This vegan lemon drizzle cake is really easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious. It is moist and full of fresh, real lemon flavour - you will want to eat it with a fork, and trust me it won't last long!
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Lemon drizzle cake is my husband's absolute favourite so I make it every birthday and every time I want to get into his good books! In fact, vegan lemon drizzle cake is the perfect short loaf to gift to family, coworkers, and even new neighbours. Opting for a Lemon Loaf Cake as an anniversary present or birthday gift is not only a wise choice but puts 'made with love as the focal point. And should you be on the lookout for a baby shower gift just for the mum-to-be, a vegan lemon drizzle loaf cake is an all-natural, chemical-free dessert that's both refrigerator and freezer friendly.
If you love citrus in your bakes why not try my vegan orange and almond cake, or for another fruity alternative I love this vegan chocolate chip banana bread.
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for this vegan lemon drizzle loaf cake are store cupboard ingredients - if I want to make this I almost always have everything to hand, except the lemons. A quick walk to the local greengrocer and I have everything I need.
There is a fair amount of sugar in this recipe so it's not exactly a healthy vegan lemon drizzle cake recipe, but it is definitely worth indulging in on a special occasion.
- dairy free butter, softened - I use Flora Plant Block
- caster sugar
- plain flour
- bicarbonate of soda
- baking powder
- ground almonds or almond flour
- Pinch salt
- plant based milk (I use a mixture of oat milk and coconut milk but most non-dairy milk will be fine)
- unwaxed lemons
- granulated sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare a loaf tin by greasing and lining a 2lb loaf tin or prepare a silicone loaf tin.
Cream the butter and caster sugar together with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Sift in the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the ground almonds and lemon zest and mix together with the milk and juice from one lemon until a batter forms. For best results don't over mix the cake batter once adding the wet ingredients.
Spread the batter into a lined loaf tray. I use a silicone loaf pan.
Place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, mix the juice from 2 lemons with the granulated white sugar in a small bowl. Stir well and leave in a warm place (i.e. on top of the oven) until the cake is cooked.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, it doesn't have to be completely cool or room temperature, warm cake is fine. Then using a thin skewer or cocktail stick, poke holes throughout the top of the cake - make sure that you have an even coverage of holes throughout the whole cake.
Pour the sugar and lemon mixture slowly over the cake, making sure that it drips and soaks through the holes that you made.
Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack.
Hint: To get more juice out of your lemons you can warm them up for 10 seconds in the microwave, this will make it much easier to extract the juice. The more juice you feed to the cake the more moist it will be. Bear in mind that lemons vary in size enormously. If you are using large lemons, you will get more juice and might not want to use it all.
Dietary requirements
This vegan lemon cake recipe is naturally vegan, egg free, dairy free, nut free and soya free which in my opinion makes it the best vegan lemon drizzle cake ever! If your friends are ever looking for a dairy free lemon drizzle cake or eggless lemon drizzle cake just send them here!
Variations
You can make a number of variations to this recipe if you would like.
- Poppy seeds - you can add poppy seeds to the cake mix to give an added texture, colour and nutrition.
- Icing - I prefer this cake without icing as I feel that it is sweet enough but you could top the cake with a lemon icing, just make up a thick, pourable icing by mixing together icing sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add some lemon zest to make it extra lemony and to make it look pretty.
- Lime drizzle cake - you can make this recipe with exactly the same quantities of limes for a lime flavoured variation of this classic
Equipment
You don't need much fancy equipment for this recipe. I use an electric stand mixer to cream together the butter and sugar but you could just use a wooden spoon and bowl and a bit of arm power! The better the butter and sugar is creamed together the lighter your cake will be - I do like a fluffy cake!
I use a silicone loaf tin for all my loaf cakes - it is so much easier to get the finished cake in and out of! I place the silicone loaf pan inside a metal loaf tin to give it extra stability when taking it in and out of the oven.
You will also want a thin skewer to make holes in the drizzle cake.
Storage
This cake keeps well for about 3 days, but make sure it is in an airtight container in a cool place. It freezes exceptionally well, just wrap it up (whole or in slices) in greaseproof paper and store in a glass storage container in the freezer. Defrost overnight and eat the next day.
Top tip
You will want to use unwaxed lemons for this recipe - you don't want wax in your lemon zest! Also, depending upon how moist you like this cake, you can increase or decrease the amount of lemon drizzle you feed it with. If you can't find unwaxed lemons follow the guide to removing the wax from regular lemons further down this post.
Print📖 Recipe
Amazing Moist Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan lemon drizzle cake is really easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious. It is moist and full of fresh, real lemon flavour - you will want to eat it with a fork, and trust me it won't last long!
Ingredients
150g dairy free butter, softened
175g caster sugar
200g plain flour
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
50g ground almonds
Pinch salt
150ml plant based milk
3 unwaxed lemons - zest from 3, juice from 3
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin or prepare a silicone loaf tin.
Cream the butter and caster sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Add the ground almonds and lemon zest and mix together with the milk and juice from one lemon until a batter forms. Don't over mix.
Spread the batter into a lined loaf tray on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, mix the juice from 2 lemons with the granulated sugar in a small bowl. Stir well and leave in a warm place (i.e. on top of the oven) until the cake is cooked.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Then using a skewer, poke small holes throughout the top of the cake - make sure that you have an even coverage of holes. Pour the sugar and lemon mixture slowly over the cake, making sure that it drips and soaks through the holes that you made.
Leave to cool completely in the tin before turning out.
FAQ's
How to decorate a lemon drizzle cake
I'm all for speed and ease so this easy vegan lemon drizzle cake really doesn't need any decorating in my opinion. However, if you are taking it as an offering for an event you might want to spruce it up a little. You could drizzle a lemon icing on top (mix together lemon juice and icing sugar) and sprinkle with lemon zest. Alternatively you could use white and yellow sugar flowers, or even edible flowers. Or why not dehydrate some lemon slices to adorn the top? I u003ca href=u0022https://wemadethislife.com/how-to-dehydrate-orange-slices-in-the-nutri-foodi/u0022 target=u0022_blanku0022 rel=u0022noreferrer noopeneru0022u003edehydrate orange slicesu003c/au003e in my Nutri Foodi and you can do the same with lemon slices.
How to remove wax from lemons
Waxed lemons usually have a thin film that can be removed with a bit of craftiness. Start by filling a large mixing bowl (or your sink if you have many) with medium warm water and add ¾ cups of distilled white vinegar to the water and gently mix. Distilled vinegar is well known for cutting through tough grease stains and messes and can also remove some of the waxy layers off your fruits and vegetables. Once the vinegar has been well mixed, toss your lemons into the water until fully covered and allow them to soak for 10-12 minutes.u003cbr/u003eDepending on how hot you make the water, you could shorten this timeframe. Next, take a new brillo pad or scrubber and gently go over the sides of the lemons. You'll know that it's working once your lemons begin to appear dull and less shiny but be cautious because you don't want to scrub too hard and have nothing left to zest.u003cbr/u003eOnce finished, drain the water and allow it to dry completely before zesting and juicing.
Are waxed lemons vegan?
Waxed lemons may or may not be considered vegan, depending on the specific wax used. Often, fruits like lemons are coated with wax to preserve their freshness and appearance. This wax can be either plant-based (such as carnauba wax, which comes from a palm tree) or animal-derived (like shellac, which is derived from lac bugs).
To determine if the waxed lemons are vegan, you'd need to check the source of the wax. Many commercial wax coatings on fruits tend to be plant-based, but it's always a good idea to verify the ingredients or contact the manufacturer if you're unsure or have specific concerns about the product's vegan status. Some stores may even offer unwaxed organic lemons, which could be a suitable vegan option.
How can I make this cake more lemony?
If you want to heighten the lemon flavor in this easy vegan lemon cake I would add more lemon zest to the mixture (not that I think you need to at all). Don't be tempted to use lemon extract, it always tends to give an unnatural lemon flavour.
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