Tiffany where I can, so I’ll do my best to respond to any unanswered questions. Let me know if there’s anything specific you’re wondering about!
Hi,
Am here again, just wondering about any help I put on the comments the other day, I actually had to cook it for more than an hour, no rise, just sadly not a cake, wondering if the owner of this website can reply either via email, or here, I am not one to complain about recipes, but when using such expensive items, all organic and it does not turn out right, oven correct temp all ingredients in date used day previously for gluten free chocolate loaf. If I know what went wrong for next time, or I have to find different recipe. Thank you, oh it tastes ok as a tart, added lemon juice when was still warm to help with dryness. Taste good, just not a cake.
Hi Ali,
I’m sorry the cake didn’t turn out as expected—I know how frustrating that can be, especially with pricey ingredients. Coconut flour can be tricky since it’s super absorbent and doesn’t stick together as good as traditional flour. If the final cake was dry and crumbly, it might have needed a bit more moisture—perhaps an extra egg or a splash more coconut milk.
Baking time can also vary depending on oven calibration and pan type, so if it took over an hour and still didn’t rise, it could be worth checking your baking powder’s freshness. Coconut flour cakes don’t rise much, but they should still hold together.
I’d love to help troubleshoot so you can get a better result next time! Let me know if you’d like to try again with some tweaks. 😊
Help please,
Just didn’t work…May have to have it as a biscuit, not cake, just crumbled, and raw but not wet…
Help please
This looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Megan, let us know if you try it!
Hi there! Would icing erythritol also work? If so, how much would I need?
Thank you!
Oivia
Hi Olivia! 😊 Yes, you can use icing erythritol instead. Use the same amount listed in the recipe. If it’s too thick, add a touch more lemon juice or coconut milk. If it’s too thin, add more erythritol until you get the right consistency!
Hi there! Can I use icing erythritol instead? And if so, how much please? Trying this receipt for the first time and will see how it goes! 🙂
Thanks!
I would prefer not to use a sugar substitute – would I just use the same amount of confectionery sugar?
Yes, the same amount!
very nice recipe
This cake is absolutely delicious!!! Very easy to make. I’ve made it 5 times now and each time it turns out perfect.
That’s fantastic, thanks for sharing Donna!
Hi
Can i use regular milk instead of coconut milk?
Thx
Same question as Joan Mokray, can I use regular coconut milk? I don’t usually keep ‘lite’ coconut milk in the house. Please advise. Thanks.
Yes, regular coconut milk will work too!
Hi,
This is my first time making Coconut Flour cake, using all ingredients same, only thing I changed was coconut milk was full fat, not lite, and I used Coconut Sugar, I cooked in 9” flan dish, not metal, tin, but I bake all cakes in glass loaf or ceramic flan dish.
Baked for 40 minutes, toothpick came out clean, so removed it from oven, when came to cut into it, it just tasted raw, and not cooked, had not risen either, yes Baking powder not out of date was used. I baked yesterday Gluten free chocolate coffee cake, using same baking powder, beautiful rise, light and airy.
Any help please, Flour not out of date, so HELP… Love Gluten free, so am happy for any advice.
Thank you.
Hi Ali,
Thanks for trying the recipe and for sharing your experience! Since your other gluten-free cakes turn out well, I’m wondering if the issue might be the coconut flour itself—it’s super absorbent, and even small changes in moisture can affect the texture. Using full-fat coconut milk instead of lite might have added extra moisture, making the cake denser and feel undercooked.
Also, coconut flour cakes don’t rise much since they lack gluten, but they should still set properly. A few things you could try next time:
– Let the batter sit for a few minutes before baking to let the coconut flour absorb more liquid.
– Use a metal pan instead, as glass and ceramic materials can take longer to heat up and might not cook the cake evenly.
– Bake a little longer (try an extra 5-10 minutes) and check for doneness by lightly pressing the top—it should spring back.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you give it another go. 😊
Thanks for this recipe. I love the lemon flavor and the fact that you used coconut flour. My cake was kind of crumbly and pretty wet. Did I do anything wrong?. I really enjoy your recipes!
Cake is trying to cool on the counter, I need to keep hubby away so I have something to frost! Would the cake hold up if I made 3 times the recipe for a 3 layer birthday cake?
Yes, you can definitely triple the recipe for a three-layer cake!
Thanks, Sandra! It sounds like the batter was too wet or there wasn’t enough binding to hold it together. You can try adding a bit more coconut flour or an extra egg (make sure it’s at room temp). Also, try letting it sit for a few minutes before baking to allow the coconut flour to fully absorb the moisture. I hope these tips help with your next bake! If you try it again, I’d love to hear how it turns out! 😊
You specific ‘lite’ coconut milk. Can I use regular coconut milk?
Yes, regular coconut milk works!