Lemon cakes are one of my favorite desserts of all time and this simple and delicious vegan lemon drizzle cake is one of my go-to recipes when I'm craving citrusy baked treats.
These two loaf cakes take less than 30 minutes to make which is even more reason to try them. I can't wait to hear what you think!
Having lemon-flavored cake, as well as a zesty lemon glaze may seem like a lot of sourness, but trust me with this one. This lemon drizzle cake is super soft, comforting and most importantly, the taste isn't overwhelming like some can be.
Some other of my lemon treats that you'll love include my vegan lemon olive oil cake, vegan lemon poppy seed cake and eggless lemon cake loaf with chocolate buttercream.
Jump to:
Why You Will Love This Cake
- Strong Flavors - This recipe is lemon paradise. If you love tangy flavors, then look no further than these lemon drizzle cakes which are similar to those found in my eggless lemon cake loaf and vegan lemon poke cake.
- So Moreish - Once I have a slice of this cake, I always want to go back for another. It's so light, fluffy and perfect for all occasions, rain or shine. Who's having a slice?
- Easy to Make - Making these lemon loaf cakes really is so easy. All you need to do is make the cake batter, pour it into two cake tins, bake inside the oven and finally drizzle that sweet lemon glaze over the top.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan lemon drizzle cake recipe is entirely vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Apple cider vinegar - This is the most important ingredient in this cake recipe. When combined with the leavening agents, a chemical reaction takes place with the batter, making the cakes airy and delectable.
- Granulated sugar - This neutral flavored sugar is perfect for baking cakes. It is easily dissolved into the batter too which is great.
- Canola oil - This type of oil is the exact same thing as rapeseed oil. It gives the cakes their super moist consistency. It also worked fantastically in my vegan almond raspberry cake and vegan chocolate bundt cake recipes.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice - Make sure that you squeeze actual lemons for this recipe. Artificial lemon juice doesn't give the cake the bursting lemon flavors that we all know and love.
- Zest of 2 medium-sized lemons - Adding lemon zest, along with the lemon juice gives the recipe an extra kick.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you love extra fruity cakes like me, you can fold berries into the cake batter such as, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. Blueberries are my personal favorite if the three and make a tasty combination with the lemon. If you love the sound of blueberry and lemon treats, I already have a vegan blueberry lemon cake and vegan lemon blueberry muffins on the blog.
- For a more mild tasting lemon drizzle, add a drop or two of plant milk or water. This will neutralize the taste of the drizzle and the sourness will drift away. I love the sourness of lemon cakes but I completely understand that some people don't enjoy this.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Grease the two loaf tins.
2: Make the vegan buttermilk by mixing the soy milk and vinegar.
3: Combine your dry ingredients inside a large bowl.
4: Pour in your vegan buttermilk.
5: Now, add in the oil, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
6: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet.
7: Pour the cake batter into the two cake tins.
8: Bake your cake until they are golden.
9: Glaze the lemon cake with the lemon drizzle.
Expert Tips
Don't over-mix the cake batter - Don't mix the lemon cake batter at all if possible. Just fold the dry into the wet until all the flour has gone. Mixing is far easier but the cake will be denser. Be as patient as you can.
Use loaf cake tins - The ideal cake tin size for this recipe is a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin which is 6cm deep. This has always given me the best results, although I haven't tested tins with other dimensions.
Recipe FAQs
This is usually caused by opening your oven door before the cake has set.
The ratio between the wet and dry ingredients may be imbalanced. It could also be because the oven temperature was too low.
Store this lemon drizzle cake in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature or 4 days in the refrigerator.
More Vegan Lemon Cake Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Easy Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ingredients
Cake Batter:
- 200 ml soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 200 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50 ml canola oil rapeseed oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Zest of 2 medium-sized lemons
Glaze:
- 160 g powdered sugar
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice as much as you need to reach desired consistency
Instructions
Lemon cake:
- Preheat your oven to 175 Celsius (350F).
- Grease two 20cm length x 10cm width cake loaf tins with cold vegan butter. Make sure that the tins are at least 6cm deep. Set aside.
- Make vegan buttermilk by mixing the apple cider vinegar into the soy milk. Set aside for 8 minutes while it curdles. Measure out your other ingredients in the meantime.
- To a large mixing bowl, add all of the dry ingredients. Mix to combine.
- Now, pour the curdled soy milk into the dry mixture. Then add the canola oil, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet gently. Keep folding the mixture over itself until no pockets of flour remain. Don’t mix.
- Pour the folded lemon cake batter into the prepared cake loaf tins. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. When they are ready a skewer should come out clean.
- Remove the lemon cakes from the oven. Let them cool in the tin for 15 minutes then carefully remove the cakes from the tins by tapping on the bottom of the tins and carefully lifting them. The cakes should slip out easily.
Lemon Drizzle Frosting:
- Sift your powdered sugar into a medium bowl.
- Add fresh lemon juice to the powdered sugar until the glaze reaches a consistency that you like.
- Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cakes.
Video
Notes
- Don't mix the lemon cake batter at all if possible. Just fold the dry into the wet until all the flour has gone. Mixing is far easier but the cake will be denser. Be as patient as you can.
- The ideal cake tin size for this recipe is a 20cm x 10cm loaf tin which is 6cm deep. This has always given me the best results, although I haven't tested tins with other dimensions.
Anonymous says
Delicious.