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 gray 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!
Check out the notes section in the gray recipe box at the bottom of this post
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 ½ 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 ¼ 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 single-layer vegan cakes
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
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
- Pinch of 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 lemon cake gluten free, substitute the plain flour for 1 ⅔ cups (165g) almond flour / blanched almond meal and 1 cup (160g) gluten free all-purpose flour.
- 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.
Nutrition
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.
L says
Hi Anthea, I would like to make this cake without lemon, just berries. How would I best substitute the lemon juice? Thank you!
Anthea says
Hi L, you can replace the lemon juice with just milk, but I recommend adding a dash or around 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar as it helps tenderise the cake. I hope that helps!
JR says
Hi Anthea.
I am looking to make this for my family.
Can I use self raising flour instead of plain flour? Also, can I put an egg substitute in the cake?
Thank you
Anthea says
Hi! Yes, you should be able to use self-raising flour instead of plain flour. However, self raising flour has 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup, so omit all of the baking powder in the recipe. You can also use an egg substitute but the cake isn't crumbly at all without. I hope that helps!
Eileen says
I’ve made this recipe 5-6 times and it has been flawless each time. Last year for Christmas, I tried cranberries with orange zest, again the result was delicious. I’ve also used apples with spiced rum. This is the most dependably, wonderful cakes I’ve ever made. It’s the best lemon blueberry cake you can imagine, but also allows for a bit of creativity. I cannot recommend this recipe enough and am so appreciative. Thank you!
Anthea says
Hi Eileen, that's amazing and I'm so happy that this recipe been foolproof and on repeat for you! I love how you've been able to customize the recipe (and you've given me a few ideas too). Thank you so much for the glowing review 🙂
Shari says
I am not a baker and don't really like cake. I saw this recipe when I was looking for different items to cook for our daughter's Vegan Thanksgiving. I decided to give this a try. We have a Meyers Lemon tree, organic, and I wanted to use those lemons. I made the cake. It was easy and absolutely delicious! My husband loved it so much I made it again! It was great with our homemade limoncello. Thank you for this great recipe!
Anthea says
Hi Shari, oh I'm so thrilled that you found this recipe approachable and delicious!! Thanks for choosing to make this recipe and for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Vanita says
Hi Anthea, I finally got round to making lemon and blueberry cake. It was delicious, everyone complimented. Only thing was when I took it out of oven it sank so middle bit was stodgy. Any idea why that might be?
Anthea says
Hi Vanita, glad that you enjoyed the flavour of this cake! With the sinking, it's usually due to underbaking - when the middle isn't baked, it collapses and feels a bit raw in the middle (most likely this). Or it can be from overmixing where you beat too much air into the cake then it can't hold up. I hope that helps!
Vanita says
Thank you Anthea, I will attempt to make it again. This time will try not to over mix, I thinks that's what it was.
Aisha says
This cake was really lovely. I made it for a bake sale and it disappeared so quickly! Super easy too and I would say it’s definitely undetectably vegan!
Anthea says
Hi Aisha, oh that makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Caroline says
Hi! Do you think I could add a crumb topping to this cake or would it weigh it down and affect how it bakes?
Anthea says
Hi Caroline! It will weigh down the cake town down a little (the cake itself will just be around 1/2 inch shorter) but the texture of the cake won't be overly different to the original. Hope that helps!
Meg says
Amazing website, best one I have found. Not being the most experienced baker, this recipe is super easy to follow and I promise you will get good results. This is the best cake I have ever made!! Definitely check it out 😁
Anthea says
Hi Meg! Aw thanks so much for your kind feedback. I'm so happy that you found this recipe easy and that you enjoyed the cake! I appreciate you being here!
M says
LOVELY, I loved it so much tasted GOOD!
Anthea says
Awww, thank youuuu so much M!
Karin Ulicna says
We loved this cake. Always. I tried to make it with pears too. Thank you for this recipe, it is quick and tasty great. Karin
Anthea says
Hi Karin, that's great to hear! Pears would be lovely too. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂
Gillian Ashton says
This cake was delicious. It wasn’t overly sweet and had a subtle lemony flavour. I cooked it for 15 minutes longer than the recipe suggested as it was still very moist after an hour in the oven. I think it would be even more delicious drizzled with lemon icing or served with a lemon sorbet. I will definitely make again.
Anthea says
Hi Gillian, I'm stoked that you loved this recipe! Serving it with lemon sorbet would definitely be delicious too! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for your feedback.
Bonnie says
delicious easy cake!
Anthea says
So glad you enjoyed it, Bonnie!
Mari says
Wow! This is the easiest and tastiest vegan cake ever. I made this for a party and everyone loved it vegan or otherwise. You can really taste the zing of the lemons to balance the plump sweet blueberries. It smells like sunshine. I used soymilk an mixed until just combined like pancake batter, the texture was great.
Anthea says
Hi Mari, aw what a beautiful way to describe this blueberry cake! I'm so happy that you loved it. Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback :).
Steph says
I'm wanting to make this cake for a Baby shower this weekend that has a lot of dietary requirements to cater for.
I need it to be Vegan, Gluten Free and Nut Free - the notes for GF Free say to use almond flour (which I can't use because of the nut allergy), what measurements of just GF flour would you advise?
Anthea says
Hi Steph, I've found that replacing all of the flour with gluten-free flour in a vegan/eggless recipe can result in very gummy and dense cake. However, this can depend on the brand as they all contain different blends of flours. If you've previously used a brand of gf flour in a vegan recipe, I'd suggest using the same gram measurements as the regular flour. With similar cake recipes of mine, I've also had luck with replacing the almond flour with fine white rice flour (which has a slight rice aftertaste). I hope that helps!
Toby Alley says
I made this tonight with fresh Maine blueberries and it did them justice. Delightful. I am dairy-and-egg intolerant so I deeply appreciate a decent dessert. Brava!
Anthea says
I'm so glad that you enjoyed your special blueberries with this cake! Thanks so much for leaving a review, Toby!
Cheryl says
I am making the gluten free version of this recipe. What is the best gf dairy free milk to use?
Anthea says
Hi Cheryl, I like using soy milk for baking as it makes cakes a little more tender. I hope that helps!
Bianca says
The batter tastes good, but even after using the exact measurements weighed on a scale it did not bake properly. It stayed a weird gooey texture even after 1h and 10 mins of baking at the recommended temperature.
Anthea says
Hi Bianca, I'm sorry it didn't work for you. However, a gooey texture is from overmixing the batter. Overmixing develops the gluten and makes it chewy, almost like bread.
Lisa says
Blueberries are very plentiful this time of year in coastal North Carolina. I thought this recipe sounded like it would be perfect for an early summer dessert and it was! I followed the recipe-exactly. However, I did feel that the 8 inch cake pan was overcrowded and had difficulty removing it from the pan in nice wedges. I think next time I may try it in a cast iron skillet with parchment on the bottom. It did not stick to the pan, it was just very tight in the pan. It came out delightfully golden, brown with a slightly crunchy top and very moist in the center with a great flavor! Your cookbook just arrived yesterday, and I cannot wait to dive in. Thank you for being so generous with your recipes and for providing such in depth instructions.
Anthea says
Hi Lisa, I'm so glad that you enjoyed this cake! That's interesting that it was tight in your pan - I wonder if a springform cake pan would be better next time? Otherwise, a cast iron skillet could also work well too! Thanks so much for buying my cookbook and taking the time to leave your feedback on my blog. I appreciate it!