Lemon Sheet Cake | Vegan, Oil-Free, Gluten-Free Recipe

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 Cheesecake Bars
• Lemon Cheesecake Tart
• Key Lime Pie
• Fruity Cheesecake
• Upside Down Plum Cake

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Lemon Sheet Cake

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.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, German

Keyword: cake, lemon, oil-free, sheet cake, vegan

Servings: 6

Calories: 241

Author: Michaela Vais

Ingredients

Dry Cake Ingredients

• 160 g (1 cup) rice flour (I used white)
• 90 g (1 cup) 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

• 120 ml (1/2 cup) canned coconut milk **
• 110 g (1/3 cup) maple syrup ***
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) lemon juice
• 40 g (3 tbsp) aquafaba ****
• Zest of one lemon (about a heaped tsp)

Icing

• 100 g (heaped 3/4 cup) powdered Erythritol or powdered sugar*****
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp plant-based milk

Instructions

• Watch the video (scroll down a bit) to see all instruction steps. I recommend using a scale and to measure the ingredients in grams.
• 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.

Video

Notes

*To make your own oat flour, simply process oats in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder.

**Since the recipe is oil-free, I used canned coconut milk which is higher in fat than any other plant-based milk. If you hate coconut, you can use your favorite plant-based milk and add 2 tbsp of oil in addition.

***You can use any other liquid sweetener (e.g. agave syrup, rice malt syrup, etc.) instead of maple syrup.

****Aquafaba (also known as chickpea brine) is the liquid of a can of chickpeas.

*****I used Erythritol which I processed in an electric coffee/spice grinder. You can use powdered sugar instead, however, I noticed that Erythritol actually makes a better icing than white processed sugar.

Nutrition facts are for one piece when you cut the cake into 6 squares (1/6 of the recipe).

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Sheet Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 241 Calories from Fat 44

% Daily Value*

Fat 4.9g8%

Carbohydrates 43.6g15%

Fiber 2.4g10%

Sugar 12.4g14%

Protein 4g8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4.9g | Fiber: 2.4g | Sugar: 12.4g

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