Vegan Lemon Pound Cake (Gluten Free option)
Combine the brightness of fresh lemon zest with the most tender and moist cake you can imagine, drizzle a sweet glaze on top, and then apologize to all your other dessert recipes because you will never need them again. This cake is the perfect addition to any party or tea time, and no one will ever know it’s vegan and gluten free!
Ingredients
Pound Cake Ingredients
- 1-2 lemons' worth of zest
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp non-dairy milk
- 9½ tbsp vegan butter at room temperature and softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar *if you want a sugar free option, this links to my favorite sweetener, you can substitute it 1:1 in place of regular granulated sugar
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups gluten free flour can sub all-purpose if desired. This links to my favorite store bought gluten free flour blend that works best with all of my recipes, or see "Ingredients Needed" section for further info.
- 2 tbsp cornstarch see notes
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Lemon Icing Ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar *if you want a sugar free option, this links to my favorite powdered sweetener, you can substitute it 1:1 in place of regular powdered sugar
- 4 tsp lemon juice *you can use non-dairy milk instead if you want a sweeter icing rather than a lemon icing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Zest the lemons – I like to use the zest of between 1.5 and 2 lemons, you can do a little more or less to your own taste – and mix the zest in a bowl with the granulated sugar. Then cream the lemon zest/sugar mixture with the softened butter until combined and fluffy.
- Measure out the non-dairy milk and add in a tablespoon of lemon juice to curdle and create a vegan buttermilk consistency. Let it sit for a few minutes until curdled, then add the buttermilk and vanilla extract in with the creamed butter. Note – this consistency will seem very wrong as it doesn’t combine well. This is okay. Read the rest of the post for photos and more info here, but as long as you’re following the instructions don’t worry about the look of this batter.
- Mix together the gluten free flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, and mix the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until just combined, and then pour the batter into the lined loaf pan and stick into the oven.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes, testing for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the middle part of the loaf and making sure it comes out with crumbs, not wet batter.
- Once done, remove the pan from the oven and stick it onto a cooling rack. Let the cake continue to firm and cool inside the pan for an hour before removing to further cool, or eat while it’s warm.
- If you are making an icing, mix the lemon juice (or non-dairy milk if you would prefer a sweeter glaze rather than a lemon glaze) and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Adjust amounts if you’d rather a thinner or thicker glaze. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
- Eat and enjoy!
Notes
- If you don’t have cornstarch, you can absolutely just use more flour in its place, but I like adding a certain amount of cornstarch into gluten free goods like this to give them a softer feel, more like as if you’d used cake flour.
NUTRITION INFO
Total amount: 1 loaf
Serving size: 10 slices
Per serving amounts: (note - this does not account for icing)- Calories - 285
- Grams of fat - 11.2
- Grams of carbs - 42.4
- Grams of protein - 3
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!