This Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Pound Cake is easy to make, seriously moist and perfectly tangy! It's the perfect simple dessert that will suit a range of occasions.

Photo of a sliced white pound cake with two slices

Why you'll love this Lemon Pound Cake

This Lemon Pound Cake makes a great dessert, but can also be enjoyed as a snack, brunch or even breakfast. It's also refined sugar free and a relatively healthy version of the traditional cake. The recipe comes together easily, requiring just one bowl and simple ingredients.

Photo of yellow cake batter in a glass mixing bowl taken from above

The recipe is similar to my Lemon Drizzle Cake, but it’s made with a special ingredient. I've been using plant-based yogurt in desserts recently, and, as traditional Lemon Pound Cake sometimes contains sour cream or yogurt, I decided to add plant-based yogurt to the batter. This worked beautifully, and the yogurt serves two purposes:

it keeps the cake super moist and creates a beautifully dense crumb
it adds the best tangy flavour.

Photo of raw cake batter in a silver loaf tin against a white background

Photo of a golden brown pound cake in a silver loaf tin against a white background

Substitutions you can make to the recipe

The recipe is versatile and there are a number of substitutions you can make:

you can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
you can use any type of plant-based yogurt: almond, soy, cashew or coconut yogurt all work well
if you can't find plant-based yogurt, you can substitute it with any type of plant-based milk, or use an equivalent amount of blended up silken tofu
you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc
you can substitute the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground walnuts
for a nut-free version: substitute the ground almonds (almond meal/almond flour) with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds
you can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.

Photo of a golden brown pound cake topped with lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary on top of brown baking paper

TIPS FOR MAKING THIS LEMON Pound CAKE

Make sure to use the right amount of baking powder – 2 heaped teaspoons! Use too little baking powder and your sponge won’t be fluffy, too much and it’ll have a bitter taste.
Make sure to use an all-purpose shop-bought gluten-free flour blend (or a homemade gluten-free flour blend), as opposed to just using any type of gluten-free flour you can find (such as almond flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour etc).

Tips for baking with lemons

For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.

Photo of a golden brown pound cake topped with lemon slices with two white slices of cake next to it on top of brown baking paper

Equipment you'll need to make this Lemon Pound Cake:

glass mixing bowl – for mixing the cake batter
measuring jug – for measuring out the plant-based yogurt
one-pound loaf tin - for baking the cake
baking paper - for lining the loaf tin
cooling rack - for leaving the cake to cool down on once out of the oven

Photo of sliced white pound cake topped with lemon slices with two slices in front of it

How long does this Lemon Pound Cake keep for?

This Lemon Pound Cake keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days - it's best reheated in the toaster!

More vegan lemon desserts:

Two slices of white cake on a white plate with lemon slices and a sprig of rosemary

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 #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

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