If you love lemons, then this soft, sweet and slightly tart dairy free lemon pound cake is for you! A show stopping piece for any event! It’s a completely vegan lemon pound cake recipe.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & we'll send it to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week.
Whether you are new to the kitchen or a seasoned professional, you should have a least one show stopping dessert recipe that is your go to whenever you hear you’re going to be entertaining guests. Whether it’s a holiday get together or you just want to impress friends or clients, this dairy free lemon pound cake can do just that. Made in a bundt pan, it gives a really intricate look without much effort and the taste and texture will have everyone clamoring for more.
Key points about this delicious dairy free lemon pound cake are that it’s:
- dairy free
- egg free
- completely vegan
- cake is made in just one bowl
Watch how to make this dairy free lemon pound cake:
What ingredients do you need to make dairy free lemon pound cake?
If you are ready to make this delicious vegan lemon pound cake, you may be wondering what ingredients you are going to need. The ingredients that you need to make this homemade lemon pound cake are:
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- vegan butter
- cane sugar
- lemons
- vinegar
- almond milk (can sub another dairy free milk if nut allergy)
- vanilla extract
- unsweetened applesauce
- powdered sugar
- lemon extract
I know that sometimes 13 ingredients may seem like a lot, but this recipe has a lot of simple ingredients and mostly everything that you should already have on hand if you bake regularly.
Do I have to use fresh lemons to make this dairy free lemon pound cake?
You may be wondering if you need to use fresh lemons for this vegan lemon pound cake versus using bottled lemon juice. We highly recommend that you don’t use bottled lemon juice. Bottled lemon juice just doesn’t have the same freshness and the flavor profile in this cake will not taste as good. Plus, you need lemon zest for this recipe and you can’t get that using bottled.
If you want to prep ahead for making this lemon pound cake from scratch, then you can juice your lemons ahead of time and place them in ice cube trays. Just thaw out before you are ready to use them.
How do you make dairy free lemon pound cake?
There are three parts to this vegan lemon pound cake. The first step is making the cake. While the cake is baking, you are going to make a lemon syrup and a lemon glaze. Both of these things are necessary in order to have the most perfect and delicious, moist lemon pound cake recipe.
Preheat your oven to 350 degress. To start make the cake, you want make your vegan buttermilk by combining the vinegar and almond milk. Then, add the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Cream these together. If you are vegan and using cane sugar for the recipe, ensure that you really take your time and cream these together. You want to spend a few minutes really creaming these together. We find that a hand mixer usually does a better job at breaking this type of sugar down versus a stand mixer.
Next, add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat together again. Then, add your applesauce in four stages, beating just until combined. Now, sift in your flour. Yes, sift. Sifting gives cake lightness and airiness that you need to make it retain moisture. You really want to take the few extra seconds to sift rather than dump it in. Beat again. Finally, add in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat one last time just until combined.
Grease a bundt pan (we use this one) very liberally with coconut oil or other non-flavored oil. sprinkle with flour. If you don’t do both of these things, then you dairy free lemon pound cake is going to stick in your pan. Pour lemon pound cake mixture into the greased pan and twist the pan a few times (see video) to even out the cake. Bake for 50-60 minutes, testing the middle of the cake with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.
While the cake is baking follow the steps below to. make the lemon syrup and lemon glaze that will go on to of the cake. Once the cake it done, remove it. from the oven and let cool to touch. Flip out onto a cake stand and carefully and slowly pour the lemon syrup all around. The cake should soak up most of the lemon syrup. Wait 5 minutes, and then pour on the lemon glaze. Serve immediately or cover and eat within 3 days.
Tip: We REALLY love this zester. We’ve been using it for years and it’s one of our favorite kitchen appliances.
How to make lemon syrup for a lemon pound cake?
In a small pot over medium low heat, add in sugar and lemon juice. Stir together. Continue to stir for 5-10 minutes until it has started to thicken. Remove from heat and let thicken into a maple syrup like consistency while cake finishes baking.
How to make lemon glaze for a lemon pound cake?
In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon extract together. There should be no more sugar left and should be a pourable glaze. If it’s too thick to pour, squeeze a tiny bit more lemon juice into the bowl.
If you do not have lemon extract, you could increase the amount to 3 ½ tbsps of lemon juice. However, we HIGHLY recommend that you use the lemon extract because it has a more concentrated flavor and really make the cake pop with the extra burst of flavor.
Do I have to make this dairy free lemon pound cake in a bundt pan?
You do not have to make this vegan lemon pound cake in a bundt pan, although it does make it look really pretty. You could instead pour it into loaf pans. If you use loaf pans, grease and flour like stated above. You will likely need to evenly distribute between two loaf pans so it doesn’t pour over. Or, use 4 smaller ones if you want to distribute them to friends. Evenly pour the lemon syrup and lemon glaze over top of each.
What are other dairy free desserts or treats I can try?
We recommend you trying out some of these delicious non-dairy desserts. All recipes are dairy free, egg free, and vegan unless noted otherwise.
- Dairy Free Brownies
- Dairy Free Cinnamon Rolls
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Dairy Free Sugar Cookies
- Dairy Free Doughnuts (Not Vegan)
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Dairy Free Lemon Pound Cake (Vegan)
Ingredients
For Lemon Pound Cake
- ½ tablespoon vinegar
- ½ cup vanilla almond milk (can sub other dairy free milk)
- 1 cup vegan butter, room temperature
- 2 cups vegan cane sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- Lemon Zest from 2 lemons
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Lemon Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (more to desired thinness-see notes)
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
For the dairy free lemon pound cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a bundt pan (we use this one) very liberally with coconut oil or other non-flavored oil. sprinkle with flour. Set aside.
- Make vegan buttermilk by combining the vinegar and almond milk. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Cream together for 5 minutes (see notes in post above).
- Add in the lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat together again.
- Add in applesauce in four parts, beating just until combined after each.
- Sift in your flour. Beat again just until combined.
- Add in baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat just until combined.
- Pour lemon pound cake mixture into the greased pan and twist the pan a few times (see video) to even out the cake.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, testing the middle of the cake with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. *Make syrup and glaze while cake bakes.
- Remove from oven. Let cool to touch.
- Flip out onto a cake stand.
- Carefully and slowly pour the lemon syrup all around. Wait 5 minutes.
- Pour on the lemon glaze.
- Serve immediately or cover and eat within 3 days.
For the Lemon Syrup
- In a small pot over medium low heat, add in sugar and lemon juice. Stir together. Continue to stir for 5-10 minutes until it has started to thicken. Remove from heat and let thicken into a maple syrup like consistency while cake finishes baking.
For the Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon extract together until very very combined. If it’s too thick to pour, squeeze a tiny bit more lemon juice into the bowl.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Pin this Dairy Free Lemon Pound Cake for later:
I’ve made this cake several times successfully and it is so good. Very similar to make. I’m going to try it this time and omit the lemon just make it plain and top it with pecan praline sauce. I hope it works out.
Oh awesome, so glad you’re enjoyed the recipe! Would love to hear how it turns out for your if you omit the lemon
Very delicious! Decided to make this cake for my wedding and I followed the recipe to the T and it came out PERFECTLY. 5 stars!!!!
We’re so excited to hear that it was a hit! Happy wedding day!!!! Thanks for taking time to leave a review, we really appreciate that. Have a great week!
I love the taste of fresh lemons, so I knew this would be a hit. No disappointments here. It was absolutely fantastic. Everything came together so well, and the lemon flavor does not sucker punch you in the gut. Sure, it’s lemony, but it does not leave your lips permanently formed into a duck’s beak. One thing I would suggest when making the glaze is to add about a 1/2 tsp of oat milk to make it thinner to run instead of too thick to lather onto the cake. This minor adjustment would also make the glaze a little creamier too which is always a bonus. I meant to take a picture of the final product, but I was too eager to dive into it, so there’s that. Nice recipe! I will make this again in the future. Thanks!
We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for leaving a review! We really appreciate that.
I love the taste of fresh lemons, so I knew this would be a hit. No disappointments here. It was absolutely fantastic. Everything came together so well, and the lemon flavor does not sucker punch you in the gut. Sure, it’s lemony, but it does not leave your lips permanently formed into a duck’s beak. One thing I would suggest when making the glaze is to add about a 1/2 tsp of oat milk to make it thinner to run instead of too thick to lather onto the cake. This minor adjustment would also make the glaze a little creamier too which is always a bonus. I meant to take a picture of the final product, but I was too eager to dive into it, so there’s that. Nice recipe! I will mKe this again in the future. Thanks!
We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for leaving a review! We really appreciate that.
It was a success!!!! This cake was so delicious! I’ve been trying to make a vegan pound cake for three years and this has been the first time is has turned out! Thank you! I can’t wait to try your other recipes!!
We’re so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking time out of your day to leave a review!
Every year I try to make a pound cake. I’m about to give this one a try. Wish me luck! One of my concerns is that I have aluminum free baking powder so I’m trying to see if there’s a difference with measurements and I see the person above’s cake came out in clumps, that happened with mine last year! 😫 I’m going to watch the video for the fifth time and say a prayer.
Sorry we just saw this one too but we’re so happy to hear it worked!
I can’t wait to try it. How much salt do you use? Thank you!
Sorry about that, it’s 1 tsp. Recipe updated