Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake

There’s something joyful about lemon drizzle cake. It’s fresh, light, zingy, and the kind of bake that feels like sunshine on a plate. Before I was vegan I grew up eating my mum’s version of my grandma’s lemon drizzle cake so I was determined to make a plant-based version that didn’t compromise on that soft crumb and sharp-sweet glaze.

After lots of testing (and a few very happy taste testers), I finally fcreated the perfect vegan lemon drizzle cake. It is is easy to make, gorgeously moist, and bursting with lemony goodness.

It’s the perfect cake to whip up last minute, as there is no beating involved, no intricate decoration or icing to sieve. Just a simple bake and tasty glaze.

The base of this cake uses self-raising flour, golden caster sugar, and baking powder, with a neutral oil (like vegetable or sunflower) for moisture and structure. Instead of eggs, plant milk (oat, soy, or almond all work well) and a touch of lemon juice help bring everything together.

For that bold lemon flavour, I use both fresh lemon juice and zest – don’t skip the zest, it really makes the cake nice and citrusy.

What you need

For the cake

• vegetable oil

• self raising flour

• golden caster sugar

• baking powder

• lemon

• water

For the icing

• granulated sugar

• lemon

Substitution and Ingredient Notes

Vegetable oil: This cake requires a nice neutral oil which is why vegetable oil works perfectly. You could also use sunflower oil for a good buttery imitation.

Golden caster sugar: If you don’t have golden caster sugar, regular white caster sugar works fine, and you can use coconut sugar for a slightly deeper flavour, though it will darken the colour of the sponge a little.

Lemon: You can’t beat the taste of fresh lemons for this recipe but at a push you could try bottled lemon juice, but without the zest it will pack a quieter citrus punch.

Granulated sugar: The granulated sugar, combined with the lemon make a crunchy consistency when drizzled over the top. You can of course swap this for caster or icing sugar but the effect will be a little different (but just as delicious!). Using a thinner sugar will make enable the syrup to soak into the cake more, creating a more moist sponge.

How to make a vegan lemon drizzle cake

Heat oven to 200°C (180°C) fan. Grease a 1lb loaf tin and line with baking parchment (not greaseproof paper!). If you don’t have any parchment paper, greasing and then dusting with flour can help to prevent the cake sticking to the tin.

Mix the lemon juice and granulated sugar together in a cup and leave for later.

Add all the ingredients to a food processor. Pulse to start, and blitz until smooth.

Alternatively, sieve in all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix gently by hand.  When adding in the dry ingredients, make sure to not overmix as this will create a tougher cake which is less likely to rise. Next, pour the mixture into the tin.

Now we bake the cake for around 25-30 minutes. To check to see if the cake is cooked pull put the oven shelf and see if the cake is wobbly, if it is, push it back in. If it isn’t push a skewer in to the centre of the cake. It it comes out clean then it’s baked! If it has wet cake mixture on it, it needs another few minutes.

Leave the cake in the tin, and pierce it lightly all over with a skewer. Slowly pour over the lemon and sugar mix giving the cake time to absorb. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool fully.

Fancy more cake recipes?

• Vegan Rock Cakes
• Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake
• Best Ever Baked Vegan Apple Fritters
• Blackberry Banana Bread
• Vegan Maple and Walnut Pumpkin Bread

Did you make this vegan lemon drizzle cake recipe? Please rate and review the recipe below, and leave me a comment! I love to hear your feedback, and if you’re enjoying my recipes. Make sure to take a photo, tag me @MadeleineOlivia and tag it #MadeleineOlivia.