Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
This cake was the second recipe we published on this blog many, many, many years ago. And for good reason, because Julia loves simple loaf cakes and this lemon poppy seed cake is a classic and all-time favorite. Nevertheless, after all these years, we have dared to adjust the recipe slightly. Don't worry, the recipe remains as simple as before, the ingredients are still easy to find in any supermarket and the icing can still be spread in a thick layer on top. And yes, if you don't like poppy seeds, you can leave them out and bake a simple lemon cake.
Lemon power level 4
Our recipe has become even more lemony and moist. This is due to our four ways to use lemon in this recipe: lemon zest and lemon juice are added to the batter first. After baking, we prick the cake a couple of times with a fork and brush it with a further layer of lemon juice – this makes the cake particularly moist. And the last round of lemon juice is then added to the icing, but if this is too much for you, you can also replace it with water.
Two more tips for baking before we start
Instead of mixing all the ingredients together at once, beat the margarine and sugar separately. This ensures a little more air in the batter and therefore a particularly fluffy cake. Important: We recommend using soft margarine instead of solid vegan butter for this step.
Do not overmix the batter: Some of you have commented below that your cake collapsed after baking. The reason for this is often that the batter has been overmixed. It is therefore better to use a whisk, dough scraper, or baking spoon when mixing the ingredients and leave the food processor or any other kitchen gadget to rest. This is the best way to see for yourself when there is no more dry flour visible and only stir in the poppy seeds briefly.
Fancy more loaf cakes? Then try our vegan marble cake, poppy seed and plum cake with crumble topping, orange olive oil cake with walnuts, peanut butter and chocolate chip loaf, hazelnut cake or our chai banana bread.
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 450 g (3.5 cups) wheat flour (type 405)
- 1.5 tbsp baking powder
- 1.5 tsp vanilla sugar
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 3 lemons (zest and juice)
- 200 g (1 cup) sugar
- 200 g (7 oz) plant-based margarine
- 200 ml (0.75 cup) plant-based milk
- 100 ml (0.5 cup) sparkling water
- 4 tbsp poppy seeds
For the icing:
- 250 g (2 cups) icing sugar
- approx. 3 tbsp water (or lemon juice)
Also:
- flour for dusting
- plant-based margarine for greasing
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 °C / 390 °F (top and bottom heat). In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar, salt and the zest of one lemon.
In another bowl, add margarine and sugar and beat until the mix is a bit lighter and fluffier. Add the mix to the flour bowl and stir to combine briefly.
Next, add the plant-based milk, sparkling water and about 60 milliliters (0.25 cup) of lemon juice. Set the remaining lemon juice aside – we will need it after baking. Mix the batter thoroughly but quickly and do not overmix for too long. Finally, stir in the poppy seeds briefly.
Grease a loaf pan with margarine and dust with a little flour to prevent the cake from sticking. Add the batter to the baking pan and bake at 200 °C / 390 °F (top and bottom heat) for approximately 60 minutes. After 15 minutes of baking, carefully score the upper side of the batter lengthways with a knife. This way you can help that the cake doesn’t tear at a random spot during baking, but in the center. After removing from the oven, prick the top of the cake several times with a fork and brush with more of the remaining lemon juice.
Tip: To check the cake for doneness, insert a wooden skewer at an angle into the cake and pull it out again. If there’s no dough sticking to it, the cake is ready. Leave to cool before removing from the loaf pan.
- For the icing, mix icing sugar with a bit of water (or lemon juice) to get a thick icing. When the cake has cooled completely, spread the icing on top and leave to dry briefly.
