GF Mini Lemon Cakes with Lemon mascarpone cream

 Gluten Free Lemon Cakes with Lemon Mascarpone Cream, berries and mint 

Full disclosure, this cake was nearly 2 weeks in the making. I tried several different combinations of batter until I finally got it right last night. It was definitely worth the effort. These little rice flour- based hunnies were so divine that, despite my best efforts,  I was only able to save two for James. After two weeks of failed concoctions I deserved to eat 10 in one sitting, right? 

Let's start with the easy part first. The cream is, quite simply, equal parts mascarpone cheese and lemon curd. You can make as much or as little as you need/want/crave! I topped the frosting with a few fresh raspberries and some fresh mint.

Cake Ingredients:
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 cup white rice flour
1/4 tapioca flour
2 eggs
5 ounces vanilla greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large lemon- juice and zest (should yield about 1/3 cup of lemon juice)
1 tsp baking powder

Method: 

Place 1 stick of melted butter (still warm) in a bowl and add the lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar. Stir until it is well combined and the sugar melts into the liquid. 

Add two eggs and whisk them into the mixture. 

Add one 5 ounce container of vanilla greek yogurt (I like Oikos the best, but I am sure any brand will do the trick!) and continue whisking.

After everything is totally combined, add the rice and tapioca flours. Continue whisking until everything is a smooth, creamy texture. 

Oil/spray/grease your baking vessel and pour in the batter. I chose to use a shallow muffin tin to make these mini cakes but I am sure the batter would do well as one unified cake as well. 

Bake at 350F until the edges start to brown. For these mini cakes, this took about 35 minutes. Once the cakes are out, top them with the lemon mascarpone cream (remember, just equal parts lemon curd and mascarpone cheese), some fresh berries, some chopped fresh mint and serve!

Note: In my experience, gluten free baked goods never last as long as regular baked goods. Be sure to serve them right away to make sure that you aren't offering an inferior product :)