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    Home » Cakes and Cupcakes

    Vegan Lemon Pound Cake

    Published: Jul 12, 2018 Updated: Nov 12, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Lemon Pound Cake

    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.

    Vegan lemon pound cake topped with lemon glaze on a white plate.

    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.

    Sliced lemon pound cake topped with a lemon glaze, on a white plate.

    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.
    Batter in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon.
    • 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.
    Batter for vegan lemon pound cake in a loaf pan.
    • 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.
    Freshly baked lemon pound cake in a loaf pan.
    • 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.
    Vegan lemon pound cake on a wire cooling rack.
    • 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.
    Pound cake topped with lemon glaze, on a white plate with mint leaves and lemon slices.

    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.

    Vegan lemon loaf cake topped with lemon glaze on a white plate.

    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.

    Sliced pound cake on a white plate.

    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.

    Slices of vegan lemon pound cake on a white plate.

    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.

    A slice of vegan lemon pound cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Lemony Vegan Desserts

    1. Vegan Lemon Cake
    2. Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
    3. Vegan Lemon Pie
    4. Vegan Lemon Cookies
    5. Vegan Lemon Bars
    6. Vegan Lemon Curd

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Sliced vegan lemon pound cake on a white plate.

    Vegan Lemon Pound Cake

    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.
    4.92 from 73 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 294kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    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
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    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

    1. 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. 2 Tablespoons of lemon zest is what you’d get from about 2 small lemons.
    3. Tenting with foil stops the cake from browning too much on top.
    4. Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 3-4 days.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Sodium: 329mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 525IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 1mg
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tahira Akhtar says

      April 13, 2021 at 11:23 am

      Hi would this work as a tray bake/ sheet cake? Thanks5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 14, 2021 at 11:24 am

        I haven’t tried it that way, hmmm, I’m not sure at all! Our vegan lemon cake can be done as a 9×13.

        Reply
    2. Tia says

      March 16, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      Could I make this using whole wheat pastry flour?5 stars

      Reply
    3. Sarah says

      March 02, 2021 at 5:58 pm

      Hey 🙂
      the recipe sounds awesome!
      Can I bake it with Erythrit instead of sugar?
      best regards

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        March 03, 2021 at 9:22 am

        Hi Sarah, I have never tested it that way but I don’t think it would work.

        Reply
    4. Rhythm says

      February 20, 2021 at 11:15 pm

      The loaf was very soft, I didn’t have lemon extract and used lemon juice instead so it was not very lemony, I made a lemon drizzle syrup to make it lemony…my only issue was I had too much baking powder taste. What brand baking powder do you use? Is that without aluminum powder?? I later read we need to use less baking powder if it’s with aluminum compound vs aluminum free baking powder. Going to try it again with the baking powder-baking soda ratio I usually use…keep you posted 🙂4 stars

      Reply
    5. Bhav says

      February 15, 2021 at 7:45 am

      This is the most delicious lemon pound cake I’ve ever tasted! I love all your recipes. Thank you so much!5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        February 15, 2021 at 11:09 am

        Awesome! Thanks Bhav!

        Reply
    6. Madi says

      January 20, 2021 at 8:13 am

      Love this recipe and I have made it so many times.
      I didn’t have lemon extract and just added a little extra zest and juice to the recipe and it still came out really lemon-y.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        January 20, 2021 at 11:03 am

        Awesome! Thanks for sharing Madi!

        Reply
    7. Remina says

      December 28, 2020 at 8:00 pm

      I’ve used this recipe countless times but never said “thank you”. So thank you. I usually modify recipes but this one is perfect for me as it is, I just add something extra to the glaze to make it more sour candy-like. But seriously, so perfect. Thank you, thank you, thank you ToT

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 29, 2020 at 9:24 am

        You’re so welcome Remina! Thanks so much for posting!

        Reply
    8. Sara says

      December 24, 2020 at 7:28 pm

      Incredible – it’s amazing! Complete vegan recipe win. We cut the pound cake loaf in half horizontally and spread on a layer of raspberry jam, which made it just perfect. Thank you for this delicious recipe.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 25, 2020 at 10:35 am

        Fantastic! Thanks so much Sara!

        Reply
    9. Mamawah says

      December 15, 2020 at 9:44 pm

      Great recipe but each time I’ve made it, my loaf caves in the middle. What could be causing this?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 16, 2020 at 10:21 am

        It can be that your oven temperature is too high so it rises too fast. I highly recommend an oven thermometer so you can check the temperature that the oven is reaching inside.

        Reply
    10. laura fennelly says

      December 12, 2020 at 1:13 pm

      How do I make this gluten free ?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 14, 2020 at 10:55 am

        You could try it with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend, but I haven’t tried it this way so I’m not sure how well it will work.

        Reply
    11. N. Duversaint says

      December 09, 2020 at 6:20 pm

      Hii,

      I made this recipe yesterday, and it was amazing. I’ve made a few recipes from your blog and they have all been phenomenal.

      If I want to double this recipe, how much baking powder am I supposed to use? And will I just double the other ingredients normally?

      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        December 10, 2020 at 10:12 am

        So glad you enjoyed the recipe! If you double the recipe then everything will need to be doubled including the baking powder, so you would use 6 tsp. 🙂

        Reply
        • N. Duversaint says

          December 10, 2020 at 4:34 pm

          Thank you for responding Alison. I will definitely be making it again.5 stars

          Reply
    12. Sheila says

      November 27, 2020 at 2:27 am

      Absolutely perfect! Wonderful flavor and texture. Tender but with a nice crisp edge! I doubled the recipe and baked it in a tube pan. So beautiful for the holidays! Thank you for another winning recipe Alison.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 27, 2020 at 12:25 pm

        Thanks so much Sheila!

        Reply
    13. Kimberly says

      November 14, 2020 at 5:22 pm

      Could you add fresh blueberries to this cake?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        November 16, 2020 at 12:31 pm

        Hi Kimberly, I think you could! I haven’t tried it myself but I think you can.

        Reply
    14. Judith says

      October 22, 2020 at 3:25 pm

      Omg, Alison, I made this cake and it was delicious. Thank you so much!
      Do you have any recipes with soy curls?5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 23, 2020 at 8:47 am

        So glad to hear that Judith! We don’t have any recipes with soy curls yet.

        Reply
    15. Judith says

      October 21, 2020 at 4:08 pm

      Hi, I’m going to make this cake but don’t have any lemons for the zest. What can I do?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        October 21, 2020 at 4:45 pm

        You can leave it out, it will still be good without it.

        Reply
      • Karen Nesbitt says

        March 13, 2021 at 12:23 pm

        You could try orange or lime zest

        Reply
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