This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is:
- moist and fluffy
- sweet and tangy
- super easy to make!
As my Lemon Drizzle Cake is one of the most popular baking recipes I’ve posted, I decided to make more lemon dessert recipes, and this Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is my answer!
MY LATEST VIDEOSThe cake is made using my go-to vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free sponge recipe: it comes together easily in one bowl, uses familiar ingredients and it’s super versatile too. The coconut oil can be substituted for vegetable or olive oil, the maple syrup can be substituted for any other liquid sweetener such as agave or brown rice syrup, and you can use any type of plant-based milk.
I decided to bake this Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake in mini loaf cases because I thought they were cute, but there are other options too. Instead of mini loaves, you can also make these into:
- cupcakes – makes around 12 cupcakes, use a
muffin/cupcake tin and cook for around 15 minutes - one large cake – use a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin, and cook for around 30 minutes
The sweet tanginess of the citrusy sponge goes so well with the nutty poppy seeds. I decided to add a lemon drizzle syrup for extra moistness, sweetness and lemon flavour!
The syrup is refined sugar free and low-maintenance too, as it doesn’t require any cooking and you can quickly mix it together whilst you’re waiting for the cake to bake in the oven. It’s important to pour the syrup over the cake whilst it’s still warm from the oven, because that’s the best way for it to be absorbed.
This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed cake is so versatile as it’s great for breakfast, brunch, dessert or a snack. It also works well for lots of events like Easter, Mother’s Day and baby showers!
For more lemon cakes, check out my:
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake:
glass mixing bowl
measuring jug
This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake is moist and fluffy, sweet and tangy and super easy to make!
- 60 g (1/4 cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 200 ml (4/5 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 150 g (1 1/4 cups) ground almonds* (almond meal)
- 150 g (1 1/4 cups) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking power (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, vanilla, salt, poppy seeds and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
- Mix well, adding a tiny splash more milk if it’s looking too dry
Transfer mixture into mini loaf tins**
- Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Whilst the cake it baking, mix together the lemon juice and maple syrup
- Drizzle it over the cake as soon as it's out of the oven - it will soak into the cake better when it's hot
- Be sure to wait for the cake to cool completely before cutting
- This cake tasted best eaten on the day it was made, and leftovers taste best reheated in a dry frying pan or the microwave
*You can alternatively use 
almond flour
**Instead of mini loaves, you can also make these into:
- cupcakes - makes around 12 cupcakes, use a muffin/cupcake tin and cook for around 15 minutes
- one large cake - use a 18cm / 7 inch springform baking tin, and cook for around 30 minutes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Aran
Poppy seeds are an inspiration! Lovely recipe 🙂
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Ros
This cake looks lovely, I can’t wait to make it tomorrow
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, hope you’ll love it!
Brenda
ooooo delicious!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!
Shara
Would I be able to replace the almond flour with a gluten free flour blend?
Thanks!
Rhian Williams
Hi! No sorry that won’t work – you can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts or sunflower seeds. Hope that helps!
elisabeth
hi rhian,
i’d like to try your recipe. it sounds delicious. should the poppy seeds be ground or whole? and what do you suggest for the flour? i have flaxseed, cocoa, chestnut and tigernut flour. would any of these be suitable?
kind regards,
elisabeth
Rhian Williams
Hello! Thank you! The poppy seeds should be whole. I use a gluten-free flour blend from Dove’s Farm. I’m not sure about flaxseed, cocoa, chestnut or tiger nut flour, but if you don’t want to use a shop-bought gluten-free flour blend you can substitute the gluten-free flour blend with half rice flour and half buckwheat flour. Hope that helps!
elisabeth
hi rhian,
thanks for suggesting an alternative. i tried it out with rice- and buckwheat flour and it came out deliciously. i made muffins, the backing time was about 25 min. will definitely make this recipe again!
cheers,
elisabeth
Rhian Williams
Hi Elisabeth, really happy to hear that. Thank you so much!
Marco
Hello Rihan, my wife made these last week in muffin format and they were mindblowingly delicious!!! The texture was fluffy and just moist enough and the flavour… so delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will soon try to adapt it to make a version with no nuts in it, as I have an intolerance and it’s better if I don’t eat then. Cheers 😊
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that. Thank you for taking the time to share!! 🙂
Shira
Hey Rihan, thanks for the lovely recipe. Does this freeze well? Say I bake it minus 10 minutes and freeze and when ready to eat the frozen ones just bake for another 10-15 minutes?
Rhian Williams
Hi – yes it should freeze well! I would recommend baking it for the recommended time and then freezing, and baking in the oven again. Shouldn’t be a problem!
I irma
Hi
Very happy to find your recipes. Can you please let me know what you mean gf flour blend? I have gf flour however it doesn’t say blend on it. Assume it should just wheat without the gluten , very white and noisy to touch
Thanks
Rhian Williams
Yes normal gluten-free flour – I use Doves Farm plain gluten-free flour! Sorry if that wasn’t clear.
Anonymous
Will this work without the poppy seeds?
Rhian Williams
Yes!
Angela
What is the difference between baking powder and bi-carbonate soda ? Is the gluten free flour plain?
Rhian Williams
Bicarbonate of soda is also known as baking soda, and it serves a different purpose to baking powder in this recipe. The baking powder is for making the sponge rise, whilst the bicarbonate of soda is alkali, so reacts with the acidic vinegar to produce fluffiness. And yes plain gluten-free flour.
Joanne
Hi Do you know how many calories it would be for each cupcake? Thank you x
Rhian Williams
Hi! It’s 92 calories per cupcake if you make 12 cupcakes!
Anne
Just made these – I made two mini loaves and 4 doughnuts. Halved the maple syrup. DELICIOUS! My question is, what’s the best way to store these if not eaten immediately in one day? Air tight container on the counter? Fridge? Thank you!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much! Either an air tight container or the fridge is fine – depends how long you plan to store them for and how hot it is where you live. If it’s not too hot and you plan on finishing them the next day, an air tight container on the counter is fine, otherwise I’d recommend keeping them in the fridge. Hope that helps!
Joy
Is there another sugar substitute I can use for diabetics?
Rhian Williams
What do you usually use as a sugar substitute for diabetics? If the sweetener is liquid, it should work fine to just substitute that for the maple syrup. Hope that helps!
Rawan
Hello. I would love to make this recipe but have only spelt flour, buckwheat flour and wholewheat flour. Would any of these work? Thank you
Rhian Williams
Thank you! Spelt, buckwheat or whole-wheat flour all work in place of gluten-free flour. But you’ll still need to use the ground almonds! Hope that helps!