This dreamy Vegan Blueberry Lemon Cake is rich, moist, and best of all, delicious. It's vegan, gluten-free, and made with limited ingredients. The citrus flavor bursts through with each bite, containing wild blueberries and sweet fluffy bread. An elevated desert with delectable lemon cream topping drizzled all over.
Cut a slice of moist, creamy cake while you brew a cup of tea and slow down. This cake is perfect for bringing to gatherings or celebrations. If you're browsing for more healthy, vegan desserts, check out my Healthy Homemade Vegan Pop-Tarts or my most popular, No Bake Vegan Orange Cheesecake!
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Why you'll love this recipe
I create this recipe to cure my insatiable vegan lemon cake cravings! It's the perfect dessert to share since it's gluten-free, dairy-free, eggless, and if necessary, coconut milk can be substituted.
The bright flavors of lemon and blueberry are uplifting and decadent. Visually, it's beautiful and effortless. It's well worth having to pull out my electric mixer!
This recipe was made with healthy ingredients. For most baking, butter and sugar are commonly required. We still use these ingredients in this recipe, and I share the vegan butter that I've found is free of common nasty ingredients as well as give options for sugar substitutes.
What you'll need for the cake
Dry Ingredients:
🫐 All-purpose gluten-free flour - I have used Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur brands.
🫐 Baking powder - helps the bread rise! I purchase the aluminum-free kind.
🫐 Melted vegan butter - I prefer the brand Miyoko's
🫐 Salt - enhances the lemon and blueberries - from a health standpoint, it is essential to use natural salt (I prefer Redmond's Real Salt).
🫐 Sugar - I used organic cane sugar. It gives the loaf a nice balance, especially since lemons are so tart. You can substitute 1:1 with coconut sugar.
Wet Ingredients:
🫐 Applesauce - this is the egg replacement and my go-to option when baking to give the loaf a moistening binder.
🫐 Vanilla extract - to maintain this recipe gluten-free, I used the alcohol-based extract, this provides flavor, and I wouldn't skip it!
🫐 Lemon and lemon zest - I grabbed Meyer's fresh lemons for this recipe. They have a lovely flavor and are usually bigger and juicier; more citrusy lemons. Remember to get the zest from the lemon peel before juicing.
🫐 Coconut milk - the flavor is minimal, coconut milk is thicker and creamier - perfect for baking. If you're allergic to coconuts, you can substitute with vegan creamer that's oat-based if nut-free is necessary. Another alternative: ¼ cup filtered water with ½ cup cashews blended and strained for a homemade creamer.
🫐 Wild blueberries - you can use fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries but don't forget to toss them in extra flour before adding them to the mix. This prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the pan when baking.
What you'll need for the lemon cream topping
This topping is a custard, pudding-like consistency but is thin enough to drizzle over the top of this Vegan Blueberry Lemon Cake like they were made for each other.
I'm not a massive fan of the ordinary icing sugar or simple lemon glaze and prefer the more creamy, thicker topping. This custard-like topping has a bright lemon flavor that a glaze doesn't give you. Also, not having to use powdered sugar is a bonus.
Make the lemon cream first and place it in the refrigerator while baking the loaf. The lemon cream recipe calls for soaked cashews. If you cannot soak them overnight, the alternative is soaking them in boiling water for at least 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
🍋 Raw cashews, soaked overnight or placed in boiling water for at least 30 minutes up to 1 hour
🍋 Coconut milk, canned for a thicker consistency
🍋 Maple syrup
🍋 Lemon juice
🍋 Turmeric (for color)
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store this bread at room temperature or in an airtight container for up to three days.
Either fresh berries or frozen juicy blueberries will work, although I prefer wild blueberries as they are an exceptional health food. The common option with wild is frozen. Remember to toss them in a little flour before adding them to the mix so they spread evenly throughout the cake.
I don't see why not, although I haven't tried. My recommendation would be to hold off on the lemon topping and seal the cake in a freezer bag for up to one month.
I used the “standard loaf pan", which is 8-½ x 4-½ x 2-½ inches.
Rave reviews
My husband absolutely devoured this dessert bread; it was gone in one day! The flavors of lemon felt light and airy, and the bread itself is moist, fluffy, and has the perfect balance of tart and sweet. Please don't skip the lemon cream topping because it pairs so well; I'd hate for you not to experience it.
Bonus: enjoy with vanilla vegan ice cream!
If you made this Vegan Blueberry Lemon Cake recipe, I'd LOVE it if you shared a recipe rating and comment below!
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Vegan Blueberry Lemon Cake
Ingredients
Blueberry Lemon Cake:
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon of salt;⅓ cup vegan butter melted
- 1 cup sugar organic cane sugar
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour to toss the blueberries in
Lemon Cream Topping:
- 1 cup unsalted raw cashews soaked overnight or for 30 min in hot water and drained
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric for color
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper or olive oil. Tip: cut slices inward on all four corners of parchment paper, so it falls nicely into the pan. Start by preparing the lemon cream topping since it needs to sit in the fridge to thicken while the loaf bakes.
- Take all ingredients and blend until combined and silky smooth. Transfer to a small dish and store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Next, prepare the bread: in a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and set aside.
- With an electric mixer blend butter, sugar, applesauce, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and zest until combined.
- On low-speed, mix in the flour and milk in shifts (½ flour, then ½ milk, remaining flour, remaining milk) until it has combined, do not over mix.
- Toss blueberries in one tablespoon of gluten-free flour to coat them and prevent them from falling to the bottom when added to the mixture.
- Gently stir in blueberries, a few passes are all you need, or your batter will be blue.
- Add batter to your loaf pan and transfer to your preheated oven for a bake time: 55-60 minutes. Check if it is done by placing a toothpick in the center of the loaf. The top of the loaf should be slightly golden and maybe cracked, releasing steam.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.;Once cooled, pour the lemon cream topping generously over top of the lemon bread, slice, and enjoy!
Jess says
This was so good! I made it for a picnic baby shower and the lemon blueberry flavors were fresh and delicious!