When one thinks about vegan cakes, they tend to believe these are harder to make than the regular kind. However, that's far from the truth. Some non-dairy cake recipes are even more straightforward in comparison. Take this Vegan Lemon Loaf with glaze, for example.

An eggless lemon loaf

This spongey loaf cake is pretty much a lighter, non-dairy version of the Lemon Pound Cake I shared a long time ago. Like that previous recipe, this one is just as moist but is even easier to put together with a little time.

In fact, this beautiful loaf cake doesn't even require eggs for the recipe nor any substitutes thereof.

Just throw everything together in the loaf pan and bake away. It'll all be done in less than an hour and goes great with afternoon tea or as a dessert for dinner.

The recipe

Loaf Ingredients:

  • 2 cup self-rising flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (extra for loaf tins)
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup plant-based milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 1 or more tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest for garnish (optional)

The directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the inside of 9 x 5 x 3 inches loaf pan with vegetable oil and set it aside for later.
  2. Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the sugar and lemon zest.
  3. Pour the vegetable oil, lemon juice, and milk into the same bowl and whisk everything together until no big lumps remain (tiny lumps are allowed). Do not overmix.
  4. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and put it in the oven to bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  5. To make the icing, beat the butter, icing sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla together in a bowl until it becomes light and fluffy. Add a little more juice to adjust the consistency if necessary.
  6. Drizzle the finished glaze over the surface of the loaf cake. Optionally, you can also sprinkle more lemon zest over the glaze as a garnish. Cut the loaf and serve.

Serves: 10-12

Vegan loaf variations

  • Lemon-lime - Substitute lime juice and zest for half of the lemon juice and zest, respectively.
  • Key lime - Substitute key lime juice and zest for the lemon juice and zest, respectively.
  • Orange - Substitute orange juice and zest for the lemon juice and zest, respectively.
  • Chocolate - Substitute melted chocolate for the glaze.
  • Honey - Substitute 2/3 cup of plain honey for the sugar used for the loaf. Substitute more honey for the glaze.
  • Blueberries - Sift 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder with the dry ingredients in Step 2. Add 1/2 cup of blueberries in Step 3.