Easy vegan lemon olive oil cake using only 6 key ingredients and 1 bowl. This cake is fluffy, tender and light and perfect for Spring!
This light and zesty cake has a similar flavor profile to my vegan lemon poppy seed muffins, vegan lemon cake and lemon drizzle cake.
Key ingredients you'll need
This vegan lemon loaf uses only everyday ingredients including:
Ingredient notes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil adds moisture and flavor. Some types of olive oils are sweet while others are a little peppery so your cake will adopt the flavor of your particular oil.
Lemon juice and zest and lots of it for extra zing! Lemon juice is acidic so reacts with dairy-free milk to make buttermilk which gives a cake a tender crumb. I used fresh lemon juice but bottled will also work.
Granulated sugar for the lightest vegan olive oil cake! Alternatively, you may use coconut sugar however it'll make your cake a little denser and darker in color.
You don't need any special egg replacers as the cake stays moist and fluffy from the olive oil, sugar and baking powder!
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to prepare the batter
Like most of my cakes, you'll only need one bowl to prepare this vegan lemon olive oil cake!
In a large mixing bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients, add all the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. The final batter should be a little runny without no lumps of dry flour or streaks of wet ingredients. Alternatively, you may use a stand mixer or hand mixer but be careful to not overmix the batter!
Pour the cake batter into an 8-inch (20 cm) lined loaf pan and bake it in your preheated oven. Your house will smell wonderful while your vegan olive oil cake is baking!
Decoration suggestions
This vegan lemon loaf is lovely with a simple 2-ingredient icing that sets at room temperature.
For a more decadent cake, you can top it with lemon buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting (such as from my ginger cake recipe).
If you don't have a big sweet tooth, you can top the unbaked cake with sliced almonds (just keep an eye on the almonds so they don't burn). After baking, dust the top with powdered sugar or serve with yogurt and berries.
Can I bake this cake in a different pan?
This vegan olive oil cake will bake well in any loaf pan that's 8-inches or longer. If you're using a longer one, your cake will just be shorter.
Alternatively, you can use an 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan. For easy removal, use a springform pan!
To make cupcakes, I recommend using my vegan lemon cupcakes recipe which fits perfectly in 1 muffin pan.
Customizing this cake
For a less sweet cake, I recommend enjoying the cake without the icing (or only with powdered sugar on top).
The sugar can be slightly reduced to 1 cup (200g). However, keep in mind that sugar adds moisture to the cake, and balances out the sour lemon flavor and slight bitterness from the zest.
Orange juice is sweeter and less acidic than lemon juice so I recommend using more orange juice. Reduce the amount of milk and replace some of it with orange juice. Remember to use the orange zest for extra flavor!
I recommend using my lemon blueberry cake recipe. It's similar to this vegan olive oil cake but the batter is thicker so the blueberries don't sink!
More vegan lemon desserts
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Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- Pinch of salt, optional
- 1 cup (250g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ½ cup (125g) extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup (80g) lemon juice, (note 1)
- ~2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
To decorate (optional, see note 2 for alternatives)
- 1 ½ cups (150g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup (150g) fresh berries
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F). Line an 8 inch (20 cm) loaf tin with parchment paper.
- Add all the dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) to a large bowl. Mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients (milk, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla) and mix until smooth.
- Pour the lemon cake batter into your prepared pan. Smooth the surface if necessary.
- Bake the cake for 1 hour or until you can insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and there's no wet batter on it. As this is a moist cake, some crumbs on your toothpick are fine. If the top of the cake is browning too quickly on top, carefully tent the pan with aluminum foil.
- Allow the cake to cool in the loaf tin for 10 minutes then let the cake cool on a cooling rack.
To make the icing:
- Add the lemon juice and sugar to a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Add more lemon juice or non-dairy milk for a thinner icing (like a lemon glaze) or more powdered sugar for a thicker icing.
- Drizzle the icing over your cooled cake. If desired, top the cake with berries just before serving.
- Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for up to 3 days. The cake can be stored without the icing in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- You'll need around 2-3 medium lemons to yield the amount of lemon juice and zest for the recipe.
- Alternatively, you can enjoy the cake plain, topped with fresh berries or a light dusting of powdered / icing sugar.
Nutrition
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Anta says
This cake is amazing! I prefer less sweet cakes, so I followed your advice for 200gr of sugar. I used oat milk and I added pistachios with the icing.
I will definitely name it again!
Aija Papaija says
Simple recipe that really works! I've had troubles in past with vegan lemon cakes as they tend to collapse, but this one is as simple as they get and always on spot. Thank you! I also like to add chopped roasted almonds for a little extra, works well.
Ramona Diaz says
Okay so I really really wanted to try a lemon cake, cause you know it's so fresh and all and my god, this cake was WOW. I suppose I went wrong somewhere, because my batter was really thick, and it took 45 mins to bake.
Other than that, a bit too sweet for my taste, but everyone else seems to love it. This was my first recipe from you but certainly not my last ;))
Love you soo much for this and Thank you!!
Jem says
I love baking vegan and this is one of the best vegan cakes/loafs I have ever made. The texture and crumb was spot on, and it was so incredibly moist. Loved that it was one bowl and so easy. My family and I devoured this so quickly. I might add a little more lemon juice to the cake in the future for slightly more lemon flavor, but that's just personal preference/taste.
Zohra says
I have been wanting to make an olive oil cake for a while and needed to make something for my book club which has several vegan members so I settled on this recipe.
It was easy to make and the outcome was delicious! I made it in a tea cake pan (about the size of mini muffins) which worked well, I just cut the cooking time to about 15 minutes (at the same temperature).
Definitely a keeper! Thanks for the great recipe!
Lacell Joseph says
Made it today on a whim. Easy to follow recipe and flavor is mild and perfect.
Anette says
Hello, if I want to make the gluten free version the amount of flour that I need is 1 1/2 cups right? Or the same amount for the original version.
Anthea says
Hello, I'm not sure where it says 1 1/2 cups. The gluten-free version is in the notes of the grey recipe box at the bottom of the post. You will need a combination of almond flour and gluten-free all-purpose flour. I hope that helps!
Jennifer says
This recipe is SPOT ON!, no eggs/dairy, and a crumb that is better than any other sweetbread, vegan or not, that I ever had. My mother could not stop eating it. First time making a loaf with Olive Oil too. This recipe was my "if it works, I will buy the cookbook" test. So, I am buying your book!
I will say, I baked both versions, the gluten free, and standard recipe. I am sorry to say the Gluten Free version of this, was an epic fail! Is it possible I made a mistake, of course, but I am 99.99% sure this is not what happened. I weighed, double checked, pre-heated, recipe to the letter, etc..The gluten free loaf, was in 10 minutes longer than the original version, (I did not bake both loaves in the oven at the same time, and the tester finally appeared to have acceptable moist crumb vs.raw batter). The top could not take anymore browning, so I took it out. The entire cake sunk while cooling, and when I cut into it, it was basically a solid block of oil. My guess is that the almond flour is too moist a flour, and cannot absorb all the oil/milk. I will try again, with just gluten free all purpose, and see how that goes. I am not deterred...and thank you, as the original loaf recipe is just insanely perfect!!!!
Anthea says
Hi Jennifer, I'm so so glad you and your mother enjoyed the regular version of this cake and that it surpassed any other cake you've ever had! What a lovely compliment!
But I'm so sorry that the gluten-free version didn't work for you! Most gluten-free flours (except coconut flour) are less absorbent than regular flour so that may explain why your loaf ended up being so dense. I wonder if it has to do with the brand of gluten-free flour that you used. I'm not saying that it was a bad brand, at all, but rather that all gluten-free flour blends contain different types of flour which absorb ingredients differently :)! But let me know how you go with just gluten-free all-purpose flour or a 1:1 baking blend. Thank you so much for your feedback, I appreciate it! x
Emily says
Made it over Easter, it was easy to make and delicious.
Thank you so much Anthea for another fabulous recipe 🙂
Anthea says
Aw, I'm so happy you loved this recipe Emily! Thanks so much for your ongoing support x
Liz says
Great recipe, really easy and tastes delish. I tweaked the recipe and also made a coconut and lime and a chocolate version.
Anthea says
That's amazing Liz! And I love how you were able to customize it too!
Kathleen says
This is one of my favorite cakes!
I have made it twice now - once for a friend’s birthday and the second time for a spring dinner party. Both times it received rave reviews.
My favorite thing about this cake is how moist and lemony it is. It is a showstopper! In making it in the loaf pan I found the cooking time to be quite a bit longer than one hour (for my oven it was more like 1 hour and 15 mins). The second time I made it, I doubled the recipe and made it in two 8 inch cake pans… Baking time was it was a little less than one hour (about 53 mins). Both times it was fantastic! Now I’m going for a third time - making it again for Easter Brunch.
Thank you so much!
Anthea says
Aw, that's lovely feedback! I'm so glad everyone enjoyed this cake! And thanks for the tips about the baking times - it's good to know that the cake works in round cake pans too. Thanks so much for leaving a comment :).
Birdie says
I made this cake for my friend's birthday last weekend and everyone at the party absolutely loved it! At the end of the night, I found one of the girls drunkenly eating the leftovers with her hands because she loved it that much. Will be making it again this weekend to take to my family Easter brunch!
Anthea says
Aw that's amazing! And haha, it sounds like the cake was a great late night snack :). Thanks so much for your feedback Birdie!! x
Tina says
I made this yesterday followed the recipe but it was a disaster, just a heavy stodgy mess I had to throw it away
Anthea says
Oh I'm so sorry this cake didn't work out for you! Is it possible that the ingredients were mismeasured, for example if you used the cups measurement? A stodgy cake can also be due to old baking powder or an oven which isn't hot enough. I made the cake a few times with success so would love to figure out what happened with yours.
Hannah Garcia says
Hi Anthea, I was wondering if you could make this cake as like an 8inch round?
Anthea says
Hi Hannah, yes you can! It takes a similar amount of time to bake in an 8 inch round tin :).
Hannah Garcia says
thank you !!
Byron says
Thanks Anthea! I volunteer at a local soup kitchen (which has very limited ingredients), and this has been a perfect recipe. I've now been baking this cakes for our patrons two weeks in a row – it's so easy to make, and everyone loves it. I also toast some coconut shreds and sprinkle on top 🙂
Anthea says
Aw that warms my heart that the cake was served at a local soup kitchen! So glad that everyone loves it and the addition of coconut shreds sounds perfect! Thanks Byron 🙂
Su-Yi says
Lovely fragrant cake that came out fluffy and moist. A lot of the recipes I’d checked out called for a lot of oil but Anthea’s got it just right. I also made a little tweak by using 1/2 a cup of sugar as opposed to 1 and 1/2cups, but 1 cup I think would’ve been perf ! Thanks so much again Anthea 🍋
Anthea says
So glad you enjoyed this cake Su-Yi! And thanks for your feedback about the oil and sugar too :).
Angela says
This cake turned out so well! It reminds me of a pound cake. Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. I love that the flavors are subtle but still detectable. 5 stars--no question.
Anthea says
Aw I'm so happy you enjoyed this cake and you found everything helpful. Thanks so much for your feedback, I appreciate it a lot! x
Brittany says
Absolutely beautiful! Great balance of Lemon and sweetness. Will definitely be making this cake again. It was lucky Enough to last more than a day haha. It was honestly one of the best lemon cakes I have tasted. 🍋
Anthea says
Aw, that's the nicest comment, I'm so glad you enjoyed all the flavours in this cake!