This vegan lemon pound cake is seriously the best ever. Also known as vegan lemon loaf, it is moist and rich and topped with a deliciously tangy lemon glaze.
Ever since making our vegan pound cake recipe, I have wanted to make a vegan lemon pound cake.
After doing all the heavy lifting of figuring out how to even make a pound cake when I made our original pound cake, this one was a total breeze and a complete pleasure to make.
Topped with a delicious lemon glaze it is total lemony perfection.
The lemon flavor in the cake is subtle and comes from a little lemon extract and some lemon zest.
And the frosting is a simple mix of powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract.
And if you love lemon desserts then you’ll also love our vegan lemon cake.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Pound Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add vegan butter and white granulated sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and cream them together until well mixed. Add vanilla extract and lemon extract and mix in.
- Prepare vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle.
- Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixer and mix it in with the vegan butter and sugar mix. It will look curdled but this is fine.
- Sift the all purpose flour into a separate mixing bowl, add baking powder and salt and mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix into a batter with a spoon. Be careful not to overmix.
- Add lemon zest and mix in. The batter will be thick.
- Transfer the batter to a 9×5 loaf pan (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper so that there is overhang on either side) and smooth down.
- Place into the oven to bake at 350°F for 60 minutes.
- At the 40 minute mark, bring it out and tent the top with foil so that the foil makes a tent shape over the top. Return it to the oven to bake for the final 20 minutes.
- Lift the cake out using the parchment paper overhang and place it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before adding the lemon glaze.
- To make the glaze, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract in a bowl.
- Spoon the glaze onto the cake and spread it around the top evenly. Allow the glaze to set in the fridge for 10 minutes before slicing and serving the cake.
Tenting with Foil
This cake bakes for an hour, which can lead to excessive browning on top. So the trick is to bring it out after 40 minutes and tent it with foil and then put it back in for the last 20 minutes.
You simply wrap the whole loaf pan in foil so that there is a tent shape on top, this is so that the foil doesn’t press down on your cake from the top, but protects it from getting overly browned.
Bringing it out at the 40 minute point doesn’t effect the rise of the cake or cause any sinking effect (as it would do if you opened the oven at an earlier point) because all the rising has already happened at this stage and it’s close to done.
Why This Recipe Works
Texture. The cake is quite dense, which is what you want in a pound cake. It’s not super light and fluffy, but it’s not meant to be. It’s still probably lighter than a traditional pound cake, but you can see from the photos that it has a fairly tight crumb.
Moisture. The moistness in this cake comes about from the vegan butter and homemade vegan buttermilk.
Rise. The lift comes from 3 teaspoons of baking powder, which is the maximum amount you can use in this recipe, any more and you’d have it rising too high for the structure to support and then you get sinking in the middle.
Result. The result is a lovely vegan lemon loaf with a delicious lemon flavor that really pops with the addition of the lemon glaze.
Serving Suggestions
This cake is divine served as is, but if you wanted to serve it with something else like a scoop of vegan lemon ice cream, that would be divine too! Pound cake really works well served alongside other things.
Make It Gluten-Free
If you’d like to make this lemon loaf gluten-free then my recommendation would be to use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. I haven’t tested it with this recipe, but that is usually what works best.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 3-4 days or covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week. Bring it to room temperature before serving.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Lemony Vegan Desserts
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
- Vegan Lemon Pie
- Vegan Lemon Cookies
- Vegan Lemon Bars
- Vegan Lemon Curd
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Lemon Pound Cake:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Extract
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tbsp lemon juice + soy milk up to the 1 cup line
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar (120g)
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ⅛ teaspoon Lemon Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper, letting the parchment paper hang over the sides so that the cake can be easily lifted out. Set aside.
- Add vegan butter and white granulated sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and cream them together until well mixed. Add vanilla extract and lemon extract and mix in.
- Prepare vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle.
- Add the vegan buttermilk to the mixer and mix it in with the vegan butter and sugar mix. It will look curdled but this is fine.
- Sift the all purpose flour into a separate mixing bowl, add baking powder and salt and mix together.
- Add the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix into a batter with a spoon. Be careful not to overmix.
- Add lemon zest and mix in. The batter will be thick.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared 9×5 loaf pan and smooth down.
- Place into the oven to bake at 350°F for 60 minutes. At the 40 minute mark, bring it out and tent the top with foil* so that the foil makes a tent shape over the top. Return it to the oven to bake for the final 20 minutes.
- Lift the cake out using the parchment paper overhang and place it onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before adding the lemon glaze.
- To make the glaze, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract in a bowl.
- Spoon the glaze onto the cake and spread it around the top evenly. Allow the glaze to set in the fridge for 10 minutes before slicing and serving the cake.
Notes
- Weigh your flour for the most accurate/best results or use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
- 2 Tablespoons of lemon zest is what you’d get from about 2 small lemons.
- Tenting with foil stops the cake from browning too much on top.
- Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 3-4 days.
It taste great! Yet the middle of the cake texture wasn’t cooked well. Very mushy in the middle although perimeter of the cake was of the right texture. I’m NOT sure where I went wrong!
Hi Marchet. It sounds like your oven temperature was too hot and the outside of your cake baked faster than the inside. A good tip we have is to use an oven thermometer to ensure your oven reaches the correct temperature.
For some reason, I used to really struggle to bake a good lemon cake, but this recipe works perfectly. As I’m currently on my third time making this cake, I figured it’s time to leave a comment of appreciation for this recipe. 😉 To say it’s “seriously the best ever” is definitely not an overstatement. Thank you for this great recipe! x
Thank you so much for your amazing review and kind words!
Do you need to use soy milk? if I use oat milk will the protein level be too low and not properly curdle? This looks so good but I’m allergic to soy!!
Hi Annie, oat milk should work, but if not you can also try almond milk. 🙂
Could you use almond milk instead of soy?
Yes, you can!
hi, I am a vegetarian and I am looking for an eggless cake recipe. Would it be ok if I used butter and full fat milk to make the lemon cake?
Sure, you can do that.
hi I am about to make lemon loaf but unsure if you used block or soft vegan butter. I will try 1st with block and see how it goes. love your recipes.
I have made this lemon loaf several times and it’s a favourite in our family – thank you for the recipe! We are loving it Vegan💞
Awesome Janet! Thanks so much for the amazing review!
I am fortunate to have a very enthusiastic lemon tree in my back yard, which is great since I like most anything lemon. Before going to a whole food plant based diet, one of my favourite cakes to make was a lemon pound cake that called for two sticks of butter and four eggs. I was very happy to find this recipe. It has just as nice flavour as my previous recipe without all the saturated fat and cholesterol. This is now going to be my go to lemon loaf. I did not add the glaze as I find that glazes and icings just make the cake too sweet … and this way I can have more cake! : ) Thanks for an excellent recipe!
Thanks for the awesome review Kate!