This easy Vegan Gluten-Free Lemon Cake is so simple to make, only 8 ingredients plus a light, fresh and bright lemony glaze to go on top! The cake is really fast, fluffy and tender and is also oil-free!
VEGAN GLUTEN FREE LEMON CAKE
I love lemon cake, which I think is apparent after making this Easy Vegan Lemon Cake and also this Healthy Vegan Lemon Cake, but today I’m sharing yet another version of lemon cake, a vegan gluten-free lemon cake! It is of course, also oil-free. After posting the super fluffy easy lemon cake, of course all the gluten-free requests were coming in. I already had this one testing in the works. It was a challenge though, because I tried to get it fluffy and light, but still really moist. That is always more of a challenge when it comes to vegan cakes, so they not only keep their structure, have moisture, but not be gummy. It is much easier with cookies and muffins, but this cake took me at least 7 trials to get the way I wanted it flavor and texture-wise!
But seriously, check out how fluffy the gluten-free one still is!
This cake is super easy to make, soft and fluffy and requires only 8 ingredients to make. The glaze is the same as my main vegan lemon cake.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(full recipe card with exact measurements below)
- Superfine blanched almond flour: If it’s not fine, it will leave the cake gritty and dense. Superfine almond flour makes cakes much fluffier.
- Superfine oat flour: Same thing here, I always buy store-bought oat flour because it is so fine and makes for thicker batters and fluffier cakes. I love Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free.
- Tapioca starch or cornstarch: I tested this recipe using all tapioca and also a version with all cornstarch. I found the cornstarch made it a tad drier and a tad more crumbly and the tapioca made it a bit more chewy than I like, so I did a final test using half of each and loved the result. Moist but also held its structure perfectly! But if you only have one, it is fine to use it, just keeping in mind my notes on the slight variance in texture.
- Fine granulated white sugar
- Baking powder
- Full-fat coconut milk: I use this milk here for yet again, fluffiness. Because of the fat content, it is very important for this gluten-free cake to be fluffy. Another milk will not have the same fat content and will make the cake denser and more chewy.
- Lemon juice and zest
- Vanilla extract
- Plus the glaze ingredients: You’ll need powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE LEMON CAKE
Step 1: First, you will need to mix the coconut milk from the can, since the cream separates from the water. It must be smooth and room temperature before measuring for the cake.
Step 2: Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk well to break up any lumps that can form from the almond flour or starches.
Step 3: Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla to a separate bowl. Pour the liquids over the dry and whisk very well until mixed and a smooth batter forms. The batter will be quite runny, not thick.
Step 4: Pour the batter into the baking dish. It will be kind of low, but the cake will really fluff up a lot in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine was perfect at 23 minutes. The cake will bake up perfectly flat on top.
Step 5: Let the cake cool 45 minutes or so before adding the glaze. Whisk the glaze ingredients in a small bowl until very smooth. Pour over the center of the cake and spread out evenly with the back of a spoon. Zest some lemon over the top for presentation. Let the glaze firm up a bit before slicing and serving.
HOW TO STORE THIS CAKE
This cake is so delicious even the next day, if not even better! This vegan lemon cake is best stored at room temperature covered with foil. I keep the cake in the dish. You could put it into the fridge though if you will not eat it within a couple of days. It will stay fresh and moist for 2-3 days.
MORE VEGAN CAKE RECIPES
- Vegan Gluten-free Funfetti Birthday Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake
- Vegan White Wedding Cake
- Vegan Gluten-free and Grain-free Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Almond Butter Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
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Vegan Gluten Free Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (56g) superfine blanched almond flour
- 1 cup (128g) superfine oat flour (I use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free)
- 2 tablespoons (16g) tapioca starch (SEE NOTES at bottom)
- 2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
- 3/4 cup (144g) fine granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) ROOM TEMPERATURE full-fat coconut milk (THIS cannot be subbed, it replaces all oil/butter and is what makes the cake light and moist, it leaves NO coconut taste) I like Thai Kitchen and Taste of Thai brands, both work great here. DO NOT use the Polar brand, it is all stabilizers and additives and not pure coconut milk.
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (37g) fresh lemon juice + zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract
LEMON GLAZE (Use all to glaze the whole cake or half of the recipe to just drizzle over the cake. Delicious either way!)
- 1 cup (152g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15g) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (15g) thick non-dairy yogurt, plain or vanilla. This gives a nice tang, but if you don't have it, add 1/2 tablespoon of any creamy milk instead.
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
NOTE
- I always recommend to use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed, since we all measure differently. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessons room for error. You never need cups or to compare them to the weights, just use the scale and bowl and make sure to hit zero before adding each ingredient. My recipes are 100% tested specifically using my exact weights and your results will turn out as mine this way.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Now this step is VERY important to the cake end result. Make sure you are using a fresh can of room temperature, NOT COLD, full-fat coconut milk. With full-fat coconut milk, the coconut cream tends to separate from the water in the can. Scrape out all of the water and cream from the can into a blender or another bowl and either blend it until smooth or whisk very well until completely smooth and mixed. If you do not do this first, you run the high risk of either getting too much cream or too much water and not the right mixed combo of each, will be really affect the cake’s texture. After it’s mixed and smooth, then measure the correct amount of milk needed for the cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and lightly grease an 8x8 square stone baking dish. Wipe off any excess runny oil. Stone is best for a soft cake around the edges, but if you don't have one, use glass or metal. The edges will cook a bit more in these types of pans.
- Add the oat flour, almond flour, starch, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk well to break up any lumps that can form from the almond flour or starches.
- Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla to a separate bowl. Pour the liquids over the dry and whisk very well until mixed and a smooth batter forms. The batter is always quite runny, not thick. However, many readers have told me their batter is quite thick, so this can be due to quite different brands of almond flour and environments or cold weather, moist air, etc. I'm in humid Houston, TX so my batters are always more on the runny side. If you weighed accurately with a scale, you should still get a great result.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish. It will be kind of low, but the cake will really rise and fluff up while baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out completely clean. Mine was perfect at 23 minutes. The cake will bake up perfectly flat on top.
- Cool the cake 45 minutes or so until completely cooled before glazing.
- To make the glaze, add the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk for a few minutes until it's completely smooth and no lumps remain.
- Pour all of the glaze over the center of the cooled cake. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula and spread it out evenly all over the cake. Zest some more lemon over the top for presentation and extra zing of flavor. Let the glaze firm up a bit (15 minutes or so) and then slice and serve. This cake is fantastic even the next day, if not even better! Store it at room temperature in the same dish covered with a lid or foil. It will stay fresh 2-3 days.
Notes
- FLOURS: As noted, superfine flours work best. Homemade almond flour or oat flour tends to never be as fine as store-bought, and a bit more gritty, which will result in a more dense cake that is not very fluffy. Superfine almond flour is necessary so there are not bits of almond throughout or a wet/dense cake. I like the King Arthur flour, Wellbee's, Honeyville, Nature's Eats and Nut's.com brands best. They all work well.
- STARCH: I tested this recipe using all tapioca and also a version with all cornstarch. I found the cornstarch made it a tad drier and a tad more crumbly and the tapioca made it a bit more chewy than I like, so I did a final test using half of each and loved the result. Moist but also held its structure perfectly! But if you only have one, it is fine to use it, just keeping in mind my notes on the slight variance in texture.
- SUBS: This was heavily tested to make a delicious gluten-free version of my original Easy Vegan Lemon Cake that is divine and so fluffy, so please follow this for the best results. I tested 7 or 8 different versions with different flours and truly none of them were as good as this one. Baking is very scientific and adding gluten-free to that becomes every more scientific, so switching out flours just doesn't work well in most cases. This is because EVERY single flour performs differently in baking. This version is not quite as fluffy and light as the one with white flour of course, but still soft and fluffy and really delicious.
- BAKING AT HIGHER ALTITUDES: There are a few people saying their cake didn't rise, or sunk and live at higher altitudes. Please understand all my recipes are tested living at around 100 feet above sea level (Houston, TX) so I can only share what and how my batter, looks, how recipes bake, etc. for how they perform here. I am a perfectionist at testing multiple times before I post a recipe, so I guarantee the recipe works when followed correctly and in the right environment. Sadly, I can't give advice on higher altitudes since I don't live in them or have experience with them. Since baking is so scientific, meaning, for things to turn out as the recipe is shared and shown, every single detail is important for baked goods to work. The air pressure, moisture everything come into play. Even during colder weather or hot weather, batters will vary, and affect how they bake up. Here is a guide on higher altitude baking that may help. Again, since this recipe is oil-free and gluten-free, I don't know how well the guide will work, but hopefully it can help! Lastly, different brands of almond flour will vary in their texture, as well as coconut milk brands. This also can affect the texture of batters and the end result, which is why I always note and recommend which brands I use, if possible!
Hey! Thanks for the recipe! The taste of the cake is lovely and doesn’t take grainy at all like many other gluten free cakes I’ve tasted.
I was wondering how to ensure that it has no breakages on the top?
I cooked it on the top rack and I’ve read some of the comments and it seems like the middle is better?
Is there anything else other than the rack placement that causes cracks?
Best wishes,
Jazz
So happy you enjoyed it!! Yes, I always recommend to bake in the center oven rack for best distribution of heat. The top rack can cause it to overheat and cook too quickly on the top before the rest of the cake is finished baking. Over mixing can sometimes cause cracks or overcooking or too high of a heat or just the recipe in general. It can be many things.
Another great recipe! Thanks, Brandi!!!! I made it for my bf’s birthday. I’ve never made lemon cake before, so I was very nervous, but it turned out amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with the world! –Amy
Hey Brandi,
Once again a wonderful cake from you!
When you bake (brownies, etc….) you put your mold/pan on the center rack or juste below?
(I mean between the lower and the middle..2nd rack from the bottom…)
Because I find that the up of the cake is softer and crack less on the 2nd rack than in the middle rack…
But maybe it rises better on the middle rack from your experience?
And you use a traditionnal oven (low and high resistances only) or a fan oven (with blower) ?
Because the fan oven is more powerful!
And for you when you say 350 Farenheit in recipes it is 175 or 180 Celsius for me?
#SUGAR
Can I use Blond Coconut Sugar (yellowish variety) or have to stay with whute granulated?
#STORAGE
Can I freeze the whole cake with Frosting?
Please let me know!
Friendly
Henri 😉
I use a traditional oven and the middle rack always! No, you need to stick to white sugar here, otherwise your cake will taste totally different like caramel and not lemon and be very brown. Never tried freezing it but I’m sure it would be fine.
My batter wasn’t runny (I’m in CA) but it turned out really nice. It was a bit crumbly at first, but overnight it became perfectly moist and holds together well. Delicious!
Can you use a silicone 8×8 pan got this recipe?
Thank you!!
Hi Kim! I personally don’t like how silicone bakes up cakes and tends to leave a taste or more gummy texture, but I do know several readers like using them so it’s up to you if you want to try it! The cake is very delicious, so just make sure the toothpick is clean before removing, so it is fully cooked in the silicone. Let me know after you try it!
This cake is beyond delicious!!! Bonus that it is also SO EASY to make. I couldn’t find GF oat flour so I grinded up some GF oats super fine, then sifted the flour. Worked like a charm! The frosting is also insanely good, the perfect addition. Brought this cake to a family get together and everyone raved. Thanks for all your fantastic recipes!
This cake is amazing.
Made it for myself for Mother’s Day
And will make again
My batter was also a bit thick And I use a scale and follow al directions Ans it was still amazing
Love your recipes !
I’m so very happy you loved this cake, yay!
I have made this twice now. Both times it has tasted delicious. I have not been able to get a runny batter however. I use a scale and zeroed in between measurements. I did use 365 brand coconut milk as well as Bob’s almond and oat flour. I had made my own for the first attempt.
I didn’t weigh the liquids on the first attempt, I measured them. The second attempt I also weighed the liquids as well as the dry ingredients. Is this correct? I live at sealevel.
It doesn’t seem possible to get a runny batter when I look at the proportion of dry to liquid. help what am I doing wrong?
Hi Sidney! Sounds like you are doing everything right then if weighing and all! Is your milk at room temperature and you are using the full milk and not just the cream part? If so, it could just be the environment you live in. Is it cold where you are? Or dry air? Since I’m in Houston and it’s hot and very humid, my batters will be much more runny, than say Colorado or somewhere with dry air. But if your cake is turning out delicious each time, that is all that matters and is most important, so I wouldn’t worry about it!