Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake

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March 20, 2015

I've been putting off posting this vegan lemon loaf cake now for over a month. I went a bit picture crazy with this cake and dreaded having to sift through all 239 pictures I took of it. I did finally bite the bullet and miraculously managed to get through all of them. It was so tough.

I got through about 50 of them, of which I deleted 25.

Then I got hungry from looking at so many pictures that I went straight to the kitchen :D Yes, shame on this lemon loaf for wreaking havoc on my productivity.

So with a happy tummy, I took another crack at the remaining 189 pictures. I was somehow able to whittle my selection down to 15 pictures. Once I did that, I put posting this cake for another week because I kept thinking, "OMG, writing out the steps for this recipe is going to take forever!".

The thing is, I kind of forgot all the ingredients and steps of making this vegan lemon loaf cake. This is why I was pleasantly surprised when I looked through my recipe notes and found that this cake was really easy. Easy like Sunday morning. Though if your Sunday mornings are filled with toddlers jumping on you, then we might have to come up with a different expression.

This Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake itself is great...

...but it would be nothing...okay it would still be a cake but that's ruining my point right now...without an incredible frosting. This lemon coconut oil frosting definitely falls into my exception category since it uses powdered sugar.

I used regular powdered sugar but if you would rather use unrefined powdered sugar you can as well. Zulka sugar is vegan and non-gmo verified. Yay! I did find though that when you use powdered pure cane sugar the frosting isn't a vibrant white. Makes sense since it's not refined but that's just something to consider if the presentation is an issue.

Anyways...this lemon frosting is heaven. I used lots of lemon juice and lemon zest in it to make sure I got plenty of lemony flavor :)

It's really easy to make and maybe slightly healthier since I used coconut oil instead of vegan butter.

The trick is to cream the coconut oil together with the lemon juice and zest. Coconut oil can sometimes be really hard so if it's so incredibly hard that your mixer can even work through it try smashing it with a fork first or heat it a little bit. You don't want to use melted coconut oil though!

Once the lemon juice and coconut oil are nicely combined you can slowly start adding the powdered sugar. I also like to add a bit of salt so that it helps cut through the intense sweetness.

I realize now that photographing white frosting in a white bowl isn't the smartest thing to do...

Spread it on your cooled lemon loaf cake. I know it's hard to wait until it's fully cooled but it really is necessary. I like to garnish the cake with some lemon peel but it's completely optional. Please make sure you use organic lemons that aren't treated or covered in wax!

The main reason why I made this cake though is that my son turned 4! He's always been very specific about what kind of cake he wants and it's never anything simple.

For his third birthday, he insisted on a chocolate cake that looked like a birdhouse with 2 birds and 1 egg. There was no way I was able to turn a cake into a 3D birdhouse so I settled for making a simple chocolate layer cake and put two birds and an egg on top. There were no tears so I guess it wasn't so bad :D

This year he really wanted a lemon cake shaped like a train. I'm sure I could have just made a simple sheet cake and cut it into the shape of a train but I thought this was nicer. It's definitely not my best work but he was so happy and loved it :)

4.5 from 6 votes

A healthy vegan lemon loaf recipe topped with a lemon coconut oil frosting.

CourseCake, Dessert

Prep Time 8 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 8 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

Author Vanessa @ VeganFamilyRecipes.com

Ingredients

Lemon Loaf Cake

¾cupAll Purpose Flour
1cupWhole Wheat Flour
¾cupRaw Cane Sugar
2teaspoonBaking Powder
½cupVegan Butter or Coconut Oil, melted
1 ¼cupAlmond Milkor other plant based milk - See Notes
Juice of 1 Lemonroughly ⅓ cup

Lemon Coconut Oil Frosting

¼cupCoconut Oilnot melted!
4tablespoonLemon Juice
1teaspoonLemon Zestoptional
2 ½cupsPowdered Sugar
pinchSalt

Instructions

Lemon Loaf Cake

Preheat oven to 355F (180C). Grease and flour a 10 inch (26cm)
loaf pan
.
Using a wooden spool, mix together flours, sugar, and baking powder in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Add melted butter or coconut oil, milk, and lemon juice to flour mixture and stir together.
Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake on lower rack for 50 to 60 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing cake from pan. Allow cake to fully cool on a cooling rack.

Lemon Coconut Oil Frosting

Cream together coconut oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Add salt and ½ cup powdered sugar and beat together on medium speed, slowly adding more and more powdered sugar until desired consistency is achieved.
Spread lemon frosting over cooled lemon loaf.
Keep lemon loaf in fridge and eat within 5 days.

Recipe Notes

1) You can use all whole wheat flour or just all-purpose flour in this recipe as well. Using only whole wheat flour will make for a denser cake. 2) Any unsweetened plant-based milk can be used for this cake EXCEPT oat milk. I found this out the hard way. Oat milk makes this cake taste very bizarre and not in a good way.3) If coconut oil is very hard smash it with a fork before trying to cream it together with the lemon juice. If the coconut oil is so hard that the fork doesn't break it apart then heat it in a warm water bath or microwave. Heat only until softened, not melted! 4.) Do not use treated and waxed lemons to get your lemon zest. The best bet is to use organic lemons. Always check the labels, they should let you know if they are waxed or not.

More Vegan Cake Recipes

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Pie (V,GF,P)
Strawberry Ice Cream Cake (V,GF)
Chocolate Olive Oil Cake
Vegan Caramel Cheesecake

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says
March 21, 2015 at 2:09 am
I can't get over how pretty this cake is!! I can see why you had trouble going through the pics (and I have totally procrastinated for that reason too ;)) I love the way you decorated it and the train was ADORABLE!!
I remember making my mom make me a treehouse cake one year when I was little. It was a pain in the butt and eventually collapsed, so I don't blame you for keeping it simple. This is so creative, I love the wheels <3
Reply
- Vanessa says
  March 21, 2015 at 8:04 pm
  Kudos to your mom for attempting a treehouse! Making cakes that aren't simple shapes are tough. I hope you managed to get a picture of that treehouse cake. I would love to see it :)
  Reply
  - Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says
    March 21, 2015 at 8:36 pm
    There's a picture somewhere, but that was before digital cameras so it's in an album in a closet somewhere :D
    Reply
Maria G. says
March 21, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Hahaha! I think you did a nice job on the cake train! And you even managed to hide some whole wheat flour in there – good job!
Reply
- Vanessa says
  March 21, 2015 at 8:02 pm
  Thanks Maria :) I tried to make it slightly healthier haha
  Reply
Anu-My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
March 21, 2015 at 8:27 pm
Wow! What an AWESOME looking, and super delish vegan lemon loaf. This is just so pretty! :D
Reply
Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
March 22, 2015 at 11:35 am
This looks so delicious, soft and moist, Vanessa!! I loved all the gorgeous photos in this post! I wish I had a piece of your lemon cake to munch on right now. And that lemon loaf train is ADORABLE! <3 Can't wait to try this recipe!
Reply
- Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
  March 25, 2015 at 4:19 pm
  VANESSA!!!! I just made this and it is HOLY DELICIOUS! Everybody needs to make this lemon loaf cake it is so delicious, soft and tender! The only changes that I made was that I made it with only whole wheat flour and added some lemon zest into the dough. YUM! I am going to go and freeze some of it once it cools down so I don't eat it all, lol!! <3 :) Thanks for the great recipe my friend!!
  Reply
  - Ceara @ Ceara's Kitchen says
    March 25, 2015 at 4:52 pm
    OH, and I used half dark brown cane sugar because I am obsessed with it!! :) AMAZING!
    Reply
    - Vanessa says
      March 28, 2015 at 7:52 pm
      I'm sooo soo glad you liked it! I really wanted to use only whole wheat (I'll make it that way for Easter) but I thought...OK it's his Birthday and all so I might as well make it slightly unhealthy :) I should have thought of adding lemon zest to the dough. Brilliant idea!
      Reply
The Vegan 8 says
March 22, 2015 at 5:58 pm
See Also
Yi Jun Loh’s One-Pot Coconut Water ABC Soup Recipe on Food52
Oh and I love lemon cake Vanessa! This looks so delicious and easy! Love all of the yummy frosting too! I just had a vanilla cupcake with lemon frosting frm whole food the other day because they just started carrying vegan cupcakes and I couldn't resist, it was yummy, but honestly sad to say, no nearly as good as the homemade vanilla cupcake at home. It was still nice seeing they are carrying them though. Anyways, I love this easy and delicious recipe!
Reply
Cailee says
March 24, 2015 at 5:05 pm
Oh yum!! This looks amazing!!! What a great treat!! :) Thanks for sharing!!
Reply
Manali @ CookWithManali says
March 25, 2015 at 12:36 am
What a beautiful cake Vanessa! :) Wish your little one a very happy birthday! xoxo
Reply
rachel says
June 04, 2015 at 1:00 pm
Hi do you think I could make this without the wholemeal flour? We don't have it in our house. Thanks
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  June 04, 2015 at 1:06 pm
  Hi Rachel, you can use just all-purpose flour for the lemon loaf, if you like :) Make sure to use 1 3/4 cup then.
  Reply
Erin says
October 14, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Hi, I'm new to vegan baking and I'm going to try this (it looks delicious!) I'm a little nervous, though, because I don't see any ingredients for a binder, e.g. banana, egg replacer, etc. Does this recipe not need one? Does the coconut oil act as a binder? Thanks for your help. :)
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  October 15, 2015 at 2:44 pm
  Hi Erin,
  I was nervous about creating this recipe without an obvious binder too. I didn't want to use any banana as I was afraid it would overwhelm the lemon flavor of the cake. After making this a couple of times with and without bananas, I found that it definitely tastes better without and hold just as well togethe :)
  Reply
Hailey says
November 06, 2015 at 1:28 pm
This looks delicous! Could coconut flour be used instead do you think? Thanks!
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  November 06, 2015 at 2:52 pm
  Hi Hailey, Coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture when baking so you'll somehow have to add a bit more liquid to this recipe to counteract that. I maybe use 1 3/4 or even 2 cups of almond milk instead then. Let me know how it goes :)
  Reply
Shikha says
November 23, 2015 at 8:54 pm
Vanessa,this is my first ever comment in the review section.I have tried so many recipes but I have to say this that this is the best of all.My husband is vegan and he just loved the cake.
Thanks for the simple and awesome recipe.The cake was so delicious that I couldn't stop myself from writhing this.
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  November 23, 2015 at 8:59 pm
  Thank you so much Shikha! I always appreciate comments :) Keep them coming! I'm so happy your husband liked it. It's my sons favorite cake.
  Reply
Sue says
March 20, 2016 at 2:33 am
Hello Vanessa!
This is absolutely adorable. Is this a super moist cake with a sharp lemon flavor or is it more dense with a sweeter lemon flavor? I am looking for very moist and more of a tart lemon flavor. I really want to make a beautiful layered round lemon cake for a birthday instead but very hard to find a vegan recipe.
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  March 20, 2016 at 2:43 pm
  Hi Sue, the cake is very moist but dense because I used whole wheat flour. It shouldn't be as dense if you use only white flour but it also won't be airy and fluffy since no eggs are being used. As for the lemon flavor, I find it to be more on the sweeter side but found that the more lemon zest I add to the dough the sharper the flavor is.
  Reply
Susan Berg says
March 20, 2016 at 7:59 pm
Hello Vanessa!
Thank you very much for your honest reply, I really appreciate it. I will definitely give this recipe a try. Have a beautiful day!!!! :)
Reply
Alina says
May 10, 2016 at 6:52 am
I've made this cake a couple of times now :)
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  May 10, 2016 at 11:25 am
  This lemon loaf is one of my favorites to make too. My 5yr old is OBSESSED with lemon so this is the only cake he ever wants me to make ;)
  Reply
jordi says
September 10, 2016 at 1:49 pm
Tried this for the first time today. I feel like the loaf might be a bit plain for me. I stuck to the recipe but thinking I might add some vanilla and more lemon next time. The icing is to die for! Never thought of mixing coconut and lemon before but it's lovely. I'm sure I added extra lemon zest and perhaps adding some of that to the loaf would add some flavour. The quantity was huge so I am saving half for a second loaf.
Reply
Diane Clyburn says
September 25, 2016 at 11:31 pm
I made this for my birthday this weekend. It was amazing! My non vegan family loved it too! I followed the recipe exactly & used vegan butter vs the oil in the cake mix. So moist & delicious! I will definitely be making this again!
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  October 04, 2016 at 9:02 am
  Happy Birthday Diane! I'm so happy you and your family loved this lemon cake. My son actually begged me to make it again yesterday so I might have to make it for my birthday too in a couple of weeks :)
  Reply
Cathie says
March 21, 2017 at 9:22 pm
Just make sure your using organic coconut oil. Regular non organic is actually not good for you, I found out there is a huge difference.
Reply
Marisa says
May 06, 2017 at 3:56 am
OH. MY. GOSH. Hands down the absolute BEST lemon cake I've ever had in my entire life. I made this recipe for my (not-so-vegan) family party and it was a HUGE hit!!! Everyone loved it! I used all white flour (because I can only handle so much healthy) and added some lemon zest to the batter. This was so amazing to eat the next day once everything had set and the frosting had a chance to solidify a bit (coconut oil is solid at room temp where I'm from). I will be making this, well, probably again tomorrow because my mouth is watering just thinking of it :) Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  May 09, 2017 at 8:18 pm
  Thanks so much for your comment, Marisa! I can't count how many times we've had this lemon cake as it's one of the only cakes my sons ever want for their birthdays or every day for that matter ;) Glad you liked it! Vegan recipes that non-vegans don't even realize are vegan are always the best!
  Reply
Bella says
June 11, 2017 at 5:09 am
I just made this and it turned out absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for the beautiful recipe. X
Reply
- Vanessa Croessmann says
  June 12, 2017 at 1:46 pm
  Thanks Bella! I'm so happy you liked my lemon loaf recipe ;) I make it so often. It's my son's favorite ;)
  Reply
Debra says
February 20, 2018 at 12:24 am
I made this yesterday. Followed recipe exactly. Only used a square baking dish instead of the loaf pan because mine was 8”. Frosting came out perfect but the cake seems very dense, not at all even the slightest fluffiness. Looked through the ingredients again to double check that baking soda was not something I missed. It’s only baking powder. Taste wise it’s super good a I will make again. I used my own vegan butter made a couple days ago as well.
Reply

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