Well, the obsession with lemon desserts continues! Like I’ve mentioned before, I am HERE for everything chocolate, boozy, and sweet, but there is just something about lemon desserts that always keeps me coming back for another slice. Maybe it’s a mix of a sweet treat mixed with that tart tang of lemon, making me feel like I’m eating something refreshing and healthy-ish, even when it’s vegan lemon cake.
Whatever it is, I’m not stopping anything soon, and if you are a lemon lover like me, you shouldn’t either. Fun fact: I used to suck on lemons as a child, so maybe that’s where my weird love for lemon comes from? Who knows!
This vegan lemon cake has been about 6 months in the making and I just happened to try it one more time this past weekend. Back before Thanksgiving, I spent a whole Saturday trying to nail down the recipe for this lemon cake, each time getting slightly closer, but not quite there. One cake turned out like a big pan of lemon curd, another was flat as a pancake, and the last one overflowed, thanks to my overzealous measuring of the baking soda. Lesson learned, sometimes you just need to let it be and come back to a recipe! I think sometimes I have such a stranglehold on making a recipe that I end up trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole at a certain point. I tried for these doughnuts three times in one weekend, each time getting even further away from what I wanted them to be. I eventually gave up, came back to them 2 weeks later, and they turned out on the first try. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow when it comes to baking!
I would watch your baking time on this vegan olive oil lemon cake very closely! I think I overbaked the last batch and it turned out slightly dry and crumbly. I kept mine right around 25 minutes and it was perfect, but check it at 20 minutes and go from there, your oven might run hotter than mine. Also, I think you could totally swap out the lemon for orange or grapefruit, whatever citrus tickles your fancy. I can’t attest to this, but I think a grapefruit version would be perfect for the winter!
Previously on Heart of Baker
One Year Ago: Chocolate Vegan Danish Braid
Two Years Ago: Turmeric and Citrus Smoothie
Three Years Ago: Vegan Cocoa Brownies with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Four Years Ago: Mandarin Orange Dark Chocolate + Poppy Seed Muffins
Five Years Ago: Homemade Tortilla Chips and Fresh Salsa
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A perfectly sweet and tart vegan lemon cake made with olive oil! Frosted with a powdered sugar glaze, this cake is bound to be your new favorite lemon dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon zest and juice (I used 1 large lemon, but this would equate to 2 small lemons too)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the powdered sugar glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. Trace a parchment paper circle and line the bottom of the pan. Grease the parchment paper as well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond milk, olive oil, vanilla, sugar and lemon juice/zest.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Transfer the flour mixture to the bowl with the almond milk mixture and whisk until batter is combined.
- Transfer batter to the greased cake pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
- While cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and almond milk in a small bowl. After cake has fully cooled (don’t do this while it’s still warm!), pour the glaze over the top of the cake.
- Serve. Store in a covered container for up to 5 days.
what an amazing cake! the olive oil is interesting but I imagine the lemon and sweetness balances out the strong flavour (:
I like the olive oil/lemon combo! And that fun fact about how much you sucked on lemons as a kid is hilarious. I would say that might have something to do with your lemon dessert obsession 😉 Send me a slice? xo
Haha, I bet that does have something to do with it! 🙂 Coming right up!
Unsweetened almond milk or original?
Unsweetened!
Thank you for the recipe! This cake turned out amazing.
I’m so happy to hear that!
Definitely have to go with the flow sometimes! A good reminder so that I don’t get too frustrated. 😉 Your hard work paid off – this cake is a beauty!! <3
Thanks, friend!
I have never Lemon cake at home. This is in my to do list. Thanks for sharing my friend. 🙂
Hope you enjoy! xo
I’m not much of a baker myself, but this cake looks so delicious that I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for posting!
I promise it’s the one thing you will want to try!
Hi Abby
This recipe looks delicious! I can’t wait to bake this delicacy. What kind of almond milk have you used here?
Also I read about your struggle with the oven. I suggest you to check out some pretty cool oven with better technologies to prevent that from happening again.
Can’t wait to tell you how it turned out!
Thank you 🙂
That’s great advice, thank you!
Hi, Abby!
I’m baking this cake right now. 🙂 It smells amazing, but it’s been in 25 minutes and is still pretty liquid-y. When you say 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and zest, is there a proportion that should be juice vs zest? I’m concerned I may have too much liquid in my mix.
Hi Jill! It should be baked by now! I’m wondering if your oven runs cooler than mine or there are other variables. Keep it going for a bit longer and let me know how it turns out!
This is amazing! I used vanilla soy milk, canola oil, 3 T lemon juice, added in 1/2 t lemon extract, and only used half the glaze. I baked mine in a 9″ pan, but there was too much batter, so I made a small microwave cake too. 🙂 I did mine in my toaster oven and it was done in 18 minutes. This is such a lovely lemon cake and definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Gotta love a good Lemon Cake, I’m sure the Olive Oil brings a super interesting consistency to this classic!
Hey there. Right now I am baking my second attempt. I have baked cakes using olive oil before so I am familiar with it. My first attempt the batter seemed to be extremely loose and filled the pan completely…. it overflowed during baking and 35 mins later it never fully baked. This time the batter was thicker but still filled the pan completely…15 mins left in baking time….fingers crossed! I really want a piece of lemon cake!!! 😜
Oh no! I never had this issue, so I’m sorry it didn’t work for you!
I’ve made this cake several times, and it’s never failed me. I’ve added blueberries and rosemary, and folks gobbled it up. Thanks for the great recipe!
That makes me SO happy! Love those ideas!
I made this cake and it was rubbery, bland, and extremely flat. Wish I knew what went wrong!
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! If it was rubbery it might be from overmixing. I wish I knew what went wrong too!
Hello! Sounds delicious! Can I sub the all purpose flour for almond or coconut flour to make the cake gluten free? Thank you!
Hi Amanda! I don’t know, as I haven’t tested it this way. It might be best to use a GF flour blend, but I can’t guarantee that it will work, since I only tested with AP flour. Hope this helps!