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Introducing the best Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake. This deliciously moreish, cake is almost too good to be true! Using just 7 ingredients it will be the easiest, tastiest Free-From Lemon Drizzle you’ve tried.
Recipe Difficulty – Easy!
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
It’s a totally vegan lemon cake which means it is dairy-free and egg-free too. Trust me, you really have to give this recipe a go, it’s fluffy inside and an absolute winner!
This recipe is seriously easy to make! You can prepare it in under 10 minutes and I can guarantee you’ll be making it time and time again. It’s the perfect accompaniment with a cup of tea in the afternoon or as a dessert as it’s so light and moist, plus the lemon is really refreshing!
I wanted to create another refreshing recipe using fruit/veg as my as my Carrot Cake Cupcakes were so popular. This lemon drizzle loaf uses 7 easily found vegan ingredients, most of which you will probably have in your cupboard at home already! Plus, it can be stored for a few days and even frozen if you wanted to prep ahead for a special event!
It’s so good that I have also added it into my collection of 21 Gluten Free Easter Recipes, my best 33 Vegan Desserts and 35 Gluten Free Desserts round up!
Ingredients to make Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
- Almond milk – adding milk to cake recipes generally makes the texture lighter and stronger.
- Lemon – the key ingredient in this Lemon Drizzle Cake! I love their zingy, refreshing, citrusy taste! Don’t waste the lemon zest, add it into my Homemade Rosemary Salt. If you have some lemon juice spare then add it into my Sweet Chilli Salmon Fishcakes.
- Baking powder – this helps the lemon drizzle cake to rise.
- Coconut sugar – I like using coconut sugar because of its low glycemic index. It works very similarly to brown sugar and make the batter a lovely rich brown colour. If you have some spare to making my Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts.
- Coconut oil – a great substitute for butter and adds a subtly nutty/coconutflavour
- Ground almonds – these help to create moisture in the cake. They also add a great texture and flavour too. I also use ground almonds to bind my Vegan Meatballs together as it works so well.
- Flour – I’ve used gluten free self raising flour, which I found in my local larger supermarket, however standard self raising flour would also work well if you aren’t gluten free.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Ground almonds – If you don’t want to use ground almonds you could swap these for either coconut flour or oat flour, which is essentially blitzed oats!
- Almond milk – You could swap this for another plant-based milk.
- Baking Powder – You could swap this for bicarbonate of soda aka baking soda.
- Coconut oil – I used coconut oil to help keep the Lemon Drizzle Cake moist, however you could use any other flavourless oil e.g. vegetable oil if you prefer.
- Coconut sugar – I enjoy baking with coconut sugar, but you could substitute it for brown sugar instead.
- Flour – I have used gluten free self raising flour, but if you aren’t gluten free, standard self raising flour would also work well in the lemon cake. If you’re not gluten-free or vegan and looking for a more traditional recipe then check out this Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe.
Variations
- Kid friendly – I think this is a great recipe to get kids involved in! If you want to make it extra special for them then opt for topping with icing sugar instead.
- Deluxe – to turn this delicious Lemon Drizzle Cake into a show stopper, top it with finely grated lemon zest and fresh lemon slices! In my opinion there is nothing better than serving this with a good ol’ cup of herbal tea, but if you really want to take this Lemon Drizzle Cake to the next level, then try it with my Christmas Hot Chocolate recipe, it’s insanely good!
How to make Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
Step 1: Firstly, preheat your oven to 180C / 360F / gas mark 6 and line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper. Then whisk melted coconut oil and coconut sugar together in a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Then add almond milk, lemon zest and juice and stir in the sieved dry ingredients.
Step 3: Carefully pour the cake batter into a lined 900g loaf tin and bake in the oven at 180C / 360F / gas mark 6 for 35 minutes.
Step 4: Meanwhile, whilst the cake is baking prepare the lemon drizzle sauce mixture – just mix together some coconut sugar, lemon zest and juice – ready in 30 seconds!
Step 5: Once cooked, leave the baked cake in the tin for 30 minutes, then carefully use the paper to lift it out. Make some small holes in the top – I used a chopstick but a skewer or small pointed knife will work too, and drizzle over the tangy lemon syrup sauce to guarantee a maximum lemon hit.
Step 6: Afterwards, top with a few lemon slices for a finishing touch.
Leftovers
The best thing about this gluten free Lemon Drizzle Cake is that is can be frozen. To freeze, simply slice and freeze separately. Allow to defrost at room temperature for a few hours and you’ve got yourself an effortless afternoon snack! Equally this Lemon Drizzle Cake will store in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature.
Other Vegan Cakes
If this lemon drizzle cake isn’t right for the occasion then try baking my Gluten Free Victoria Sponge Cake instead.I also have a decadent Chocolate Cake or Carrot Cake.
Recipe FAQs
You can easily swap normal flour for gluten-free. I also like to use ground almond when baking gluten-free cakes as it gives moisture, flavour and texture too.
I personally like to use a chopstick! However, there are plenty of other ways you can create the holes such as using a cocktail stick, the prongs of a fork, a skewer or even gently scoring with a knife would work.
This Lemon Drizzle cake will store in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature. However, it can also be frozen. To freeze, simply slice and freeze separately. Allow to defrost at room temperature for a few hours and you’ve got yourself an effortless afternoon snack!
The reason this lemon drizzle cake doesn’t look traditionally ‘white’ is because I have used coconut sugar in the recipe. I enjoy baking with coconut sugar because its had a low glycemic index and isn’t refined, I also love the taste it gives!
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Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- sieve
- 900g loaf tin
- baking paper
- chopstick or utensil to create a small hole
Ingredients
Lemon Drizzle Cake
- 100 g coconut oil, melted (roughly 7 tbsp)
- 150 g coconut sugar
- 200 ml almond milk, (unsweetened)
- 2 lemons (zest of 1 and juice of 2)
- 225 g gluten-free self raising flour
- 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 150 g ground almonds
Lemon Drizzle Sauce
- 1½ lemons (zest of 1 and juice of 1½)
- 30 g coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/360F/gas mark 6 and line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper.
- Now, in a large mixing bowl add 100g of melted coconut oil and 150g of coconut sugar and whisk until smooth.
- Add 200ml almond milk, zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons and whisk.
- Into the bowl sieve 225g gluten-free self raising flour, 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder and 150g ground almonds (some ground almonds won't go through the sieve, just add them into the bowl).
- Mix until it forms a smooth batter and pour into the prepared tin.
- Bake in the oven at 180C/360F/gas mark 6 for 35 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the lemon drizzle sauce. In a small bowl, mix the zest of 1 lemon, the juice of 1½ lemons and 30g coconut sugar.
- IMPORTANT Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin, for at least 30 minutes, this helps it to firm up a little more inside.
- Once the cake has cooled, in the tin for 30 minutes, carefully lift it out, using the paper. Then, with a chopstick, create holes across the top and pour over the lemon drizzle sauce. Top with lemon slices, if using and slice.
Absolutely loved this recipe. Super tastey and simple to make
Thanks Fran 🙂 so pleased you enjoyed it!
This recipe is amazing! The cake comes out so moist and it tastes delicious! It is actually the best lemon drizzle cake I have ever tried and with no refined sugar it’s a no brainer!
Thank you Charis 🙂 so pleased you enjoyed it!
Beautiful cake, give it a try
Really enjoyed this cake. I’m not the best at baking cakes but it turned out great. I used dark brown sugar and oat milk as that’s all I had in and it worked out fine. It tasted lovely and everyone who tried it really liked it. Thanks for another great recipe
That’s awesome thank you Ali 🙂
This is just awesome! Even my family loved it.
I used rapseed oil and grounded oats instead of grounded almonds and coconut oil and it worked just perfect. I just love how easy and quick this recipe works. thank you‘
Appreciate the feedback Luisa 🙂
Did it today for my birthday but with some adaptation. I did it oil free so I used water instead of oil and I used oat flour as I did not have the one you recommend and it was amazing. Lovely taste and not very hard to do.
This cake was delicious – highly recommend making it, I couldn’t get hold of any coconut sugar so use brown sugar instead. Very moist and tasty. Thank you for sharing
Thanks Natalie 🙂 so pleased you enjoyed it!
Very easy recipe, and the cake came out so delicious and moist! I added a little bit of lavender for a herbal twist, and it worked a treat 🙂 thank you!
Thank you Asia 🙂 appreciate the positive feedback!
This cake is super easy to make and tastes delicious!!
I already wanted to eat all the raw dough.
At first I thought it might be sour or bitter, but it definitely isn’t!
I used normal (none self raising) gluten free flour and just added a little more baking powder and it worked!
Thank you!
Thank you Lena 🙂 so pleased you enjoyed it! Glad it worked for you with plain gluten free flour and just extra baking powder.
This cake is everything!!! Structure and taste are really good. I made it for Mother’s Day and my family also loved it! And on top of that it is so easy.
I swapped a part of the coconut sugar for white sugar since it is a lot cheaper and that went perfect, only difference is that the color of the cake turns out a lot lighter!
Aww thank you Mette 🙂 so pleased you enjoyed it!!