Easy Vegan Lemon Cake

Name: Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 9 servings
Ingredients: 3 large lemons; 1 cup sugar; ⅓ cup olive oil; ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk; ½ cup plain non-dairy yogurt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1¾ cups all purpose flour; 2 Tablespoons corn starch; 1½ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

User Reviews

5.0

12 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Additional Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 35 mins
Servings
9 servings
Calories
260 kcal
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American

Easy Vegan Lemon Cake

Finn Russell

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You'll love the simplicity of this Vegan Lemon Cake. It's sweet, moist, and packed with fresh lemon zest. Only 10 ingredients, 10 minutes prep time, and no complicated steps or special equipment needed. Bake it in an 8x8 square pan, 9-inch round cake pan, or 9x5 loaf pan! See Notes for tips.

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Ingredients

Servings

3 large lemons
1 cup sugar
⅓ cup olive oil or a neutral oil like avocado
½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk such as oat or almond
½ cup plain non-dairy yogurt such as cashew, coconut, soy, or almond.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¾ cups all purpose flour see Notes for GF
2 Tablespoons corn starch
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly oil a metal baking pan (8x8 inch, 9-inch round, or 9x5 loaf). Then dust with flour and set aside. If desired, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper for even easier removal (I did not use parchment and had no trouble with sticking).
Place sugar in a large mixing bowl. Zest the lemons, careful to only remove the outer yellow portion, avoiding the bitter white pith. You should have 2 tablespoon zest. Add the zest to the bowl, and use a fork to thoroughly mix it into the sugar.
Slice one of the lemons, and measure out 3 tablespoon juice. Add the oil, lemon juice, milk, yogurt, and vanilla to the lemon-sugar. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, corn starch, baking powder and soda, and salt. Whisk well, then sift this into the bowl containing the wet ingredients. Gently whisk or stir just until there is no visible dry flour. Don't overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Also test for doneness by lightly pressing the center of the cake with a finger to see if it bounces back.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a flat plate or cooling rack. Flip over again and place right-side up on the cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before garnishing and slicing. See Notes for serving suggestions and other tips.

Notes

Subs & Variations:
Decorating & Serving:
Yogurt - mashed banana or applesauce work in a pinch.
Cornstarch - Lightens the texture; if needed, replace with additional flour.
Gluten-free - Use a gluten-free baking blend such as King Arthur's Measure for Measure. During recipe testing the gluten-free cake didn't rise quite as much and was slightly more dense, but still delicious!
Serve with vegan whipped cream or vanilla oat milk ice cream.
Create a simple lemon glaze by whisking together 1 cup powdered sugar and 3-4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.
For a lemon layer cake, double (or triple) the ingredients, and pair it with vegan vanilla frosting. Or for lemon frosting, per ½ cup of vegan butter, add 2 teaspoon lemon zest (or ½-1 teaspoon lemon extract), and 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Or make a vegan lemon-cream cheese frosting. Use the frosting linked above (or any vanilla frosting you like), and replace half of the butter with 8 oz. vegan cream cheese. I recommend either Tofutti brand or Kite Hill.