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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Phenomenal cake! I’ve made it about 10 times and it is constantly requested by my in-laws now. Thank you! ❤️
Wow, 10 times?! We’re so thrilled it’s become a family favourite! Thank you so much for baking it again and again, and for sharing this lovely review 🥰
Hi! This recipe seems nice i just wanted to ask that do u think i could use oat flour instead of almond? I’m allergic…
Hi Emma, we think it will work but can’t be 100% sure as we haven’t tested it. If the batter looks a bit runny, try adding a little more of either oat or 1:1 GF flour so it’s a similar consistency to above. We hope that helps!
Dear Anthea, may I ask for your recommendation for a cake pan for your amazing cakes? I need to replace my old springform pan and not sure to choose a springform again or perhaps removable bottom or closed bottom? The last two options I have no experience with yet but wondering if it would be a better choice. 😀 With a springform some area’s are a bit difficult to clean but I do like I can lock in the parchment paper. Would lining and releasing the cake be no problem with removable of closed bottom? Thank you again in advance! 🙏💝
Hi Desiree, sorry for the late reply! I love these cake pans by Fat Daddio – they’re very sturdy and I find the removable bottoms so easy to clean, especially compared to a springform pan! I also have some of their closed bottom pans as well. I usually line just the bottom of my cake pans and cakes almost always release very easily. If it’s a sticker cake, I’ll line the sides but I don’t do this often. I hope that helps!
Grear recipe! Would the baking temp and time remain the same if I use a loaf pan instead?
Hi Denisse! 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. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicios! Turns right every time, the only thing is mine does not grow like the ones in the pictures. Maybe I used a cake pan that was too large.
We’re so glad you enjoy it! If it’s not rising as much, it could be the pan size, a little too much mixing, or even the oven temperature running too low or the oven door being opened too early. Lots of little things can make a difference, but still tasting delicious is the most important part!
It was my very first cake I’ve ever made and it was great
We’re honoured you chose this recipe for your first cake and so glad it was a success! We hope this is just the start of your baking adventures!
Can i replace dairy free milk with normal milk if i want a non vegan cake?
We haven’t tested it with anything other than dairy-free milk, but we imagine it would work similarly 🙂
Thank you so much for your amazing recipes! I made this awesome cake today for my non vegan neighbours and we all enjoyed it so much! I drizzled it with lemon icing (from your lemon drizzle cake). I was so pleased with the taste and it was a beautiful cake to serve. I can’t wait to make this again! 😋
Hi Desiree, I’m so so glad you and your neighbours enjoyed this! Pairing it with lemon icing sounds delightful too. Thanks so much for your ongoing support!
Experimented with using maple instead of sugar, Einkorn flour and coconut oil. Reduced the soy mild slightly. No matter how I modify it, it comes out delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! We’re so happy to hear it’s delicious no matter the tweaks!
Hi,
I am new to baking and followed couple of different people but your recipe made me look like a professional baker. I made this cake once and then second time I made it for like 80 people. It was two 8inch round cake and 2 sheet cakes. I also followed your blueberry frosting recipe and made it from fresh blueberries. While following your recipe I weight the flour and rest by the measuring cups. Thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing your feedback! We’re truly honoured you chose this recipe to bake for 80 people, that’s incredibly impressive! Measuring flour by grams is a great way to achieve consistent results too! We really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience ☺️
Great recipe, good texture. Mine just wasn’t as lemony flavoured as I’d like. I guess different lemons are different
Thank you so much for your feedback! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the texture of the cake. And you’re absolutely right, lemons can vary a lot in flavour and intensity depending on the variety and freshness. If you’re after a stronger lemon flavour next time, you could try adding more zest! We really appreciate you trying the recipe 💛
This is a favourite cake in my family!!! I even used it to make small muffins and used chickpea flour to make it gluten free. A big hit. Sometimes we put raspberries and sometimes blueberries, it depends what we have in the house. So it’s very versatile.
We’re so happy to hear this has become a family favourite, thank you! It’s great to know it works well as muffins too, and we love that chickpea flour worked for you as a gluten-free option. Blueberries or raspberries both sound delicious!
Very easy recipe and in theory seems delicious but I have made this recipe 3x and unfortunately, each time it comes out with a slight taste of flour. Have baked longer than listed as well and still results in the same aftertaste…
Hi Amanda! We really appreciate your feedback and are sorry to hear the cake didn’t turn out as expected. A slight floury taste can sometimes come from over measuring the flour, especially when using measuring cups instead of a kitchen scale. We always recommend weighing ingredients for best results, as it gives the most accurate and consistent outcome. We hope this helps!
Made this today n everyone loved it. I followed the gluten free measurements for flour but with almond and spelt flour. I added 1 cup of sugar instead of 1.5 but it was still too sweet for my liking. Would it effect the consistency of cake if I decrease the sugar more like 3/4 cup , next time ?
We really appreciate you sharing your experience! While you’re welcome to reduce the sugar, sugar plays an important role in a cake’s texture and moisture so your cake will turn out differently. If you do try it, we’d love to hear how it turns out!
I have made this 3 times in the past week and got rave reviews every time. So easy, too, and a simple ingredient list. Thank you so much!
Oh wow, three times in one week?! That’s the ultimate compliment! We’re so glad the recipe is being enjoyed! Thank you for your lovely feedback and for making this recipe a part of your kitchen 💜
Can we use dried cranberries instead of blueberries
Dried cranberries are drier than fresh blueberries so try soaking them in water then patting them dry before using.
I don’t leave reviews very often but this was stellar. I got compliment after compliment, all from non-vegans. I am making it again immediately!
Hi Ken, awww that’s just amazing to hear!! And it’s even better that you got great feedback from non-vegans. Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know!
Can I make this without lemon? I have a lemon allergy.
Hi Anu, yes you can! Your cake will still be delicious but it will have a slightly different texture as lemon tenderizes a cake’s crumb. Try replacing the lemon juice with more milk!