Vegan Lemon Cake
This vegan lemon cake with lemon glaze icing is unbelievably soft, moist, and flavorful, yet oil-free, gluten-free, low-fat, low-sugar (optionally sugar-free), and plant-based. A perfect vegan lemon dessert for spring, summer, and special occasions!
Servings 6 slices
Equipment
- Kitchen scale*
- 8x8 pan*
Ingredients
Dry Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup (160 g) rice flour (see notes)
- 1 cup (90 g) oat flour (see notes)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1/8-1/4 tsp turmeric (for color)
Wet Cake Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) canned coconut milk (see notes)
- 1/3 cup (110 g) maple syrup (see notes)
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) lemon juice
- 3 tbsp (40 g) aquafaba (see notes)
- Zest of one lemon (about a heaped tsp)
Icing
- 3/4 heaped cup powdered (100 g) Erythritol or powdered sugar (see notes)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp plant-based milk
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.I recommend using a kitchen scale for this recipe.
- Preheat the 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 in 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 (you'll need less milk if you use regular 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 transfer the cake to 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
- Rice flour: You can use regular all-purpose flour if you aren't gluten-free.
- Oat flour: To make your own oat flour, simply process oats (regular or gluten-free) in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder.
- Milk: Since the recipe is oil-free, I used canned coconut milk, which is higher in fat than any other plant-based milk. If you don't like coconut, you can use your favorite plant-based milk and add at least 2 Tbsp of oil in addition.
- Sweetener: 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.
- Nutrition facts are for one piece when you cut the cake into 6 squares (1/6 of the recipe).
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Lemon Cake
Amount per Serving
Calories
241
% Daily Value*
Fat
4.9
g
8
%
Carbohydrates
43.6
g
15
%
Fiber
2.4
g
10
%
Sugar
12.4
g
14
%
Protein
4
g
8
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.