My easy and drool-worthy vegan lemon mug cake recipe is one of my favorite quick recipes on the blog because it tastes as good as a lemon cake that has baked in the oven.
The only difference is that this treat takes less than 2 minutes to make inside the microwave which means that you can make this as a speedy snack when you're in a rush to go somewhere or you have a busy day.
I always love to add poppy seeds to this lemon mug cake too, as they add tasty, earthy flavors to it which compliments the tanginess, as well as the light and airy texture perfectly. You'll see what I mean when you try it!
If you like these kinds of flavor combinations, I also have a vegan lemon poppy seed cake and a vegan orange poppy seed cake which you will adore. Especially if you'd prefer to make a full cake. Otherwise, try another mug cake in the form of a vegan Biscoff mug cake which tastes incredible.
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Why You Will Love This Mug Cake
- Simple Ingredients - The mug cake is made from 9 'easy to find' ingredients and uses small amounts of each of those ingredients. This mug cake is single serve and totally, uncomplicated.
- Quick & Easy - This might just be the best thing about this recipe. Just like my vegan mug brownie and vegan banana mug cake recipes, this treat can be made within 70-90 seconds which feels miraculous when it's ready.
- Great Texture - Considering the fact that this mug cake can be made or quickly, it tastes so good! In fact, it tastes just like an actual oven lemon cake, despite cooking at least 10 times faster. It's fluffy, soft and so enjoyable.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan lemon poppy seed mug cake recipe is completely vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour - Regular white flour is the only type of flour that you should be using for this recipe, unless you're looking to make it gluten free.
- Poppy seeds - Poppy seeds and lemon are a match made in heaven. These little, yet mighty seeds give the cake an extra earthy tone and aroma. These were also used in my vegan lemon poppy seed muffins.
- Soy milk - After testing the mug cake several times, I found that using soy milk always gave the lemon poppy seed mug cake the best consistency time and time again. Other plant milks such as, almond milk and oat milk were quite good too.
- Fresh lemon juice - Don't use concentrated or artificial lemon juice in this recipe. The mug cake will suffer due to a lack in authentic flavor. Instead, using freshly squeezed lemon juice, alongside the lemon zest will give the cake a major flavor boost which is full of delicious zesty goodness. You'll see the huge effect of this if you try my vegan lemon cookies and vegan lemon raspberry cake recipes.
- Powdered sugar - This will be used for the lemon drizzle glaze. I like mine to be quite thin and runny for this recipe.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- I understand that not everyone wants to top their mug cake with a glaze and because of this, you can change the topping. I sometimes like to top my mug cakes with fresh blueberries and dairy-free whipped cream. I've even had it with dairy-free yogurt and maple syrup. You could even top it with vegan dulce de leche caramel if you really want to spice things up. There really are so many options!
- If you wish, you can also make this lemon mug cake gluten free. The great thing about this is that only ONE of the ingredients needs to be substituted out and that's the all-purpose flour. The rest of the ingredients are naturally gluten free. These days, there are many 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour alternatives which are made specifically for baking. Feel free to use one of those for this recipe.
How To Make A Lemon Poppy Seed Mug Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Make the lemon glaze.
2. Mix together the dry mug cake ingredients.
3. Add in the wet ingredients.
4. Cook the lemon mug cake.
5. Top with the glaze and serve.
Expert Tips
Don't over-mix the mug cake batter - This cake isn't the biggest so you want to enjoy every spoonful of it. This won't be possible if you over-mix the mug cake batter as the cake will become dense and gummy. Mix gently until a batter is smooth and combined.
Use a microwave safe mug - Make sure that mug or large ramekin that you use is safe for microwavable use. If they have any metal parts on them, this can be a major health and safety hazard.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. Make sure that it is a large ramekin as this cake will rise quickly. Also make sure that it is microwave-safe.
A mug cake is a single-serving cake treat that is usually made inside a mug.
I don't recommend that you do this for this lemon mug cake recipe. Microwaving it will give you the best results.
I recommend a large mug that holds at least 8 ounces.
I advise that you eat the mug cake fresh as soon as it has been cooked but if you can't eat it immediately cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Reheat in 10 second intervals inside the microwave.
More Vegan Mug Cake Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Mug 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!
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Mug Cake
Ingredients
For the lemon drizzle:
- 30 g powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon soy milk
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
For the mug cake batter:
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2.5 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 0.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 4 Tablespoons soy milk
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 0.5 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
Make the lemon drizzle:
- Add the powdered sugar to a small bowl. Mix in both the soy milk and lemon juice until a smooth glaze forms. Set aside.
Make the mug cake:
- In a large ramekin or a microwave-safe mug, mix together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar and baking powder and poppy seeds.
- Next, pour in the soy milk, vegetable oil, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is just combined. Don’t over-mix.
- Cook your lemon poppy seed mug cake in the microwave for 70-80 seconds. After the mug cake gets past the 1-minute mark make sure that you continuously check on the cake as each microwave is different. The cake will continue to cook at room temperature.
- Drizzle the lemon glaze topping over the mug cake and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- This cake isn't the biggest so you want to enjoy every spoonful of it. This won't be possible if you over-mix the mug cake batter as the cake will become dense and gummy. Mix gently until a batter is smooth and combined.
- Make sure that mug or large ramekin that you use is safe for microwavable use. If they have any metal parts on them, this can be a major health and safety hazard.
Megan says
This recipe is DANGEROUS (in the best way)!!! Can’t believe I can make something this delicious in my microwave in less than 3 minutes.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
DJ says
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Megan! So happy that you love the lemon poppy seed mug cake recipe 🙂
An says
Tried this recipe. It was awesome. I did not add the lemon zest because I got lazy to zest it, but I added an extra half to 1 tsp lemon juice. The mug cake took 86secs in the microwave to cook but the lemon tang, sweet, crunch of the poppy seed was soooo satisfying. It wasn't soggy despite the extra liquid. I will definitely be making this mug cake again. Thank you for the recipe.
DJ says
Thank you! So glad you loved the mug cake 🙂
G. Taylor says
Quick, easy and delicious