Easy Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cake
One bowl vegan lemon blueberry cake which uses only 7 ingredients! This cake is soft and moist, has the perfect crumb, and isn’t too sweet.
This cake is perfect for Spring or Summer, just like my Lemon Olive Oil Cake and Vegan Lemon Cake (layered) and Vegan Blueberry Muffins!
What to expect from this cake
This lemon blueberry cake is:
- Delicious, fluffy, moist and golden (all of the good things)!
- Incredibly easy to make
- Not too sweet because the lemon balances out the sugar (and there’s no frosting)
- Stackable for a layer cake
- Naturally eggless and can be made gluten free
- Designed so the blueberries don’t sink to the bottom!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Granulated sugar is the best sweetener for a light and fluffy cake. See the FAQ section below for alternatives.
Fresh lemon juice and zest for the best flavor. Alternatively, bottled lemon juice is fine. If you don’t want the lemon flavor, you can omit the zest and replace the lemon juice with dairy-free milk.
Neutral-flavored oil, such as sunflower, avocado or olive oil. Olive oil imparts a slightly fruity flavor, such as in my lemon olive oil cake.
Fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, you don’t need to thaw them but will need to bake the cake for 5 minutes longer.
How to make this cake
Simply add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined. Add all the wet ingredients except the blueberries and mix until just before it’s combined (there should still be some pockets of flour).
At this stage, we aren’t fully mixing the cake batter because we’re still mixing it later. We don’t want to overmix the cake batter!
Then add the blueberries and fold them through the batter! This recipe makes a thick batter which helps prevent all the blueberries from sinking when we bake the cake.
The cake batter will have a scoopable consistency but it isn’t so thick that you will need to flatten the top. Once you pour the batter into your cake pan, scatter the remaining blueberries on top and press some of them into the cake.
The cake is ready when the surface is golden brown and you can insert a toothpick in the center and there’s no wet batter on it (a few moist crumbs are fine).
Customizing this cake
This vegan lemon blueberry cake will work with coconut sugar, however it will change the flavor profile. Imagine eating a caramel cake with a hint of lemon!
Yes! Check out the notes in the recipe card at the bottom of this post for details.
Yes, though keep in mind that it’ll make the cake denser.
This cake will bake well in a larger cake pan or bundt pan. As the cake is quite tall, I don’t recommend baking it in a smaller pan unless you’re dividing the cake between two pans.
To make a 2-layered 8-inch cake, scale up the recipe by 150% and divide the batter between the 2 pans. You’ll need 1 1/2 batches of my blueberry buttercream frosting. Or check out my vegan lemon cake recipe.
For a 3-layered 6-inch cake, make the batter as written, divide the batter in the 3 cake pans and bake them for 35-40 minutes. You’ll need 1 1/4 batches of my blueberry buttercream frosting.
You can also make this cake in a loaf pan, but it will take 70 minutes to bake through. Alternatively, check my vegan blueberry bread or vegan lemon loaf that are designed for loaf pans.
For muffins or cupcakes, I suggest baking my vegan blueberry muffins and adding extra lemon zest, or using my lemon blueberry cupcakes recipe.
This cake would be lovely with my:
– Blueberry frosting or strawberry frosting (use half the recipe)
– Simple lemon icing used in my olive oil cake
– Vegan cream cheese frosting used in my carrot cake recipe (use half the recipe)
– Whipped dairy-free cream
More easy vegan cakes
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Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cake
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (note 1 for gluten free)
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, optional
- ¾ cup (190g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- ⅓ cup (80g) lemon juice, and zest of those lemons (overall, you'll need about 2 large lemons or 3 medium lemons, note 2)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- 1 ¼ cups (190g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
To serve (optional, note 3)
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F). Line or grease a 20 cm (8-inch) round cake pan.
- Add all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) to a large mixing bowl and mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients (milk, oil, lemon juice/zest and vanilla) and mix until just before it's combined. Initially, the batter will be thick but it will loosen up after a few minutes.
- Add half of the blueberries and gently fold them through. Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Scatter the remaining blueberries on top and gently press some of them into the cake.
- Bake the cake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and there's no wet batter on it. This is a moist cake so some crumbs on your toothpick are fine.
- Allow the cake to cool in the cake tin for 10 minutes then cool on a wire rack.
To serve the cake:
- Just before serving, dust the cake with powdered sugar (optional) and serve! The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If you freeze the cake, the texture of the blueberries will change.
Notes
- To make this vegan blueberry cake gluten-free, substitute the flour for 1 2/3 cups (165g) almond flour (blanched almond meal in UK/Aus) and 1 cup (160g) gluten free all-purpose flour. This cake also works well with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour as a 1:1 replacement for regular flour. Other gluten-free flour blends may produce different results. If you’re making the gluten-free version, it’s best to bake it for around 60 minutes.
- Don’t be tempted to add more lemon juice. If you add too much lemon juice, it will make the cake gooey, and it won’t bake through. If you want extra lemon flavor, add more lemon zest.
- Alternatively, you can enjoy the cake plain or topped with fresh berries.
This recipe was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2021 for simplicity.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Can I make this in a Bundt pan?
Yes, it’ll be a little shorter than a regular bundt cake so you may want to scale up the recipe!
Can this cake be made without the blueberries?
Yes of course! I also have recipes for a lemon layer cake, lemon olive oil cake, and lemon poppy seed cake.
I think I did something wrong. I used a GF mix and replaced it 1:1 with the flour. I know there were instructions to add in almond flour if GF, but I didn’t have any. The batter was very dense and I added in some extra soy milk. The cake turned out very heavy. Do you think the GF mix is the culprit? Still tastes good though!
Hi Jen! I’m sorry your cake ended up dense, but glad that you enjoyed how it tasted! Which GF flour mix did you use? I haven’t had success with any 1:1 gluten-free flours for this so I’d say the flour is the culprit. Hope that helps!
Would this recipe work with honey instead of sugar?
Hi Faith, it won’t work with any liquid sweeteners unless you completely change the recipe unfortunately!
I followed the recipe exactly but it didn’t bake through even though the cake was very golden on top. I used exactly 1/3 c lemon juice and zest with lemons from my backyard!
Hi Mimi, I’m sorry your cake didn’t bake through! This can happen if your oven runs hot as the outside will bake quickly but the inside doesn’t have enough time to bake. Try reducing the oven heat or covering the cake with aluminium foil until the cake does bake through. Otherwise, is there any possibility that your baking powder was a little old? Hope that helps!
To be honest I just put the cake in the oven but so far I’ve sampled the batter and it is A+mazing. I can’t wait to try the actual cake.
Aw that’s great to hear!! I hope you love the cake as much as you enjoyed the batter 🙂
Sidenote, my house smells like heaven. Thank you for this recipe.
I made this for a family brunch to include my sister who is vegan. I used coconut for the oil of choice. Easy and delicious!
Hi Jane, that’s wonderful and I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks so much!
I am making this now! Making the GF DF version! Do you need to use parchment for GF? I typically bake paleo and you always need parchment!
Hey Lauren, yes parchment paper always helps, GF or not 😊
Thank you Anthea ,love your lemon Blueberry cake.Have made it as a loaf and a cake too,substituted all vegan things with regular milk n all,still it turns out amazing every rime..Everytime I take it to a get together ppl just love it.And i love citrus flavours.
Hi Thejaswini! Aw that’s amazing, and I’m so glad that everyone loved this recipe! Your loaf and cake looked beautiful on Instagram. Thanks soo much for taking the time to leave a comment here, I appreciate it a lot 🙂
Grateful for this recipe. It is vegan and plus it has GF version.
My daughter discovered the recipe, and she was the first one to make the cake.
I could not believe how good it was and how easy to make.
Thank you!!!
Aw, I’m thrilled that both you and your daughter made this cake and loved it!! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Do you have saturated fat nutrition details?
Hi Amy, no I don’t sorry!
Soooooo soooo good it was super moist too loved it ! It was a hit will be making it again soon!
Hi Laura, aw that’s amazing to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
I make this cake all the time. It’s so moist it’s so easy and my husband loves it and has me make it at least three times a week. I also like to use blackberries instead of always using blueberries. Taste delicious both ways. I’m not a vegan and I found this recipe because I didn’t have any eggs and I’m so glad I did. Thanks for this great recipe
Hi Barbara, I’m so glad that this recipe is on regular rotation for you! Blackberries would be a delicious addition too. Thanks soo much for taking the time to leave a comment here 🙂
I was planning on making this for my mother on the holidays because there was a gluten free alternative, but she is also allergic to almonds. Would it still be ok if I simply substituted equal parts all purpose flour with just the gluten free flour?
Hi Shay, from experience this cake will only work with good quality 1:1 gf flours. Using only gf all-purpose flours will make the cake too dense and stodgy. Alternatively, white rice flour will work instead of almond flour but will change the flavor profile of the cake. Hope that helps!
Hi. Is the oven temperature for a fan oven or conventional oven? Thanks
It’s for a conventional oven 🙂
Is there an alternative to the almond flour? Friend has an allergy but would love to try this recipe
Hi Stephanie, you can try fine white rice flour but the cake will be denser and have a different flavor profile.