Vegan Lemon Loaf Recipe

Lemons are vegan, so let's make a vegan lemon load that is sweet and tart all at the same time. 

PHOTO: A piece of freshly cut vegan lemon loaf that is full of lemon-y syrup that makes this dessert sweet and tart.

Well, I think we succeeded in our first week’s challenge with our Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe. 

Have you tried it?

What did you think?

I will say the chocolate cake we ended up with was a bit more like a brownie so we might try a chocolate drizzle rather than the full frosting next time as it was quite rich but very yummy nonetheless.

Who knew that flax seeds could help keep a cake moist and delicious? 

Well, we did, but now you do too. 

You could also even try using this weeks egg substitute in that cake mix as it would work nicely as well.

I can hear some of you now asking what is this week’s challenge...

Well as mentioned above the Marvellous Mrs Penny Martin gave us the baking challenge of making her world-famous “Very Lemony Lemon Loaf” and boy is there is a lot of lemons in this one.

Good thing lemons are vegan!

I particularly love lemon flavoured things, my husband, not so much, but let’s see how we do. 

PHOTO: A ton of lemon zest is going to be needed for this vegan lemon loaf recipe. You'll need to prepare this in advance.

The original recipe calls for the following animal-based products:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • Buttermilk

This time I don’t think we are going to use the same egg substitution because I want to show how many different options there actually are. So, for this recipe we want to use something that will help keep the moistness of the loaf and not affect the flavour too much, so we decided on unsweetened apple sauce. Yum! You can use 1/4 cup of apple sauce for each egg in your recipe. It’s really simple.

Vegan Vacation’s Tip - You can use sweetened apple sauce in a pinch, just remember to lower the amount of sugar you add to the mix as you won’t need as much.

For the buttermilk, we are using plant-based milk along with 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar, which you should mix together before you start anything else so it can become vegan buttermilk. I chose apple cider vinegar because we already have a lot of lemons in this recipe, but you could use a tsp of that instead if you prefer.

PHOTO: The vegan butter and sugar being creamed together in the stand mixer is what makes this loaf moist and fluffy.

Here is our recipe:

Loaf Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar  (Divided - 2 cups  and 1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6 to 8 large lemons)
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (Divided - 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup)
  • 3/4 cup vegan buttermilk, at room temperature (add 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar to your plant milk)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze Ingredients

  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

PHOTO: All the ingredients mise en place (get them measured and ready to use), as our teacher Penny would tell us to do.

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Mix your vegan buttermilk together, set aside.
  3. Grease 2 loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.   
  4. Cream the sticks of vegan butter along with 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand-mixer), until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. 
  5. With the mixer on ‘medium’ speed, add the apple sauce, 1/2 at a time, and the lemon zest. PENNY’S TIP: Sprinkle your lemon zest into the mix rather than dump it as it will blend nicer and give the whole loaf a lemon flavour.
  6. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. 
  7. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, the vegan buttermilk, and vanilla. 
  8. Add the flour and vegan buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. 
  9. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops.
  10. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.
  11. Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan
  12. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool slightly.
  13. When the loaves are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes. 
  14. Remove the loaves from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; 
  15. Poke holes in tops with a wooden skewer or whatever you think would work and spoon the lemon syrup over the loaves.   
  16. Allow the loaves to cool completely.
  17. For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. 
  18. Pour over the tops of the loaves and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

PHOTO: Two vegan lemon loaves cooling after being drizzled in the lemon glaze.

These loaves were absolutely amazing and were lip-puckering-ly lemon-y for sure. I am actually really excited to now have this vegan version in my rotation of desserts I bring over to my friend's houses for dinners and gatherings…Did you hear that?

I bring food when invited to places…free fooooood…lol

Have a wonderful day everyone and remember that #blacklivesmatter!

Vegan Vacations is 100% vegan owned and operated. As a Vegan Travel Agent supporting vegan travellers all across North America, we make Plant-based vacations a reality.