Jump to Recipe·5 from 11 reviews

This recipe for vegan lemon pound cake is the perfect treat to make for lemon lovers! Buttery and dense, this cake is baked in a loaf pan and takes only 15 minutes of prep time! Soft and fluffy, it instantly melts in your mouth. This cake is made with vegan butter and non-dairy milk — so no yogurt or sour cream required!

side view of the cake, sliced and facing toward the inside to show the moist texture and lemon zest frosting on a white background.

Cakes were one of the first things I learned to bake when I was growing up. It’s been a LONG time since then and I’ve come a long way from baking easy bake oven cakes. My cake recipes are some of my proudest work on this blog and this vegan lemon loaf is no exception. If that doesn’t do it for you, A great option on the other end of the flavour spectrum (that also pairs so perfectly well with the coffee or tea you will inevitably be drinking), is this vegan cinnamon loaf cake.

And while we’re at it, I promise you this vegan coffee cake is going to be the one you come back for next. All three of these have been some of my more frequented recipes by both audiences, and my own family!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

  • Made with just 8 ingredients! All you need to make this beautiful vegan lemon pound cake and vanilla glaze is a few simple ingredients.
  • A Spring favourite. Once the weather begins to warm up, there’s nothing better than bright, lemon-y desserts! If you love lemon recipes, you have to try this Spicy Lemon Dill Rigatoni, Lemon Dill Potato Salad, and this Blueberry Vodka Lemonade with Lemon Sugar Rim. 
  • No expensive ingredients. Many vegan pound cake recipes call for vegan sour cream and lemon extract, but these ingredients can be expensive and hard to find. This pound cake tastes just like classic pound cake, but is made with budget-friendly pantry staples instead! 
side view of the cake, sliced and facing toward the inside to show the moist texture and lemon zest frosting on a white background.
overhead view of the cake and a lemon, sliced and facing toward the inside to show the moist texture and lemon zest frosting on a white background.

Ideas for Serving

Pound cake is one of those classic desserts that’s perfect for any occasion like coffee Sunday, holidays, potlucks, or a casual weeknight dessert.

Serve on it’s own with extra lemon zest, vegan whipped cream and fresh berries and pair with a glass of your favorite nondairy milk. It also pairs well with a hot cup of coffee or tea, or to make it even more decadent, serve with a scoop of your favorite vegan vanilla ice cream. 

How to Store

Leftover lemon pound cake will keep best in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you need to store it for longer than 3 days, place it in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week. 

overhead view of the cake, sliced and facing toward the inside to show the moist texture and lemon zest frosting on a white background.

Similar Vegan Cake Recipes to Try Next

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Vegan Lemon Pound Cake (No Yogurt, No Sour Cream!)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 11 reviews
  • Author: Olivia Biermann
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: baked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This recipe for vegan lemon pound cake is the perfect treat to make for lemon lovers! Buttery and dense, this cake is baked in a loaf pan and takes only 15 minutes of prep time! Soft and fluffy, it instantly melts in your mouth. This cake is made with vegan butter and non-dairy milk — so no yogurt or sour cream required!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  • 3/4 cup nondairy milk like oat or soy
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour (250 g) (I did half all-purpose and half cake flour to make it extra fluffy)
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest plus extra for decorating top
  • sprinkle of poppyseeds for top

Vanilla Glaze:

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1–2 tbsp nondairy milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a loaf pan (9×5 or mine was 8.5×4.5) with cooking spray and then line it with parchment paper, cutting it to fit the pan so the sides hang over a bit for easy cake removal.
  2. Add the room temperature vegan butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream for a few minutes on a lower speed (nothing too fast) until light and fluffy.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. If you have time to sift them, I recommend doing that to remove any lumps!
  4. Combine the lemon juice and nondairy milk. It will curdle and make a vegan buttermilk. Add the vanilla.
  5. Add the milk mixture and flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture and mix on a low speed until just combined. Don’t overmix as it can result in a dense and gummy texture.
  6. Fold in the lemon zest with a spatula, then spread into prepared loaf pan.
  7. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until golden brown on top with a few cracks. Insert a toothpick in the centre and if it comes out clean or with a few crumbs clinging, its ready.
  8. Remove from the oven and let it sit for 20 minutes, then lift the cake out with the parchment paper and place onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  9. Meanwhile, whisk together glaze ingredients. Once cake is cool, pour glaze overtop and sprinkle on lemon zest and poppyseeds. Enjoy!

Notes

Store cake, covered at room temperature up to 3 days or in the fridge up to 1 week.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag me @itslivb — I can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

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