Name: EASY VEGAN LEMON CAKE
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 32 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups flour (all-purpose/maida); ¾ cup plain white sugar; 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; Pinch of salt; 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest; ½ cup plant based milk (I have used almond milk); 1/3 cup oil; ¼ cup fresh lemon juice; ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon lemon extract; Few strands of saffron; 2 cups icing or confectioner’s sugar; 3-4 tablespoons water; 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice; Few strands of saffron crushed (optional)

Easy Vegan Lemon Cake is going to be your go to for those days when you need a cake that is sweet, moist, fluffy, scrumptious, tangy and satisfying without pulling out your hand blender or stand mixer!

All you need are some basic cake baking ingredients, some fresh lemons (duh…lemon cake!) and a zeal to bake something homemade.

It is sweet enough to enjoy a slice on its own or if you like some extra zing and oomph, then drizzle some freshly made lemon icing on top.

Scroll Bellow for Full step-by-step recipe.

Printable RECIPE CARD (with save option) is also below.

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EGGLESS VEGAN LEMON CAKE:

My blog recipe repertoire has many chocolate cakes, some carrot cakes, blueberry cakes etc. But my family wanted to enjoy some fresh lemon cake.

Of course we can get some from a local bakery but for me, it is always an exciting challenge to bake at home and with a couple of large lemon trees in our backyard with so many lemons; homemade it was going to be.

I do have a simple eggless lemon cupcake recipe too but this one I found is more fluffier and literally “takes the cake”…pun intended!

I love making eggless variations of almost all of my cakes and cookies. Some have dairy and some do not.

To make it totally vegan, I decided to use some plant based milk here along with making it eggless.

This lemon cake had to look lemony (well, yellow to be specific, so decided to use saffron strands for the color), taste lemony (hello fresh lemon juice) and needs that fluffiness with an amazingly moist crumb which only plain flour can do.

Once baked, it had all that and some more! It turned out so good, I even used this recipe to bake up a birthday cake for my son a while back.

You will not be disappointed with this one; absolutely moist, delicious, a beautiful crumb and just the right sweetness even without the icing.

But if you like it sweeter, feel free to drizzle some lemon icing on top (recipe below too).

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE LEMON CAKE:

Well, you probably all have these basic pantry ingredients already.

Exact amounts of ingredients, step-wise method and printable or “to save” recipe card to bake the cake can be found below.

Flour: As it is a lemon cake, this is one time I had to use plain flour or all-purpose flour for that wonderful, soft crumb and to maintain the yellow color of the cake. You can use whole wheat flour but the texture and color will change.

Baking powder: A leavening agent which keeps the cake fluffy and light.

Baking soda: It gives that wonderful lift to the cake especially in combination with an acid like lemon juice.

Sugar – Again, decided to use plain white sugar to maintain the color of the cake. And sugar not only adds sweetness but totally balance out the sourness of the lemon flavor.

Salt – Just a pinch mind you. Every dessert gets that extra flavor when there is a bit of salt along with the sugars.

Vegetable Oil – Being a vegan cake, it needed some oil and not butter for moistness. Moreover, cakes with oil remain moist and soft even when refrigerated unlike cakes which use butter.

Milk: Again, being a vegan cake, I opted to use a plant based milk like almond milk. You can use any you have or like. If not vegan, feel free to use regular milk.

Lemon juice: Every time you make a lemon dessert like this cake here, try and use freshly squeezed lemon juice as much as possible. With a couple of large lemon trees in our backyard, no dearth of that in my kitchen.

Lemon zest: This adds more flavor to any dish. Use the smallest grate in your grater or zester and zest or grate only the yellow portion. The white portion is bitter.

Extracts (for flavoring): I have used both pure Vanilla extract and pure lemon extract here.

Saffron Strands: I never use artificial color in any of my bakes unless absolutely needed. So here too, to get that golden yellow color of lemons, I decided to use a few strands of saffron which I normally use in Indian desserts too. Try and use the best quality you can.

TO BAKE THE CAKE:

PREP:

Grease an 8-inch round pan (will keep the paper in place) and line with parchment paper. Grease the bottom and sides again.

Crush a few strands of saffron in a mortar and pestle and soak in 2-3 tablespoons of almond milk (take some from the whole amount of ½ cup needed). Set aside a few minutes.

Grate the lemon zest (yellow part) of lemon (about 1 ½ tablespoons) and squeeze fresh lemon juice (1/4 cup).

TO MAKE THE LEMON CAKE BATTER:

Preheat oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Centigrade.

In a large bowl, add the ingredients to make the wet mixture: remaining of the almond milk, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, ¾ cup of sugar and ½ teaspoon each of pure vanilla extract and pure lemon extract.

Stir in the soaked saffron mixture and then mix well to dissolve the sugar. You can do this using a spoon, whisk or silicone spatula.

To this, add the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, 1 ½ tablespoons of lemon zest and a pinch of salt.

Fold in the dry ingredients gently until you see no dry parts. Do not over mix…some lumps remaining are ok.

BAKE THE CAKE:

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and gently tap on counter top to remove any air bubbles.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until cake tester like a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out without any wet batter sticking to it.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool in pan for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, gently run a plastic knife or silicone spatula around the edges of the cake and remove from pan.

Place on wire rack to cool completely.

TO MAKE THE ICING:

In a bowl, sift in 2 cups of icing sugar and add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (if using), a splash of vanilla extract, some crushed saffron strands for color (optional) and 3-4 tablespoons of water. Start with 3 tablespoons of water and then add more if needed.

Mix well to make a smooth icing.

The glaze should be thick enough to coat the cake and not runny to run off the sides of the cake totally.

Once ready, either pour over the cake or serve on the side to drizzle on individual slices as needed. Some prefer the cake less sweeter than others, so this option is good.

Wasn’t that an easy cake to make?

Do try this soon. So easy to make, even a nonbaker can make this lemon cake perfectly.

Enjoy Foodies and Happy Baking!

HOW TO STORE YOUR EGGLESS VEGAN LEMON CAKE:

If your house is cool, it stays good at room temperature for a couple of days. If it is on the warmer side, make sure to cover loosely (in a pan) or even in an airtight container and store in refrigerator.

For freezer option, bake cake, cool, wrap in plastic wrap and store in freezer for up to a month. Thaw overnight in fridge or on counter and enjoy chilled or at room temperature.

EASY VEGAN LEMON CAKE

This delicious cake is going to be your go to for those days when you need a vegan cake that is sweet, moist, fluffy, scrumptious, tangy and satisfying without pulling out your hand blender or stand mixer!

Enjoy drizzled with lemon icing or plain; never disappoints.

Course Desserts, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Eggless, Lemon cake, Vegan

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 32 minutes

Servings 10

Author Vanitha Bhat

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour all-purpose/maida
¾ cup plain white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest

Wet Ingredients:

½ cup plant based milk I have used almond milk
1/3 cup oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon extract
Few strands of saffron

INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON GLAZE OR ICING:

2 cups icing or confectioner’s sugar
3-4 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Few strands of saffron crushed optional

Instructions

PREP:

To make saffron milk for the cake batter, soak a few strands of saffron in 3 tablespoons milk (use some from the whole amount of ½ cup almond milk needed).
Let it sit for a while for the saffron flavor and color to infuse into the milk.
Zest a couple of lemons (use only the yellow part and not the white part that is bitter) to make 1 ½ tablespoons of zest.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice from the same lemons you used to make zest. You will need ¼ cup for the cake batter.
If making icing, you will need a couple of tablespoons more or as needed.

TO MAKE THE CAKE:

Preheat oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Centigrade.
Grease an 8-inch round pan and line with parchment paper to fit the bottom. If you want, you can grease the top of the parchment paper but do grease the sides of the pan. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add rest of the almond milk, 1/3 cup of oil, ¼ cup of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of pure lemon extract, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¾ cup of sugar and the soaked saffron mixture.
Using a spatula, large spoon or whisk, mix well to dissolve the sugar.
Set aside for a couple of minutes to make sure the sugar is totally dissolved.
To this mixture, add the dry ingredients – 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder, ¼ teaspoon of baking soda, 1 ½ tablespoons of grated lemon zest and a pinch of salt. (You can premix this in another bowl prior if preferred)
Using a silicone spatula or a spoon, gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
Gently fold until you do not see any dry spots. The mixture could be lumpy….that is ok.
Do not over work the batter to get a smooth batter or you will get a tough and chewy cake.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and gently tap on countertop to remove any air bubbles.
Place in hot, preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester like a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out without any wet batter sticking to it.
Start checking only after 30 minutes.
When baked, remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, gently run a spatula or knife around the cake to dislodge from the sides and then overturn onto the wire rack.
Cool completely on the wire rack.
Serve drizzled with icing at room temperature or chilled.
This cake can be enjoyed plain as it is sweet, moist, fluffy and delicious even without icing!
But if you need some icing on your cake or love your cake a tad sweeter, then do make this one.

TO MAKE LEMON ICING:

In a small bowl, sift 2 cups of icing sugar and add 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (this is optional), ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional) and 2-3 tablespoons of plain water to begin with.
Mix thoroughly with a spoon to form a thick but pourable icing.
Add more water in teaspoons if needed.
If too thick, add more water and if too thin, add more icing sugar.
When thick enough, either pour over the whole cake or like my son preferred, serve on the side so anyone can drizzle as much as they need over their slice.
Hope you bake this moist, fluffy, spongy and tangy tasting eggless and vegan Lemon Cake soon and wow you family and friends with your baking prowess.
This easy to make cake will be in your recipe repertoire to make again and again.
Enjoy Baking and Happy Eating!

Recipe Notes

As this is a lemon cake, to maintain the lemony yellow color, I have used plain white all-purpose flour or maida.
You can use whole wheat flour but then the cake will be dense and the color of crumb may change. If you do not mind that, please go ahead and try using that.
Same goes with sugar. To maintain the color, I have used plain white sugar. But you can use coconut sugar etc. too.
Adding lemon juice to icing is optional and only if you love the lemon flavor in that too.
If you cannot find saffron or do not have it, then feel free to use yellow food grade color, starting with a few drops of it until you get the color you want.
Enjoy and Happy Baking!
Inspired by Rainbow Nourishments