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Today we’re covering a classic. Lemon loaf is a type of pound cake, which has been around since the 18th-century, and relies on the very pleasing ratio of equal parts butter:sugar:eggs:flour. At some point, some diva added lemon juice and a crunchy, lemony glaze when the loaf was still hot from the oven. Later, people started adding chemical leaveners to the batter to achieve a lighter, airier texture. A couple years ago, Nicola Lamb added chopped segments of lemon to her recipe—genius.

Now, I’ve tinkered with this classic to ensure the butter quantity can properly tenderise the gluten-free flours (because they’re less capable of absorbing fat), developing a custom flour blend that results in the ideal flavour and crumb, and adjusting the leavening to achieve a gloriously level top (essential here because the crunchy lemon topping needs to spread and soak into the cake evenly) and airy interior.

You’ll need to supreme some lemons to combine into the batter, which is worth the hassle because they add so much textural interest and beautifully balance the sweetness of the cake. I’ve included a short video below the recipe in case you need a visual guide. If this is your first time supreming citrus: you can use this same technique to include pith-less oranges in a dessert or add grapefruit to a salad etc. You need a very sharp paring knife to supreme safely, so if you don’t have one, a small serrated knife works well instead.

Overview

Zest and supreme the lemons, then chop the segments into pieces. Prepare the batter, beat in the flour blend and lemons, and bake. After removing from the oven, mix the lemon glaze together and pour all over the cake. Allow to cool before serving.

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I’m so thrilled to have finally perfected this recipe. This dough is so delicious that even when I blind-baked it and ate it on its own, it was a lovely, salty, buttery snack that was begging for any sort of sweet or savoury filling.

On the main newsletter, I showed you how to make a gorgeous apple crumble pie, and this dough will serve you well whether you’re making any sort of baked or cold-set pie. The only slight downside is this recipe requires a blend of flours/starches, rather than a commercial blend. If you can’t be bothered to buy the seven ingredients needed for the blend, I get it…but I swear I would not ask you to do so if I didn’t think it was worth it. The blend I formulated here is high in tapioca and potato starches and will not resemble any commercial blend. This is because I prioritised elasticity and resilience so that rolling it out is possible without constant cracking and tearing, and also allowed me to keep the xanthan gum low so that the final texture isn’t at all gummy.

Overview

Combine all the dry ingredients and sugar in a large bowl, then add the sour cream and ice-cold water. Mix with a fork until evenly hydrated and beginning to clump. Add all the butter, cutting it into sheets and chunks as you add it to the bowl. Massage the dough gently until it comes together, then transfer the dough to the bench and roll it out and perform 3-4 simple folds. Form into a disc, wrap with plastic/paper, and freeze for 15 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 days. Remove the dough from the fridge, gently massage or roll to warm it up, then roll the dough between two sheets of paper until it is 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) larger than the diameter of the pie plate. Transfer to the pie plate, fold in the edges, crimp or shape as desired, and freeze for 20 minutes. Dock, fill, and/or blind-bake according to your pie recipe’s instructions.

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Over on HausMates, I am thrilled to introduce my pie dough recipe which I believe will knock any other GF pi…

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This is a classic tres leches: sponge cake poked with holes and smothered in three milks (hence the name), topped with whipped cream and dusted with cinnamon. We’re havin…

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I’m in Texas awaiting a visa to The Netherlands and while I’m here I’m determined to continue developing recipes despite my lack of equipment. I think this is good for us actually, as I tend to avoid recipes that feel too ‘basic’, however unfair the judgment. This way, I’m being forced to create things with equipment …

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Overview

First we’ll prepare the crème pât at least 4 hours before, up to 3 days before. Then we’ll make the brioche…

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The last few months have been a whirlwind for my partner and me. Our friends have been on standby to hear which country we plan on moving to, which changes just about every few days. Getting a visa in 2025, as two people in the food industry, is not easy! Finally, it appears we have a good plan …

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Overview

First, we’ll combine the cocoa powder with boiling water, then add the milk and xanthan gum (if using a blend without) and blend. Then we’ll cream the butter and sugar, add the eggs, add the cocoa/milk mixture and dry ingredients, then pour the cake into the tin and bake. Then we’ll let the cake cool, remove any doming, melt all the topping ingredients in a saucepan and pour it on top of the cake. Finally, we’ll cover it all with desiccated coconut and serve.

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On the main newsletter, I showed you how to create a genoise sponge cake that would give my wheat genoise a run for its money. Today for subscribers, I want to show you how to transform this sponge into an impossibly delicious layer cake. More than just showing you these exact components, I want to encourage and guide you to craft the layer cake that represents you, your kitchen, your setting, your season, your desires, your family & friends. The lovely thing about layer cakes is, once you feel confident with them, you can create endless variations with whatever sounds yummy to you and whatever fruit is at its peak. Eventually, I will have an archive of cake component recipes that I will assemble into a matrix so you can glance over, choose your components, and make your ideal cake. For now, let me show you this Green Tea & Summer Berries Layer Cake and I’ll advise you on the ways you can vary each component.

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This cookie has sent people searching for me at parties; This cookie has made people angry at how delicious they are (the anger being directed at the impossibility of having your cookie and eating it too); This cookie has been an obsession of mine for years now (I originally based it on Claire Saffitz’s recipe). And I was missing it. So I tinkered with …

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Welcome to Better Chews by me, Zak Cannon.

I'm a pastry chef, baker, and recipe developer who trained in Texas, then London, before spending several months in Brazil, where my partner's family introduced me to a whole new world of flavour. I landed in The Netherlands in summer 2026, and all of that time on the road is why this newsletter blends down-home sweets, elevated desserts, tropical flavours, and cosy bakes.

I was diagnosed with coeliac disease after a 10-year career in commercial kitchens/bakeries. At first I was devastated and confused and bitter. But since then, I’ve been working my ass off to create foods that are as good or better than their glutinous versions, not only to share with others but primarily because I stubbornly refuse to go without all the delicious foods I’d enjoyed before.

Many of my recipes are developed to fill voids I have identified: glutinous sweets and desserts that don’t yet have delicious GF versions. However, I also share recipes that are ‘accidently’ gluten-free (ie. frozen desserts, fruit-forward dishes, puddings, confectionary, etc), because this newsletter is meant to be more than simply converted recipes. I like to think beyond what my food is ‘free’ from, and follow my intuition to whatever sounds most delightful.

This is my place to share these recipes with you. Each recipe has been meticulously tested and tinkered until I am certain it is about as good as could possibly be. They are formatted for home chefs/bakers but notes are included for professionals with access to specialty tools or who want to prepare products on a larger scale.

Many recipes are available for free and become paywalled after a few months. More advanced recipes, plus those which utilise the basic recipes to create something more refined, will be available to premium subscribers. These recipes require many hours of my attention and personal investment to develop, so premium subscriptions are greatly appreciated and I hope you always feel the price is appropriate for what you gain from the newsletter. If you want a recipe and can’t afford to subscribe, just give me a shout and I’ll do my best to provide it for you.

Don’t be a stranger! Use the comments to ask questions, DM me on Instagram, or email me at zachary@hausofgf.com. Being gluten-free can feel isolating and confusing, so let me lend an ear and a little clarity.

Welcome to Better Chews. Let’s get baking!

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