The Best Vegan Lemon Cake Recipe! This simple pound cake is moist, fluffy, bursting with fresh lemon flavor and so easy to make in one bowl! Topped with strawberry glaze or traditional lemon icing you will love it after just one bite! (This post contains helpful tips on how to make the perfect vegan cake!)
The BEST Vegan Lemon Cake
I have baked so many vegan cakes over the past few years, and this lemon cake is one of the best! It’s moist, pillowy, and ultra tangy, just as a perfect lemon cake should be. You can even get creative with this basic recipe. For example, add poppy seeds or blueberries into the batter, top it with strawberry, blueberry, or traditional lemon glaze. You can also make lemon cupcakes, muffins, or even a layer cake instead of a loaf.
Anyway, whatever you’ll bake, no one will ever notice that this lemon cake is made without eggs and dairy!
Tips for making the best vegan cake!
While the recipe itself is super easy, there are some important key facts in making the best vegan lemon cake. But when you follow the instruction exactly, your cake will be as amazing as mine!
- Prep your baking pan
- Measure exact!
- Sift/whisk the dry ingredients
- Stir together the wet ingredients
- Do not overmix the batter!
- Keep the oven closed
- Do a cake test!
- Cool completely
Why is that so important?
I will now explain the details for a better understanding. So please continue reading if you’re curious about the secrets of vegan baking I have learned over the past few years…
How to make Vegan lemon cake
Step 1: Prepare your baking pan
Before you start with this lemon cake recipe, grease and line your pan with parchment paper. This will guarantee your cake comes out easily.
Step 2: Making the batter
First of all, be sure to measure exactly! Otherwise, your result will be different than mine. Actually, just a little bit more or less of flour, milk, etc. can make a huge difference. So as always I highly recommend measuring the ingredients in metric measurements rather than cups. You can simply click on the word “metric” right above the ingredient list in the recipe card below.
Start to sift, or at least whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. This not only helps to avoid lumps but it also ensures that the raising agents are evenly combined with flour. Then mix in the sugar to combine.
Next, stir together the wet ingredients before adding them to the dry ingredients. So you can make sure that the flour mixture incorporates evenly with the wet ingredients. Besides non-dairy milk and canola oil, I’ve also added some non-dairy yogurt which makes the lemon cake perfectly moist. However, you can also skip the yogurt and use more milk instead.
When you add the dry to the wet ingredients, be sure to stir until just combined. A few small lumps in the batter are totally okay but please avoid overmixing! Also, be sure to use a spatula or whisk but please do not use an electric hand mixer! If you skip this step, your cake will be dense rather than fluffy.
Step 3: Bake
The cake needs constant heat to rise properly so please do not open the oven during baking. If you notice the top of your cake is getting too brown you can briefly open the door and cover it. But it’s definitely not necessary to open it more often than that until the baking time is over.
Since all ovens vary, I highly recommend doing a cake test before removing it from the oven by inserting a skewer into the center of your cake. When it comes out clean, your lemon cake is done. Otherwise, bake it 5-10 minutes longer, then test again.
Step 4: allow to cool
This vegan lemon cake contains no eggs or other binders like cornstarch, soy flour, tapioca starch, etc. So it’s very soft and fluffy when it’s freshly baked and still warm. But when you give your cake enough time to cool, then it’ll get easier to cut.
Strawberry Lemon Glaze
When there are fresh strawberries around, I really love to enjoy anything with them! So I topped my vegan lemon loaf with a quick and easy strawberry lemon glaze here which is just made with icing sugar, fresh strawberry juice, and lemon juice. However, you can also skip the strawberry juice and substitute more lemon juice instead to make a traditional lemon icing. Alternatively, feel free to make a purple blueberry glaze or a vegan cream cheese frosting with toasted almonds or whatever topping you like!
Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions
Unfrosted lemon cake may be kept at room temperature for two days when covered loosely with foil or stored in an airtight container.
To freeze the unfrosted vegan lemon loaf, simply wrap it up in cling foil tightly, then put it into a ziplock bag to avoid freezer burn. To serve, thaw in the fridge or at room temperature. Once thawed, top with your favorite glaze or enjoy as it is!
This Vegan Lemon Cake is:
- Egg-less
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Easy to make
- Comes together in one-bowl
- Moist
- Soft & pillowy
- Loaded with zesty lemon flavor
- Topped with strawberry glaze
- So delicious!
- The perfect dessert for spring, summer, and just any time!
Looking for more simple vegan cake or loaf recipes? Then make sure to check out the following:
- Strawberry Rhubarb Cake
- Best Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Raspberry Almond Orange Cake
- Apricot Cake with Coconut
- Vegan Marble Zebra Cake
If you try this Vegan Lemon Loaf, please leave me a comment below sharing how you liked this recipe! And if you take a picture of your yummy loaf and share it on Instagram, please make sure to tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka, so I won’t miss your post! Happy baking!
Vegan Lemon Cake
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Vegan Lemon Cake
- ½ cup (120 ml) non-dairy milk
- ½ cup (120 g) non-dairy yogurt or sub more milk
- 1 lemon ¼ cup juice + 1-2 tbsp zest
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour (*see notes)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- ½ cup (125 ml) canola oil or other neutral oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Glaze
- ½ cup (100 g) strawberries (fresh or frozen) you’ll need 1-2 tbsp strawberry juice, or use only lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp (1 tbsp) lemon juice
- 1 ⅓ cup (150 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
Vegan Lemon Cake
- Note: For the best results, I recommend measuring the ingredients in grams. Simply click on the word "metric" right above the ingredient list. Also, make sure to check the step-by-step pictures + vegan baking tips above!
- Preheat your oven to 355˚F (180˚C). Grease and line an 8.5-inch loaf pan.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Then, whisk in the sugar to combine. Set aside.
- Add the non-dairy milk, non-dairy yogurt, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract to a measuring cup and stir to combine. Then pour it into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. (Please do not overmix, or your lemon cake will be dense).
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan, smoothing out evenly. Gently, tap the pan a few times on your work surface to remove any air bubbles and level out the top.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of your cake comes out clean. (If it gets too brown during baking, cover loosely with a piece of parchment paper).
- Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan, then remove onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
Strawberry Glaze
- Place the chopped strawberries in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they have become soft enough to mash, about 2-3 minutes. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and push the strawberry puree though, leaving any seeds/large chunks behind. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the strawberry juice (you can use the rest as a topping for pancakes, waffles, or enjoy with non-dairy yogurt). Allow to cool completely before using it.
- Stir together the powdered sugar, strawberry juice, and lemon juice until a smooth paste forms. (If it's too thick, add more lemon juice. If it's too watery, add more powdered sugar).
- Pour the glaze over your cooled lemon cake.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Flour: To make this lemon cake gluten-free, I recommend using a gluten-free flour blend 1:1. If using a heavier flour, such as whole wheat flour, your cake won’t get as fluffy and soft as when using a lighter flour. Also, please make sure to adjust the liquid as needed, because different flours absorb different amounts of liquid.
- The baking time may vary, depending on your oven or pan or if you cover the cake during baking. So please make sure to do a cake test before removing it! Also, remember the longer you bake the cake, the crumblier it gets. So try to avoid overbaking if you want a moist cake.
- Please read my blogpost for storage and freezing instructions + helpful tips on making the perfect vegan cake!
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A real hit! One request for sugar free…can this be done?how?
Yes, sure! You can use Erythritol instead.
Dear Bianca,
thank you so much for this cake, which I have made twice now and it blew away not just myself but my whole non-vegan family 🙂
The first time round I ran out of wheat flour so I substituted 100g almond flour and I liked the result to much that I did it again the second time. It does not seem to weigh down the cake too much and adds a delicious nutty flavour.
Thanks again — I also love love you Blueberry yeast brioche type cake, which I have made as is as well as with a chocolate nut and a cinammon sugar filling. You have absolutely saved my vegan baking game!
Thank you so much, Isa! <3 I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy these cakes so much. ❤️
Thank you for a beautiful recipe! My sister has recently adopted a vegan diet and for her birthday she asked for a lemon cake. I’m so glad I tried this recipe. I used plant based almond yogurt and almond milk. I cut down the sugar to just over 1/3 cup. It was beautifully lemony and I just love the strawberry glaze. Very moist and stayed moist the next day. She was very happy with this cake. It reminded me of a lemon pound cake we had in the USA. Great tip about measuring the ingredients, this did the trick I think in making it perfect like yours. Thanks again 🙂
Hi Bianca,
thanks for your lovely feedback! I’m glad you and your sister enjoyed the cake. <3
Absolutely fabulous! Moist, fresh, lights and the pink sweetness perfect combination!
Loved it and every one I gave it to as well
Thank you so much! Glad everyone loved it! 🙂
I made the lemon cake yesterday. It’s a superb recipe and makes a lovely fluffy cake. Definitely the best recipe I have tried. Tried loads before and they were abject failures. My vegan daughter had her second helping tonight with raspberry juice over the top and warmed it up in the microwave. She said it was the best pudding she’d had in her 42 years!
Thanks Bianca
Thank you so much, Jane! I’m glad that this lemon cake made you so happy! <3
This cake recipe is awesome and all my friends absolutely loved it !
So glad you love this recipe! 🙂
Thanks for your amazing feedback!
Love, Bianca ♡
Hi Bianca!
Thank you so much for the recipe. It looks delicious! 😊. Since I can’t eat gluten, do you think I can substitute all purpose flour for cassava flour? I would love to try it.
Hi Marta,
I haven’t tried it yet with cassava but I know that a gluten-free baking flour blend will work!
Best, Bianca 🙂
Definately my new favourite lemon cake, perfect texture,I have just found your page and will be looking into your other recipes, thanks!
Thank you so much! I am glad you loved this recipe! ♡
Sincerely, Bianca! 🙂
Very easy dessert to have on hand for the week. Super moist and delicious!
I am so happy about that! 🙂
Thanks for your great feedback! ♡
Are the measurements correct? Because I added the wet mixture to the dry mixture and it just wasn’t enough to form a cake batter. Not even enough to make a bread-like dough. I added 100ml of milk in order to make it into a consistency of a cake batter. 2.5 cups of flour and 1/2 of milk sound very off to me. Unless you used some kind of runny yogurt? Mine had the consistency of Greek yogurt so it was quite thick. Could this be why I had trouble with my mixture?
Hi Eva,
The measurements are correct. I highly recommend using metric measurements so you can be sure that you measured the ingredients exactly.
Furthermore, I recommend using regular yogurt (not thick yogurt).
Did you also add 1/4 cup of lemon juice?
Best, Bianca
I’ve already tried the banana bread and I certainly didn’t expect I could love this even more! Brilliant, thank you!
So glad you love it! Thank you! 🙂
Thank you for this recipe , I made the cake and it was incredibly delicious. I never read the extra explanations about recipes on other blogs but I always do on yours because they’re full of tips and really useful, thank you so much for sharing all these great recipes.
Awwww thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! So glad you love my recipes! Thank you! ♡
Hi Bianca, Thank you for posting this much needed recipe, that I wanted to bake for my parents. My only constraint is egg. My parents don’t eat egg. They are fine with dairy + I don’t get lot of these non-dairy substitutes here where I stay… If I have to replace the vegan milk, yogurt, and flour with dairy prod, what will change in the recipe and their measurement?
Thanks a ton….
Hi Nikta,
You can use regular dairy milk and yogurt! 🙂
oh ok… replace them 1:1? Also, the flour can be replaced 1:1?
Yes, you can replace the vegan milk and yogurt with dairy products.
Which type of flour do you want to use?
I recommend using all-purpose flour for the best result.
Made this cake for some family friends and it was such a hit! So simple and delicious, I’ll definitely be making it for whenever I want something sweet or any special occasions.
So glad you enjoyed this lemon cake!
Thank you for your great feedback! 🙂
This cake, and especially the glaze, was so yummy! I really loved it! The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was because the outside was quite hard, but the inside was the perfect texture!
So glad you enjoyed it! You can cover it loosely with parchment paper to prevent the top from getting too hard! 😉
I have tested so many recipes trying to find a decent vegan lemon cake and this one was brilliant! First time I made it and it came out gorgeous 😍 This is indeed the best vehan lemon cake; thank you so much for sharing.
So glad you love this recipe! Thank you so much for your great feedback!
Best, Bianca <3
Hello,
May one use vegan sour cream instead of vegan yogurt in this lemon cake recipe?
Yes, sure!
Just made this lemon cake two day ago. My boyfriend and I loved it so much and we are going to make the cake again! Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂
So glad you love my recipe! 🙂
Thank you so much for your amazing feedback!
Best,
Bianca <3
I’ve now baked this vegan lemon loaf about three or four times and it has yet to disappoint! It’s so simple and delicious and I’ve been trying different berries for the glaze each time depending on what’s in my house. I’ve tried strawberries, black berries and raspberries and all of them paired perfectly with this recipe! Thank you so much Bianca 🙂
So glad you love this recipe!
Thank you so much for your amazing feedback! 🙂
How would you freeze the strawberry glaze?
No.
Hi. If I wanted to bake this recipe in mini Bundt pans what baking temp and time should I use in a fan oven?
Hi there, I recommend baking them around 25 minutes, same oven temperature (no fan).
Best,
Bianca
Made this cake today and it’s delicious! I used frozen raspberries for the glaze instead of strawberries as I love raspberries and lemon together and it didn’t disappoint. I really like this berry glaze as a change from a usual lemon drizzle glaze. Thanks for another fantastic recipe, the whole family loved it. 💕
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
Best,
Bianca 😊
Hi!
I made this cake today and just finished a piece. It’s so insanely good that I could eat the whole cake now! Thank you for this beautiful delight! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Just to add: I think my glaze was a little thin, so next time I’ll add more sugar! Or is there something else I can add instead of more sugar to make it thicker? ☺️
You can cook the strawberries a bit longer so the juice will be thicker. Alternatively, add less lemon juice or use more sugar! 🙂
So glad you enjoyed this lemon cake! Thank you so much! 🙂
Have fun trying more recipes! <3