This lemon sheet cake is incredibly soft, moist, and very delicious, even though it’s completely oil-free! The recipe is vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and very easy to make. Watch the video below to see the simple instruction steps.
Healthy Lemon Sheet Cake
I don’t know where to begin, because this vegan lemon cake recipe actually left me speechless! It’s oil-free, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, yet it turned out moist, soft, and very flavorful. I really didn’t expect it to be that good.
If you check out other lemon cake recipes, almost all of them contain lots of eggs, butter, regular flour, and tons of sugar. But not this lemon sheet cake. It’s quite healthy and the taste doesn’t disappoint.
11 Simple Ingredients
Maybe you already have most (or all) of the ingredients at home. If not, they should be easily accessible in all supermarkets. The 11 ingredients are:
- Rice flour
- Oat flour (ground oats)
- Liquid sweetener of choice
- Canned coconut milk
- Aquafaba
- Powdered Erythritol (or powdered sugar)
- Turmeric
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Lemon juice + zest
I used white rice flour, however, this easy lemon sheet cake might also turn out great with brown rice flour. Also, I always make my own oat flour by simply processing oats in a blender or in an electric spice/coffee grinder. It takes only 20 seconds and saves a lot of money! You can use regular oats or certified gluten-free oats.
Maple syrup, rice malt syrup, Yukon syrup or agave syrup are just some examples of liquid sweeteners which can be used in this recipe.
I prefer using canned coconut milk because it’s rich, and adds a nice flavor. However, if you are a coconut hater, I would suggest using any other plant-based milk and adding 2 tbsp of oil. Why? Because the recipe is completely oil-free and relatively low in fat. Boxed plant-based milk is basically just water, and I am afraid the cake might end up too dry if you use it without oil!
Powdered Erythritol makes the best icing, in my opinion (and I tried many). Furthermore, it’s refined sugar-free and has zero calories (which isn’t important to me, however, I prefer not to use refined sugar). You can use powdered sugar though if you don’t have access to Erythritol.
Turmeric adds a nice yellow color and since we are only using 1/8-1/4 tsp the taste isn’t noticeable in the finished vegan lemon cake.
I am sure the other ingredients (baking powder, baking soda, lemon, salt) don’t require an explanation. 🙂
How To Make A Lemon Sheet Cake?
It’s really very simple to make this vegan lemon cake. All you need is the ingredients which I mentioned above, a bowl, a whisk, a baking pan, and an oven.
- First, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk to combine.
- Pour the batter into a lined baking pan and bake the cake in the oven for about 25 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the icing and pour it onto the cooled cake.
- Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes and cut the cake into squares.
- Check my step-by-step VIDEO right under the recipe instructions!
How To Store?
You can store the lemon sheet cake in the refrigerator (for up to 5 days) or for up to 3 months in the freezer. When you freeze the squares, make sure to let them thaw for about 30 minutes before serving.
This Lemon Sheet Cake Is:
- Vegan (dairy-free, egg-free)
- Gluten-free (use certified GF oats if you are a celiac)
- Refined sugar-free
- Oil-free
- Low-fat
- Healthier than most lemon cakes (vegan or not)
- Quick and easy to make with only 11 ingredients
- A healthy-ish dessert or even breakfast
Should you try out this delicious vegan lemon cake recipe please leave a comment and rating below. Also, don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I would love to see how it turned out!
If you love fresh and light cakes, definitely make sure to also check out the following vegan cake recipes:
Lemon Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Dry Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup (160 g) rice flour (I used white)
- 1 cup (90 g) oat flour (gluten-free if needed*)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1/8-1/4 tsp turmeric (for nice yellow color)
Wet Cake Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) canned coconut milk **
- 1/3 cup (110 g) maple syrup ***
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (40 g) aquafaba ****
- Zest of one lemon (about a heaped tsp)
Icing
- 3/4 heaped cup powdered (100 g) Erythritol or powdered sugar*****
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp plant-based milk
Instructions
- I recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) and line a baking pan (or sheet pan) with parchment paper with an overhang for easy removal. My pan measures 9"x6" resp. 23x15 cm (see pictures above in the blog post).
- Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until combined (don't over mix).
- Pour the batter into the lined pan. Bake for about 25 minutes in the oven or until a toothpick (inserted to the center) comes out clean. It took 24 minutes in my gas oven.
- Let cool completely. Meanwhile, make the icing/glaze.
- Simply add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix with a whisk. The icing should be runny but not too thin. If it's too thin, add more powdered Erythritol/powdered sugar. If it's too thick add a little more lemon juice or plant-based milk.
- Pour the icing onto the cooled lemon cake and put the cake in the fridge for about 20-30. The icing will firm up pretty quickly when you use Erythritol (what I did).
- Cut into squares and enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Check the recipe notes below.
Notes
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Hi Ela, this recipe looks delicious, I can’t wait to try it! Would you recommend storing the cake in the fridge and adding the icing a couple of hours before being eaten (if it is made the day before)? Also, do you think a baking pan that is less wide would work as well? If yes, how much longer would you leave it in the oven? And does brown rice flour work too? Thanks for answering all my questions:)
How can I replace aquafaba??
You could probably use a chia egg (1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp hot water) or a flax egg.
This looks great! I’ve been trying to find oil-free cake recipes. I was wondering, how much oil did you substitute the coconut milk for?
Hi Sachie! 🙂 It’s mentioned in the recipe notes: “If you don’t like coconut, you can use your favorite plant-based milk and add 2 tbsp of oil in addition.” 🙂
Can I add some ginger ? Do you think ginger taste can fit in this recipe?
Yes, I think it would add a nice flavor but I wouldn’t add too much. 🙂
If I add extra sweetener will that mess up the balance? Will it still rise ok?
Hi Coletha, I would suggest adding a granulated sweetener like regular sugar, Erythritol or Xylitol and not more of the maple syrup. Hope this helps. 🙂
Thank you. Sorry, I posted twice. I couldn’t see the first response.
No worries, Coletha! 💛
My cake came out very moist. It rose nicely. We were pleased. My only questions is can I add extra sweetener without messing up the balance if the cake? The icing was plenty sweet but the cake wasn’t. Maybe the issue was that I didn’t have any lemon zest?
If instead of the canned coconut milk I use almond milk and applause with apple cider vinegar mixed in to relax the coconut canned milk? And can I use oat flour in general , not rice flour and oat flour just oat flour
Please check the recipe notes:
I wouldn’t leave out the rice flour, otherwise, the cake will turn out too dense.
So…. mine didn’t look as good but oh boy it was delicious , thank you for another yummy recipe
My pleasure, Fernanda! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Delicious! My family really enjoyed this cake, the texture was perfect and it was so simple to make. Thanks for sharing!
You are very welcome, Anasha! I am glad you all liked the recipe. 🙂
Hi. My cake was very very dry, couldn’t eat it. I followed the recipe and I don’t know where I made a mistake.
I am sorry it didn’t turn out good for you. Did you maybe leave it too long in the oven? Did you use canned coconut milk and the exact same flour mixture?
Yes, I used everything as it is in the recipe and baked it 25min. The mixture was dry even before baking. I’ll try bake it again and see if this time will turn out good. Thank you.
Hello 🙂 It shouldn’t be dry before baking. Did you measure all ingredients in grams?
This recipe is exactly as described, moist, delicious and easy to make. Our new favourite. Had to make it gain the next day! Thanks Ela! Keep the recipes coming!
Yay, I am so glad you liked the recipe, Maja. 🙂
How big was your pan???
It’s mentioned in the recipe instructions!
“My pan measures 9″x6″ resp. 23×15 cm (see pictures above in the blog post).”
Thank you for the recipe! My batter was not as liquidy and didn’t fill the whole pan (idk why). I used coconut nectar for sweetener which turned the color of the cake more orangey. I used a whole lemon (pitted of course) instead of zest and juice with really good results. For the icing is there some other powder I’d be able to use instead of all sweetener? It was too sweet for me.
You can mix the sweetener for the topping with vegan cream cheese to make it less sweet. Hope this helps. 🙂
This turned out really well, very fluffy and just the right amount of moisture! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Fantastic! I am so glad you liked the recipe, Jessica. Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Does aquafaba still work after it’s been frozen and defrosted?
Good question, Rachel, but unfortunately I don’t know the answer, sorry.
Yes, it does!
I have frozen aquafaba and had it still whip up for meringue cookies. And I was thinking of thawing some just now for this recipe….
That’s great! Thanks for the information. 🙂
I freeze mine in ice trays. It worked just fine. I thawed it on the microwave for about 30 seconds
I don’t have a scale, will it still turn out ok if I just measure with cups?
Yes, it should turn out fine! 🙂
This is the best lemon cake I have ever tasted !! Thank you for sharing the recipe
I will definitely make this cake again!!??
Aww, I am so glad you liked the recipe, Hila! 🙂
This is my first Elavegan recipe I have done and the first vegan cake that is soft and fluffy in the middle, not dense and chewy – it’s delicious!
I am glad you liked the recipe, Cassy. 🙂
Can I use regular flour instead of gluten free and have it turn out the same?
Maybe! You will need to experiment. 🙂 Since I mainly use gluten-free flours, I haven’t tried it out. 🙂
It works with spelt flour though.
OMG!!! This lemon sheet cake is CRAZY GOOD! I think I could eat it all myself.!! Thank you for this yummy recipe!!
So happy you loved the recipe, Faye! 🙂
What can I use instead of aquafaba or applesauce. I am in low fodmap diet. Aquafaba and applesauce affect me in a negative way.
You could probably use a chia egg (1 tbsp ground chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp hot water) or a flax egg.
Looks very yummy ?. What Erythritol Brand do you use ? I been trying to find a good one . Because I read that most of the Erythritol Is GMO made from fermented GMO corn.
Hi Chana, it’s actually linked in the ingredient list. 🙂 This is the one I use and it’s non-GMO: https://amzn.to/2ww8tU7
Vegan Lemon cake is one of my favorite cakes too ? I also love adding blueberries in the batter or making muffins and cupcakes from the recipe.
Sounds great! I have yet to try making vegan lemon muffins, a lemon loaf cake or a lemon bundt cake. 🙂
So quick an easy „thrown“ together and it was delicious! Thank you ☺️
Yay! Glad you liked these vegan lemon bars, Natalie! Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
Hello! I’m not sure, but isn’t aquafaba can’t be using like an egg in baking? I tried it, but it works another way…
Not sure if I understand your question, Vita. Aquafaba works really well in this recipe. You might also use applesauce instead, but I haven’t tried it out. 🙂
Bake at what temperature.?
Elizabeth, did you not check the instructions? It’s already mentioned there: “Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)”
This looks great. Would it work with almond
Flour or coconut flour to also make it
“grain free”?
Thank you
Almond flour could work, buckwheat flour as well. I would definitely NOT recommend coconut flour. 🙂
Thank you. I’ll give almond flour a try!
Great, I hope it turns out delicious! 🙂
Hola, el aquafaba lo bates antes hasta quedar en punto nieve o agregas el liquido del aquafaba sin batir? Saludos desde Lima/Perú. Genial receta!! Gracias ?????
Sin batir. You can see it in the video. 🙂
What I could I use instead of rice flour?
A gluten-free flour blend might work but I haven’t tried it out yet, so I can’t really answer your question. 🙂
Dieses Rezept kommt mir gerade passend!!! Bin schon seit Tagen auf der Suche nach einem gesunden, veganen Rezept für einen Zirtonenkuchen!!! Ich werde den so schnell wie möglich backen!!
Danke Eva! Das deutsche Rezept ist hier: https://elavegan.com/de/zitronenkuchen-vom-blech-vegan/ 🙂
Ich hoffe, der Kuchen schmeckt dir. LG, Ela
What is Aquafaba?
Chickpea brine, and it’s actually mentioned and explained in the recipe notes! 😉