Easy Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cake
This vegan lemon blueberry cake is made with only 7 ingredients and comes together in one bowl! It’s soft, 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 layered Vegan Lemon Cake and Vegan Blueberry Muffins!
Why you’ll love 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. Please don’t overmix the batter otherwise your cake will be dense and stodgy! Initially, the cake batter may be very thick but it will loosen up after a couple of minutes when the sugar dissolves in the liquid ingredients.
Finally, add the blueberries and fold them through the batter. The thick batter naturally prevents the blueberries from sinking when we bake the cake.
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.
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 batter 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.
This was a super quick and easy cake. I only used 1/2 cup cane sugar and 1/2 cup coconut sugar and it was still good, the lemon really comes out nicely and so you don’t need much sugar. I also used gluten free baking flour and it did not make any difference. Also added total 2 cups of fresh blueberries because I love blueberries :). The cake was super moist and best when eaten warm for breakfast. Also ate it with vegan vanilla bean ice cream and makes for a good dessert. Will definitely be adding this one to my fav vegan bakes recipe list !!!
That sounds wonderful! I’m glad that you enjoyed it with some coconut sugar and gluten-free flour. Thanks so much for your great feedback Siddhi!
I’ve tried a couple of times and it is very sweet. The texture and the lemon with blueberries is amazing, but there is this one thing I did not get right yet: the sugar. I put less than 1 cup and is still very sweet. I’ll keep trying and if I find a nice amount (that is especially suitable for small kids) I’ll share here in case other moms would like.
Hi Mirian, thanks for your feedback. You’re welcome to adjust the sugar to your tastes! Some people found this cake to be just right whereas others said it wasn’t too sweet! Let me know how you go with reducing the sugar further as I know that reducing sugar can impact a cake’s texture and moisture levels. Thanks for letting me know your experience.
I always add about 175 grams of sugar (instead of 250) – that way it tastes perfect to me! The texture is still really good, and it’s my husband’s absolute favorite dessert 🙂
Hi Anthea, do u think this recipe will work with 50% Almond meal and 50% oat flour or superfine Wholegrain flour?
I’m not sure if it will work with oat flour but I think it will work with 50% wholegrain flour. I hope that helps and let me know how you go!
Turned out well, easy to make. Took to a baby shower and everyone loved it!
That’s amazing to hear Amanda, thanks so much for your comment!
Can I just ask if a mixture of blueberries and raspberries would work too? Thank you 😊
Yes absolutely!
Do you mean “grapeseed” oil in the ingredients?
No, rapeseed oil and grapeseed oil are two different oils.
Wow, I have never heard of it – I will have to look for that. THANKS!
Ok, after doing some research…I now realize what it is! We use the term Canola oil in the States. I learn something new every day! Can’t wait to try the recipe!
Here’s what I found: What to Know about Rapeseed Oil [Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors]: There are two main types of rapeseed oil: culinary and industrial. The culinary version, also known as canola oil, is used in the kitchen for cooking. Industrial rapeseed oil is mostly used in the chemical and automotive industries.
That’s so interesting and thanks for that info! To make things a little more confusing, Healthline says “… to be called canola oil, it must contain an erucic acid level of 2% or less and meet internationally regulated standards. Otherwise, it will be labeled as rapeseed oil.” In Australia, canola oil is different from rapeseed oil but it’s interesting that the terms are different in the States. Perhaps I’ll update the post (and my website) to just say ‘neutral oil’ so it’s not as confusing 🙂
Hi Anthea, Could you add white chocolate chips or make a white choc topping? If i added chocolate to the recipe would i need to decrease the amount of blueberries?
Hi Kath, white chocolate chips would be delicious for the topping! Some chocolate chips can burn a little quickly when baked so just keep an eye on the topping and cover your cake pan in foil if needed. You wouldn’t need to decrease the amount of blueberries either.
This recipe was so delicious! I was surprised at how beautiful it turned out considering how ridiculously easy the recipe was. Thank you for sharing and will definitely be making this regularly!
Aw thank you so so much for your feedback Grace!
Can i divide the batter into two loaf pans?
Yes you can, for two thin loaves. This cake has similar quantities to my vegan lemon olive oil loaf cake but has added blueberries. If you bake this recipe in just one loaf pan, it’ll be a similar size to the olive oil cake.
Do you think cake would turn out with half gluten free flour & 1/2 gf oat flour. I can’t use any nut flour as my daughter is anaphylactic.
Hi Donna, I think it will work but I’m not 100% sure as I haven’t tested it. In the past, I used to make gluten-free cakes with half gluten-free flour and fine white rice flour which always worked so I think oat flour will act similarly. If the batter looks a bit runny, try adding a little more of either flours so it’s a similar consistency to above. I hope that helps!
Thanks so much! I’ll give it a try 😉
Can I cook this cake with just gluten free flour and not almond flour?
It depends on the brand of gluten-free flour you use but when I tried it with the gluten-free flours I have here, the final cake wasn’t pleasant.
Best vegan cake I’ve ever had. Make it time and time again
What a compliment, thanks for letting me know Mon!
Hi Anthea, you mentioned this not good for a small tin?! I was hoping too use it to make a 3 layer 4″ cake. Your thoughts?
Love your recipes BTW 🙋🏻
Hi Ronda, I’d say the cake will work if you divide it into 3 layers and 3 different cake pans! The cake is probably not great for just 1 smaller pan as it’s already quite thick and will take a while to bake in the middle. However, if you divide the cake into multiple pans, it will be fine!
Thanks for your ongoing support! x
This worked out perfect and put the left overs into cupcakes which were great. Thank you and thanks for the reply x
Just made this cake again, 2 x 9″ cakes and used raspberries instead. Awesome recipe and they are perfect. Thank you for sharing this recipe ☺️
Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and that it worked with raspberries too! Thanks for letting me know, Ronda 🙂
I love this recipe, thank you! I just needed to bake the cake for 20-30 mins longer. I made the gluten free option.
Glad you enjoyed this cake and thanks for your feedback Tash 🙂
Hi! I’d like to bake this in a bundt pan. Would the baking time be the same? Thanks!
Hi Tanya, I haven’t tested this cake in a bundt pan but I think it’ll take a shorter amount of time to bake. Try testing the cake at around 35-40 minutes and bake it for longer if needed. Hope that helps!
So yummy and easy 😋 made it both ways gluten free and with regular gf flour and I love them both. Definitely a keeper recipe.
Thank you for sharing!
Aw amazing! So glad you enjoyed the gluten-free version 🙂
This is a delicious cake. I made it for our church coffee hour last weekend and I overcooked it (at 60 min). I was bummed because the edges were burned. My 13 year old just cut the edges off and then cut it into little squares and arranged them on a platter. Still so good.
Tomorrow my 7 year old has a team celebration and she asked me to make it again for that. We thought we’d try muffins with the same recipe and they turned out fantastic. My 13 year old loves to bake and is notorious for not following a recipe. She made the muffins and decided to add 2/3c vegan yogurt because she thought the dough was too stiff. She also just put blueberries on top and not in the batter. But they are amazing! We will save this recipe for sure.
Hi Heather, I’m so glad you enjoyed this cake! It’s great that you were able to troubleshoot with the burnt edges and I’m so glad that the cake worked with added vegan yogurt too! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂
Delicious and not too sweet! I baked it for about an hour and 10 minutes (My blueberries were frozen). Just a great, flavorful accompaniment with coffee or tea. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Aw that’s wonderful to hear Lucy! Thanks for leaving a comment!