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.
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Vegan lemon blueberry muffins are a favourite of mine but today I decided I ‘had’ to make a vegan lemon blueberry cake. I looked at several recipes and then I found your recipe. It ticked all the boxes and I had all the ingredients in the pantry or fridge. I mixed all the ingredients together and popped the cake into the oven. 50 minutes later I took my cake out of the oven. It looked amazing and smelt divine. I forced myself to wait until after dinner to try the cake and it was so good that I had 2 slices. Thank you for creating such a delicious cake. Ps I worked in Canberra for nearly 20 years 🙂
Hi Helen, I’m stoked that you loved this recipe and found it approachable! It’s lovely to see an ex local Canberran here as well!! Thanks so much for your kind feedback :).
I’ve made this cake several times. It’s incredibly versatile. I’ve done the lemon/blueberry. At the holidays I used cranberries and orange. I just made it this morning with apples and a quarter cup of rum. It’s been delicious every single time. This is a dependable, wonderful recipe that I’m so grateful to have found.
Ah, I’m so happy this recipe has been a keeper and so adaptable for you! I need to try the other combinations that you mentioned. Thanks so much for your wonderful review, Eileen!
Translated using Google: I made the cake and everyone loved it. It is fresh, juicy and very simple to make. I will repeat.
Hice el bizcocho y encantó a todo el mundo. Es fresco, jugoso y muy sencillo de hacer. Repetiré.
Hi Lorena, I’m so happy you loved this cake! Thank you for your review :).
Used a loaf tin instead of cake tin, and maybe that is the only thing I did wrong, but ended up being completely wet in the middle. So when I put it in the oven for longer with foil on top, the outside of the cake became burnt while the inside was dense.
Hi Rich, it sounds like your oven was too hot or has a strong top heating element! If the outside is *too* baked, the middle has nowhere to rise and will be dense. Next time, try covering the loaf earlier in the process or try my blueberry bread recipe.
Just tried this for the first time! Absolutely loved it! Thank you for the recipe! Will be making it again 🙂
Hi Kanika, oh I’m stoked that you loved this cake!! Thanks so much for your feedback x
I just made this recipe, and it is AMAZING. Usually any vegan cake I try to bake turns more dense on the inside. This one is so fluffy and yummy!
Thanks for the recipe, will be making this one more often 🙂
Hi Smaragda, that’s amazing news and I hear you about vegan cakes!! I’m so happy you’re keen to make this one again :). Thanks for your lovely comment x
This is just the best cake i have ever made, thank you. Whilst simple to make it delivers a refined taste that pleases and surprises in equal measure. I make it once a week now, just epic.
Hi Chris, oh what a lovely review!! Thanks so much for your kind feedback 🙂
This is my favorite lemon blueberry cake recipe – it’s my go-to recipe when we need a sweet treat! So light and fluffy – great flavor. I mostly make it exactly like the recipe, but I have also made it as a lemon raspberry cake and a lemon strawberry cake!! It turns out perfectly every time! I find that I need to bake it a little longer..but that could just be my oven…
Hi Anthea!
I’m so excited to make this beauty and wanted to know what is the best oil to use for this?
Thank you!
Hi Camille! I personally like using a light-flavored olive oil for this cake as it gives the cake a beautiful golden color! However, I’ve also baked it with vegetable oil to avocado oil and they both work well. I just wouldn’t recommend coconut oil – I hope that helps!
This cake is delicious! Thank you for putting out a healthier cake. I usually put less sugar but this is on repeat. I prefer it without a lemon glaze or any extra sugar and with fresh fruit on top instead , in addition to the fruit in the cake. Just made multiple today to freeze for a rainy day and one to eat now! The lemon flavor is awesome! I’m hoping the texture of the blueberries is acceptable but we’ll see!
Is it possible to substitute applesauce or ripe bananas for the oil?
Hi Sheri, I haven’t tested applesauce or bananas in this recipe so I’m not 100% sure. From experience, it’ll make the cake denser and chewier, but still ok to eat.
LOVED this recipe!! This time I’m making it in cupcake form for a very special birthday!! I’ll post pictures!!
Do you think the recipe is suitable for about a dozen cupcakes?? Thank you!
Aw, thanks Julie! That makes me so happy to hear! This recipe makes about 15-18 cupcakes so you can either have extra cupcakes or scale down the recipe. I hope that helps and that you enjoy celebrating the birthday!
I followed your recipe exactly and the cake over flowed from the 8-inch round cake pan!!!!!!!!! 😫😫😫😫
Oh no! It sounds like your 8-inch cake pan was too short. The one I used was 4-inch (10 cm) tall and a 3-inch (7.5 cm) pan will also work. A 2-inch (5cm) cake pan would definitely be too short.
Hi Anthea,
Do you use a round pan for more even cooking? Do you think if I used a square pan it would not cook properly? I want to be able to make equal size pieces and wrap to give and share. I am not sure the triangle shape of the pieces will do well in wrapping.
This looks delicious and I look forward to making it soon!!
Hi Beatrice, this cake will still bake well in a square pan! If you’re using an 8-inch square pan, your final cake will be slightly shorter. An 8-inch square pan actually has more surface area than an 8-inch round pan so it should bake even better. I hope that helps!
I baked this cake for the office last night. Everyone agreed, it was an amazing cake. Not heavy like other vegan cakes, full of flavour and as the baker; it was easy and a joy to make.
I used a Bundt tin, and the outside of the cake was a little darker – but a lot of people commented that they liked the texture. Next time, I will look to reduce the temperature to 160 degrees (I have a fan assisted oven and wish that I had read one of the comments below) and bake a little longer to compensate for the lower temperature.
A few Vegan’s asked what oil I used. I used Morrison’s vegetable oil and Morrison’s Sweetened Soya Milk, in case anyone from the UK is looking to bake.
This recipe has now been added to my cookbook for future bakes. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Hi Nicolas, it’s great to hear that you and everyone in your office loved this cake! Good idea about reducing the temperature but I’m glad that it still worked nevertheless. And thanks a lot for the tips about UK products. Thank you so much for your feedback 🙂
I have made this recipe multiple times and it’s always a hit! It’s a straightforward recipe and the cake is so full of flavour. I use the gf flour options and it really works! Thank you for this recipe!!
Hi Alzena, that’s great feedback about the gluten-free version and I’m so happy that you’ve made it many times! Thank you so much!!
thanks for the recipe, perfect for my daughter’s birthday. Is the 180c for the oven fan assisted or not?
Hi Jo, the 180C is for a conventional oven :).
I’ve tried quite a few recipes for vegan cakes, and this one is the best so far.I’ve made it with fresh blueberries,it was very delicious and I’ve made it with frozen raspberries,it was amazing,the whole family loved it. For my daughter’s birthday, I plan to make it as a two or three layer cake. I will use a classic vegan buttercream frosting and I will cover and decorate the cake with fondant.Hope it turns out well.
Aw what a compliment!! It’s great that you’ve made this a few times already. Yes, this recipe works well as a layered cake with frosting and fondant! The cake can be baked in seperate tins, or as a whole and cut it into layers. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!