Vegan Lemon Cake

I've been craving a vegan lemon cake for a long time.

A soft, tangy pound cake that pairs perfectly with coffee or tea.

The kind made from ingredients you can find in any supermarket, that isn't expensive, and takes only 10 minutes to prep.

A post shared by Haggai Leffler Vegan Athlete (@haggai_leffler) on Apr 26, 2018 at 12:32am PDT

So, you know what?

I made one for myself (and some guests), and it truly took only 10 minutes of preparation (excluding baking time, of course).

The best part was when I served it and everyone was like, "Is this really vegan? It's vegan?". Yes, it's that good.

This recipe uses whole spelt flour, which gives it a nice density and a bit of heartiness due to the high fiber content (which is a plus, as it keeps us full longer and balances blood sugar levels).

• If you want a less dense cake, swap one cup of spelt flour for white flour, and you'll get an even softer texture.

I don't use sugar substitutes like coconut sugar or silan because the metabolic and health impact is similar, so this recipe uses half a cup of white sugar.

You can use them if you prefer, but I don't see the importance of it – it's just more expensive in my opinion.

The tanginess comes from the lemon (obviously!) and also from the yogurt, which provides a wonderful refreshing acidity. It's not a must; you could swap it for another half cup of milk, but wouldn't that be a shame?

Another note: the addition of vinegar is not for flavor. We use vinegar for the reaction with baking soda, which creates airiness.

You can easily replace the lemon juice with orange juice for a perfect vegan orange cake.

The cake cuts into 8 generous slices, each containing:

290 kcal, 38g carbs, 5g protein, 12g fat (1.5g saturated fat), 6g dietary fiber.

Pro tip: Cut the cake into 16 slices. You'll still get a nice piece of cake but with half the calories.

Nutritional values calculated by clinical dietitian Noam Bachar.

Made the cake? Let me know how it turned out in the comments below or on my community page on Facebook.

Print

Vegan Lemon Cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Serving Size 8 servings

Calories 387 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole spelt flour 280g
• 1 tsp baking powder 5g
• 1 tsp baking soda 5g
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 containers sugar-free soy yogurt 125g each
• 1/2 cup canola oil olive oil works great too, or refined coconut oil
• 1/2 cup rice milk, soy milk, or almond milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 60ml
• lemon zest from one lemon
• 1 tbsp vinegar

For the glaze

• 3 tbsp dairy-free white chocolate
• juice from half a lemon
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• little extra lemon zest for garnish

Instructions

1. Grease a loaf pan or a bundt pan.
2. Preheat oven to 170°C.
3. In a deep bowl, mix all dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
4. In another bowl, mix all wet ingredients: yogurt, milk, vanilla extract, oil, lemon juice, and vinegar.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well until smooth and lump-free. Using a whisk is recommended.
6. Transfer to the pan and bake for about 40 minutes. The cake is ready when a knife inserted comes out dry.
7. Remove from the pan only once the cake is completely cool; otherwise, it might crumble.
8. Prepare the glaze.
9. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler.
10. Add a tablespoon of oil to the melted chocolate to make it more fluid.
11. Add the lemon juice and stir well.
12. Drizzle the white chocolate glaze over the cake and garnish with lemon zest.
13. Keep refrigerated for up to a week.