This lemon drizzle cake is fluffy, zingy and utterly delicious. Drizzled with lemon icing and finished with sugar paper flowers, it’s a lovely cake for Easter or any celebration.
“Absolutely beautiful cake! Really simple recipe and easy to make.”
– Kate Williams
Nicky’s Notes
It’s been a little while since I shared a recipe; I’ve been celebrating my birthday in New York with Chris. This lemon drizzle cake started simply because I had no eggs in the house but did have soya milk, so I tried a vegan loaf — with great results.
It took a bit more testing than usual to get the texture right. Cakes often need more trial and error, but I couldn’t resist creating a vegan version of one of my favourite treats. I love a drizzle cake, especially when it’s topped with a generous lemon icing and decorated for Easter with yellow sugar flowers.
Table of Contents
- Nicky’s Notes
- How to make this lemon drizzle cake
- Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe
- 🍰 More Cakes & Bakes
Traditional drizzle cakes use a simple sugar and lemon syrup that soaks into the warm cake to add moisture and tang. I like to add both that soak-in drizzle and a thicker lemon icing on top for extra sweetness and zing. Finish with rice paper flowers or butterflies for a festive look.
How to make this lemon drizzle cake
Start by combining vegetable oil and sugar in a bowl, then add lemon zest, flour, bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of salt, and soya milk. Mix until combined, then stir in the lemon juice. Spoon the batter into a lined loaf tin and bake until golden and cooked through.
While the cake bakes, make the drizzle by mixing caster sugar with lemon juice. When the cake is hot from the oven, poke several holes in the top and pour over the lemon-sugar mixture so it sinks in and keeps the cake moist and tangy. Let the loaf cool in the tin.
For the icing, whisk icing sugar with lemon juice to a thick but pourable consistency. Remove the cooled loaf from the tin and remove the paper liner, then drizzle the icing over the top. Finish with rice paper flowers or butterflies for a pretty presentation.
Slice the cake into generous pieces and serve with a cup of tea:
Looking for more Easter or spring baking ideas? Try some of the other recipes in the cakes and bakes section for sweet inspiration.
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Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe
15
45
1
Ingredients
Cake:
- 75 ml (1/4 cup + 1 tsp) vegetable oil
- 200 g (1 cup) caster (or superfine granulated) sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tbsp)
- 250 g (2 cups + 1 tsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 pinch salt
- 220 ml (1 cup minus 1 tbsp) soya (soy) milk
- Juice of half a lemon (about 1 tbsp)
Drizzle
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
Icing:
- 200 g (1 2/3 cups) icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
Also
- Rice paper flowers and/or butterflies (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 170C/325F (fan). Line a loaf tin with a liner.
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Mix the vegetable oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and soya milk. Beat with a wooden spoon until combined, then stir in the juice of half a lemon.
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Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 35–45 minutes until golden and cooked through. Test with a skewer — it should come out clean when the cake is done.
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Remove the cake from the oven. Mix the caster sugar with 2 tbsp lemon juice, poke several holes in the hot cake and spoon the sugar-lemon mixture over the top. Leave the loaf to cool in the tin so the drizzle soaks in.
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When cool, remove from the tin and take off the liner. Whisk the icing sugar with 2 tbsp lemon juice until smooth. Add a little more juice if you prefer a thinner drizzle.
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Spoon the icing over the cake and arrange rice paper flowers or butterflies on top if using. Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
Bicarbonate of Soda
This recipe uses bicarbonate of soda (bicarb). If you use baking powder instead it will still work, though you may notice a slightly smaller rise.
Lemon juice
Fresh lemon juice gives the best flavour. Don’t add extra lemon juice to the cake batter — the acidity reacts with the bicarbonate and the amounts given are balanced for a good rise and fluffy texture. Too much acid or bicarb can cause the cake to rise and then sink.
The skewer test
Use a metal or wooden skewer to check the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it has raw batter on it, return the cake to the oven and test again after a few minutes. Cover with foil if the top is browning too much.
Make ahead
Once the icing has set, store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days.
Freezing
You can freeze the cake after adding the sugar-lemon drizzle but before icing. Wrap well in foil and freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the refrigerator and add the icing once thawed.
Using regular milk
If you’re not following a vegan diet, replace soya milk with regular semi-skimmed or full-fat milk.
Flavour variations
You can swap lemon for lime in the same quantities. For grapefruit or other citrus variations, adjust to taste.
Nutritional information is per slice and is approximate.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
This lemon drizzle cake recipe was first published in March 2019 and has been updated and improved since.
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