Simple Vegan Lemon Cake with Coconut and Almonds
Sweet and tart, studded with coconut and almond, this simple vegan lemon cake is delicate without frills. A simple traybake of a cake, it’s meant to be baked and sliced, shared with friends and family in friendly, lemony squares. For added aesthetic points, this cake is topped with slices of sweetened and dried lemon slices, bringing the beauty nature made with lemons right on top of your beautiful cake. The cake itself is rather dense and moist, and sits somewhere between cake and blondies in its texture, with a lovely, lemonade-like flavor. Perfect for a warm summer afternoon tea, or a bright bite for breakfast!
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No-Fuss Cakes
I am a big fan of cakes that aren’t fussy – cakes that require no electronic mixer, no sifting flour, no piping bags, no creaming sugar and butter, not using multiple bowls, or ridiculously precise measurements, and certainly no messing about with decorations or making little fondant flowers. When cake is concerned, I try and keep it easy and tasty (and ideally, still pretty).
Even More No-Fuss Cakes
- Vegan German Apple Cake
- Walnut and Cinnamon Vegan Coffee Cake
- Pineapple, Pumpkin and Pecan Upside-Down Cake
- No-Bake Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake
Is Fruit Really Desserts?
For a very long time, I didn’t really eat lemon desserts. It’s not that I dislike them, but they’ve never been my first choice in terms of desserts. Really, I tend to avoid most fruit-based desserts. There must be something about fruit in dessert that makes me think “healthy”, which I then avoid. Give me a double chocolate cookie. A caramel praline delight, or a maple walnut creation. But fruit? No thank you. I’ve started making a lot more lemon desserts lately, because I’ve ended up with a guy who LOVES lemon desserts (and most fruit desserts). He’s the type of guy who will be looking at vegan ice cream, and pass over caramel almond brittle for a mango sorbet- it drives me crazy! Who even does that?
This simple vegan lemon cake is a good compromise between our tastes- it’s fruity, but I don’t feel like I’m eating health food.
The Art of the Simple Vegan Lemon Cake
This cake is a one-bowl creation, which means fewer dishes to wash in the end (my kind of cake)! It doesn’t have any of the more unusual vegan ingredients, but is made with simple, common, baking supplies. The most interesting ingredient I used is totally optional- sweetened dried lemon slices. They’re basically candied lemon slices, and are beautifully decorative as well as delicious! I got mine from Trader Joe’s, but you could also try candying your own or just do without. The cake is just (but not quite as pretty) as good without them.
Simple Vegan Lemon Cake with Coconut and Almonds
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- ¾ cup soymilk (or other vegan milk)
- Juice and zest of one lemon
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut (chips, flakes or shredded)
- ½ cup almonds (silvers, or finely chopped)
- 12 sweetened dried lemon slices (optional, for decorating)
- Juice 1 lemon
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 2 quart baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until combined. Next add the soymilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut oil, and vanilla extract and stir until the mixture is even. Add the coconut and almonds and fold in.
- Transfer the batter to your greased pan and spread evenly. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the cake is golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before decorating.
- Make the glaze by whisking powdered sugar with the juice of ½ a lemon. You want a fairly thick but pourable glaze. Add the remaining lemon juice if needed, but depending on the size of your lemon you may only require half. Decorate by drizzling the cake with glaze, and topping with sweetened dried lemon slices.
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Let’s hear from you…
- How do you feel about fruit desserts? Are you team nature’s candy, or team actual candy?
- When would you serve this easy vegan lemon cake?
- Sweetened dried lemon slices- yay or nay?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
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Wow this looks like a great recipe. I’ve trawled through dozens of overly fatty, non-cakelike recipes to find this. It’s a staple for me, some kind of easy homemade cake, preferable with lemons (got 2 trees). And coconut for bite.
Thanks so much!
Thanks Ned! I’ve always wanted to have lemon trees- fresh lemons are amazing- but sadly they don’t grow where I live.
What a great recipe. I’ve trawled through dozens of overly fatty, non-cakelike recipes to find this. It’s a staple for me, some kind of easy homemade cake, preferable with lemons (got 2 trees). And coconut for bite.
I’ve just made the cake, and it’s perfect.
A few little tweaks were:
An extra 1/4 cup chopped raw almonds, skin on.
An extra nearly 1/2 TSP baking powder
reduced almond milk by a third
doubled the zest
Increased the juice
added cinnamon
added toasted then crushed fennel seeds
EVOO instead of coconut oil
The cake is light, moist and crunchy/ chewy at the edges. And it’s delicious.
Thanks so much!