Vegan Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Vegan Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. No added refined sugar in those soft and Delicious Lemon Cake! Make into cupcakes, loaf or a sheet pan cake. Vegan Soyfree Recipe, Can be nut-free. GF option
Servings: 9
Ingredients
Wet:
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (add 1 tbsp sugar for sweeter)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice ( 1 tbsp more if using whole grain flours)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup water or non dairy milk
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract optional
Dry:
- 1 1/2 cup flour (I use all purpose or a combination of all purpose and whole wheat pastry/white whole wheat flour, 1 :1 or 2:1 ratio)
- 2 tbsp almond flour or meal , or use more flour to make it nutfree
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp turmeric for color, optional
- zest of 1/2 to 1 lemon depending on the size of the lemon and your preference of lemonyness
Frosting:
- 6 oz vegan cream cheese (I use kite hill plain almond cream cheese, see notes to make your own cashew cream cheese)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- a pinch of salt
- 1 - 2 tbsp powdered sugar and 2 drops of vanilla if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- Add the 1 1/4 cup flour and the rest of the dry ingredients and whisk well to make a smooth batter. Add rest of the flour 1 tbsp at a time to make a smooth flowy batter, but not overly watery or overly stiff. You might not need all of the flour if using whole grain flour.
- Pour the batter into a lined or greased pan. Even it out using a spatula.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes if using a square baking dish or brownie pan. If the dish is stoneware, add a few more mins to the baking time. If baking a Loaf: 40 to 50 minutes, Cupcakes: 20 to 25 minutes for cupcakes. Test with a toothpick from the center. It should come out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 mins, then remove and let it cool completely before frosting.
- Whisk the ingredients under frosting until smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp powdered sugar for sweeter frosting. Adjust the tang with lemon zest if needed. Add a drop or so vanilla extract or almond extract for flavor (optional). Chill the frosting for 15 mins if too flowy.
- Spread the frosting on the cake evenly. Slice and serve. Store refrigerated for upto 4 days. The lemon flavor gets stronger on storing
Video
Notes
Cashew Cream Cheese: Blend 1/2 cup cashews (that have been soaked for an hour then drained), 1 teaspoon or more lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt with a few tbsp of water until creamy.
Nut-free: Omit almond flour from the cake and use a nutfree cream cheese for frosting or use a simple glaze with powdered sugar and lemon juice.
Gluten-free: To make this gluten-free, Mix 1/2 cup oat flour, 3/4 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup potato starch. Use 1 1/4 cup of the flour and add more as needed to make a batter, and bake into brownie pan or cupcakes.
Oil-free: Use 3 tbsp applesauce.
Nutrition is 1 of 9 serves (1 piece)
Nutrition
Calories: 275kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 164mg | Potassium: 176mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1.3mg