Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake

Course: Afternoon tea, Dessert, picnic

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 55

Servings:

Calories: 217kcal

Author: Jacq

This Lemon Drizzle Cake is a vegan version of an old-fashioned lemon cake and is deliciously fruity, tangy and sweet. It is so easy to prepare using every-day pantry ingredients and despite being egg-free and dairy-free is incredibly moist and light.

Print Recipe

US Customary - Metric

Equipment

1 Ib loaf pan (lined with baking paper)
Mixing bowls
mixing spoons
lemon zester and lemon squeezer
sieve
cooling rack

Ingredients

225 grams self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
175 grams caster sugar (or granulated)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil (use one with a neutral flavour such as rapeseed or sunflower oil)
195 millilitres water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice of ½ medium lemon)
1 lemon rind, zested (1 medium lemon)

Lemon drizzle icing:

12 tablespoons icing sugar (powdered sugar, may require more)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice of ½ medium lemon: may not require all the juice so just add a few drops at a time)
½ lemon (the zest of ½ medium lemon)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 160°C Fan (180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4).
Prepare a loaf pan by greasing with a little margarine and lining with baking paper or use a loaf pan paper insert.
Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and lemon zest to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
225 grams self-raising flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 175 grams caster sugar, 1 lemon rind, zested
Pour in the vegetable oil, water and lemon juice and mix the cake batter until it is smooth.
6 tablespoons vegetable oil, 195 millilitres water, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Scoop the cake mixture into the loaf pan and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the cake has risen, is golden, firm and a skewer popped in comes out clean.
Exact times will depend on your oven with fan ovens tending to cook faster.
Leave the cake in the loaf pan for 15 minutes before carefully removing. Place on a cooling rack.

Lemon drizzle icing:

Mix 12 tablespoons of sifted icing sugar with a few drops of lemon juice until the desired consistency of icing has been achieved.
12 tablespoons icing sugar, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
The icing should be thick but still easy to drizzle.
If the icing is too thin add a few more tablespoons of icing sugar to thicken it back up.
If the icing is too thick add a few more drops of lemon juice until its just right.
Drizzle all the icing over the cake. It's recommended to do this with a piece of baking paper under the cake as it can be messy.
Any pools of icing that drip off the cake can be scooped up and drizzled back over.
Sprinkle the lemon zest over the cake to finish and allow the icing to set before slicing.
½ lemon

Notes

Store lemon drizzle cake within a cake tin or airtight container.
Store for up to 5 days or a few days longer if kept in the refrigerator.
The cake flavours improve as the days go by and as it is incredibly moist it keeps well so is a nice cake to have in the cake tin for visitors.
To freeze wrap the cake well either iced or un-iced and freeze for 3-4 months. Do allow the water icing to set on the cake before wrapping and freezing otherwise the icing will smudge off into the food wrap.
Replace the lemon with oranges, mandarins, tangerines, limes, red or white grapefruit, etc.

Nutrition