One Bowl Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
Moist, soft, and buttery vegan lemon poppy seed cake that’s made with just a bowl and a whisk! Based off of my classic vegan vanilla sheet cake, this lemon poppy seed cake is bursting with bright citrus and nutty sweet almond flavor, and topped with the silkiest vegan cream cheese frosting! Easily made gluten free too!
One of my favorite flavors of late winter and early spring is lemon. It’s like sunshine bursting through the clouds on a dreary day.
We have some amazing vegan lemon recipes on the blog and in my cookbook already, including vegan lemon pound cake, gluten free vegan lemon cake with cream cheese frosting, vegan lemon poppy seed muffins, and this amazing vegan lemon blueberry cake.
But now let me introduce you to the EASIEST recipe of them all (and truly amazingly flavorful!): the vegan lemon poppy seed sheet cake!
Why you’ll love this unbelievably vegan lemon poppy seed sheet cake:
- This lemon poppy seed cake is BEYOND easy! You only need a bowl and whisk- not even a hand mixer!! How amazing is that?! I wanted to make it as easy as my small chocolate cake and small vanilla cake, and that’s what we achieved. Just pour the batter into an 8×8 cake pan and bake!
- Unbelievably soft & fluffy texture: When I tell you this lemon cake has the ultimate light and tender crumb…I mean, it’s buttery, sweet, soft, and melts in your mouth. The crumb is tight yet soft and airy, leaving you feel lifted rather than weighed down. It’s a dream combination. Then the citrus zest just bursts through and is complemented by the almond notes and sweetness from the vanilla and sugar. This vegan lemon poppy seed cake is just a dream!
- Simple in ingredients: You don’t need any eggs nor dairy to make this lemon poppy seed cake. In fact, you don’t even need any special vegan egg substitutes. We’re just using dairy free yogurt, which is easy to come by! After that, the remaining ingredients are super familiar too: flour, sugar, vegan butter (melted and not room temperature!), and lemon! How simple, right?
- No need to layer! I wanted this lemon poppy seed cake to be straight forward: you bake then frost! No need to assemble into a layer cake (although I do love my layer cakes!). This vegan lemon poppy seed cake is more of a snack cake- smaller than a sheet cake but still just as easy (and transportable!). This lemon poppy seed cake is perfect for Mother’s Day brunch, Easter, bridal showers, baby showers, or any summer or spring get together!
Lemon poppy seed cake components:
The lemon poppy seed cake: What an actual dream this lemon poppy seed cake is! Full of vibrant lemon and that crunch from the poppy seeds. It’s like the perfect blend of my lemon pound cake and lemon poppy seed muffins in one! The cake texture is light and tender, with the perfect tight yet fluffy and soft crumb. And the flavor throughout is a dream: tangy but beautifully sweet with a lightness from the vanilla and a hint of nuttiness from the almond extract. You’ll want to go back bite after bite!
The almond cream cheese frosting: This might be my favorite pairing of cream cheese frosting (aside from this peanut butter cream cheese frosting!). The almond extract’s sweet nuttiness pairs so well with the tang of the cream cheese. And because cream cheese frosting is a bit softer, it makes a wonderful frosting to top a sheet cake or snack cake with.
The decorations: I kept my lemon poppy seed cake super simple- just a sprinkling of poppy seeds and lemon slices (which leak some lemon juice onto the frosting, and give it even more flavor!). You can also top with candied lemon slices or peels, or edible flowers. The perfect spring cake decorations in my opinion!
Overview: How to easily make a vegan lemon poppy seed cake (step by step photos)
Almond Cream Cheese Frosting Substitutes:
I personally think the almond cream cheese frosting totally makes this lemon poppy seed cake. It’s a bit more versatile than just plain vegan cream cheese frosting. However, you can absolutely go that route if you’d like!
If you’re not up for a cream cheese frosting, you can also sub in my classic vegan buttercream. That will also taste really lovely, since you have the tang from the lemon cake! This vegan strawberry frosting would be another great option too 🙂
Can I make this lemon poppy seed cake gluten free?
Absolutely! Like most of my cake recipes, I love to offer a gluten free option if the cake isn’t already naturally gluten free. For this cake, I used King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free baking flour. It’s amazing, and really does the trick.
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One Bowl Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake with Almond Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Moist, soft, and buttery vegan lemon poppy seed cake that’s made with just a bowl and a whisk! Based off of my classic vegan vanilla sheet cake, this lemon poppy seed cake is bursting with bright citrus and nutty sweet almond flavor, and topped with the silkiest vegan cream cheese frosting! Easily made gluten free too!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) dairy free milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) lemon juice
- 1 3/4 cup (360 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon zest, from 1 lemon
- 1 cup (225 g) salted vegan butter (I recommend Miyoko’s or Flora Plant butter), melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup (240 g) unsweetened applesauce or dairy free yogurt, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 1 tsp lemon extract (optional, for enhanced flavor)
- 3 3/4 (450 g) cups all-purpose flour (or gluten free 1:1 baking flour + 1 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch)
- 1 1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 batch vegan cream cheese frosting
- Optional: Add in 1 tsp almond extract to the cream cheese frosting
- Optional toppings: more poppy seeds, vegan lemon curd, candied lemon peels
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9×9 square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the vegan butter, sugar, lemon zest, dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract, and optional almond and lemon extracts. Add in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt, and slowly pour in the dairy free milk, followed by the lemon juice as you whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. Whisk JUST until the flour is combined, then add in the poppy seeds and whisk throughout the batter.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and bake for 37-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool: Remove the lemon poppy seed cake from the oven, and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool COMPLETELY before frosting.
- Make the cream cheese frosting: Make the cream cheese frosting according to instructions, and add in the almond extract if desired.
- Decorate: Frost the cooled lemon poppy seed cake, and sprinkle more poppy seeds on top, as well as candied lemon peels and edible flowers if desired. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Gluten free: I really only recommend using King Arthur Measure-for-Measure Gluten Free Flour or a similar blend with xanthan gum that also weighs 125 g per cup. Please note that Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF Flour will NOT work here.
Keywords: vegan lemon poppy seed cake, lemon poppy seed sheet cake, lemon snack cake, vegan lemon cake
Is there supposed to be that much baking powder? It seems like alot ?? Also is the extra cornstarch/arrowroot for additional binding even with the regular flour? Thanks 🙏
Hi Melissa! The cornstarch can be omitted if you don’t want it- it’s just to add a more cake-flour-like texture, but that’s still achieved without it! And yes to the baking powder!
Hi there Britt! I’m looking forward to making this recipe! I’m only freaking out about the amount of sugar! Would it still work if I cut it back a lot? Would I need to put more of the other ingredients in to balance the consistency of the cake?
Thank you! ✨
Hi Simone! Not a problem at all! You can cut back a little- if you wanted to do 1 1/2 cups (300 g) that would work too!
How long does it stay good? Can I store it in the fridge?
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Hi Cat! It’ll stay good for about 4-5 days in the fridge 🙂 Just make sure to wrap it tightly so it doesn’t dry out!
Looks amazing… I might just make this recipe tonight!!
Could I use regular cream cheese and butter if I don’t have vegan on hand?
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Hi Raven! Aw thank you! Yes, you can 🙂
I love all your recipes! this sounds and looks delicious! I would like to make it into a layered cake. is it too heavy to do that?
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Hi Karen! Aw thank you! You absolutely could with this recipe- I would make it 1.5x times to yield a 8″ three layer cake!
Hello! I’d like to try and make this, this morning! I only have regular Greek yogurt at home and applesauce. Could it work even if it’s not dairy free?
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Hi Shannon! Yes you can 🙂 I personally haven’t tried it, but I know other readers swap in dairy products to my recipes all the time with great success!
Made this for Easter and I’m obsessed. It’s the best cake I’ve had since being gluten, egg + dairy free. Thank you!
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This is so wonderful!! Thanks so much for sharing this 🙂 Enjoy!!
hey!how do u make the cream cheese frosting i’m sorta confused, where are the instructions?x
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Hi Isabella! The cream cheese instructions are linked in the ingredients section 🙂 Click “vegan cream cheese” and it will lead you to the instructions for the cream cheese!
I’m thinking I want to add blueberries to this – could I simply mix them in or would you adjust the recipe at all to accommodate?
Yes absolutely! I would add a tbsp of flour to the blueberries to prevent them from sinking, and then you might need to adjust the baking time to be a bit longer, but still check how it’s doing at around the usual baking time!
This cake has amazing flavor. The batter made far too much for an 8×8 so next time I would use a larger pan. I had about 2 cups of leftover batter, and even still, I had to cook the cake for about an hour because it was so thick. When I cut the cake it sort of fell apart because it was so soft and delicate. I did not make this vegan. I would make this again with a change in pan size.
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Hi Angela! So glad you loved the cake 🙂 I did note that the pan size is 9×9, not 8×8 so that would account for the overflow! But so glad you loved the texture, I’m thinking it might have been the pan size and not using vegan ingredients that could have altered it a bit though. Let me know if you re try it! Thanks again for the review!
I made this today and it turned out so incredible!
I followed the exact recipe and used oat flour (3 cups oat, 3/4 wheat), and coconut yogurt. We all loved it!
I will freeze half of it and see how it goes.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Greetings from Amsterdam.
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