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.
Hadassah says
Terrific!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Hadassah!
Jenna says
Hi! I made this pound cake and it was amazing. The whole family enjoyed it. Does lemon loaf freeze well in slices?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jenna, so glad you liked it! It is freezer friendly yes!
Bizunesh says
Hello Alison I’m a big fan of yours love your recipes! I wanted to make this pound cake but I only have 30 cm loaf pan I was wondering if you have any suggestions on how I can make the same cake but with the pan I have thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, so glad you enjoy the recipes! So that is a bigger loaf pan, I’m not entirely sure but I think that should still be okay to use.
Sulekha says
If I don’t have lemon extract,what do I replace with?Lemon juice or lemon zest?
Alison Andrews says
You can replace it with lemon juice but the flavor won’t be as strong.
Lily says
I never made a pound cake before and this one was fool proof. I am making it again today! Honestly all your recipes are so easy and yield consitantly great results.
Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Lily!
Barbara Carroll says
Made this delicious cake (again… I’ve made it many times and it’s always perfect!) this morning; I’m about to have a slice with my afternoon cup of tea. It’s so yummy. Thank you Alison.
Melissa says
I made it this morning and my whole family is loving it and they’re not vegan which is great, can’t wait to make this again!!
Alex says
This recipe is fantastic! The crumb comes out really well. Thanks for the recipe.
I had to use up some yoghurt so subbed 1/2 a cup of the milk for 1/2 a cup of vegan yogurt and it still was very good.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome, thanks Alex!
Sabrina says
I make this all the time for my mom who loves lemon and it always come out so moist and delicious. Even my dad who hates on anything vegan was surprised the first time we made it and he loves it too. Thank you for the recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing Sabrina!
Debbie says
Can I use gluten-free flour or will it change the texture? Tried a lemon cake with gluten-free flour yesterday and had to bin it 🙁
Have seen your recipe looks & sounds a winner. Does it matter if it’s rice or almond flour? Never baked gluten-free so this is why I ask any help appreciated:-)
Alison Andrews says
Hi Debbie, you can try this with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend, that is likely the only way it would work as gluten-free. Rice or almond flour alone would definitely not work. All the best! 🙂
Susan E says
Just made this today and can’t wait to eat it! Looks and smells delicious ????
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Susan!
Angela says
I’m not vegan but I made this for my friend who is and I fell in love with it. Soo good. Seriously, it is my go to lemon cake.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Angela!
Julie Rosenblum says
Getting ready to make this recipe and add poppyseeds. I was going to add two tablespoons.
What do you think?
Alison Andrews says
I think that would be great! 🙂
Dianna says
So so so so GOOD! Thank you! Cannot wait to make it again!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Dianna!
Deb says
Love this lemon pound cake, it’s my second time around.. Yummy!
Ali says
This cake is delicious, the only change I made was rather than icing, I mixed lemon juice with a bit of sugar and maple syrup, poked holes in the top of the cake with a skewer, and spooned the lemon syrup over the cake while still warm. One of the tastiest lemon cakes I have ever had!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Ali!
Yasemin Cetin says
Omg! I am not a lemon cake lover, but I made it for a friend and omg ate half of the whole thing by myself! Thank you for this great recipe!
One critique: my glaze turned out too thin.
DELICIOUS CAKE RECIPE! THANK YOU AGAIN!
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Yasemin. If the glaze comes out too thin next time, you can add more powdered sugar to thicken it. 🙂