Between the Vegan Ding Dongs and this Vegan Lemon Cake I think I’ve had a bit of a sweet tooth lately! Lemon cake is one of the best summer cakes, the lemons are in season, the taste is refreshing, and you get the perfect mix of tart and sweet! Using simple ingredients, this cake is easy and fun to make! Perfect for any summer gathering!
My favorite time to bake is when the sun is up and the kitchen is clean--it just feels so sunshine-y and nice! I love finishing a cake in the afternoon so that it’s on display all day, kind of like savoring the look of it until the evening when everyone gathers around and grabs a slice! As such, baking cakes, especially summery cakes, in the summer is one of my favorite things!
This cake is a super moist loaf cake with a perfectly-lemon icing to top it all off. Adam says it’s his new favorite! I’ve made this cake in doughnut form as well (spoiler: it’s just as amazing!), this cake is very versatile--just throw it in any pan you’d like and cook it until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. I like it particularly in a loaf pan myself, because the cut is so nice for a slice of lemon cake as well as being simple and classic. But you be free and do it however you’d like! (I actually have dala horse shaped cake pan that would be super fun to use soon!)
To make the icing for the cake I simply poured powered sugar into a bowl, about 1 cup to 1 ½ cups. Then added a teaspoon of vanilla extract. From there add lemon juice until you reach a consistency you like. I wanted a somewhat thick/opaque consistency so that it settled well on the cake. Don't worry about the icing being too lemony, the cake will balance it out. Also, feel free to add more powdered sugar if you add too much lemon, or even a touch of water if needed. You've got this!
Vegan Lemon Cake
- 1 ½ Cups + 2 Tbsp Flour
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- ½ Tsp Salt
- 1 Cup Water
- 5 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract (I use this, I highly recommend)
- Zest of 2 Lemons
- Juice from ½ of a Lemon
- 1 Tsp White Vinegar
OVEN:
Preheat oven to 350F, 177C
DIRECTIONS:
Add all dry ingredients to a medium bowl, mixing well. Then add all of the wet ingredients (aside from white vinegar) into the dry ingredients bowl, mixing well to combine, removing all lumps. Next add the lemon zest and lemon juice, mixing well. Last, add the white vinegar and mix well.
Grease your pan with coconut oil. You can use parchment paper on the bottom if you’d like. Then add the batter.
BAKING:
For loaf pans, bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven.
For doughnut pans, I place two pans on the middle rack and bake for 20 minutes.
For 9” Round pans, bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven.
The cake is done in any pan when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool all the way before icing.
I grated two lemons into the bowl using the smallest option of my grater, but any small grater should work.
For adding half of a lemon's juice I used this strainer to keep the seeds from falling into the batter.
After mixing in all the lemon ingredients I added the white vinegar and mixed well.
The kitchen smelled amazing at this point!
I popped the cake out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely. Then I poured the icing over it, there is no special method for this just go for it!
What's your favorite summer dessert? Does it involve lemons? or maybe berries? I hope you guys have a great weekend and get a chance to make this super tasty lemon cake! Your taste buds will thank you!
