You can not teach someone to love, you must show them.
Finnish Saying
This simple, one-bowl, Vegan Lemon Bundt Cake recipe is incredibly EASY to make and oh so delicious! My husband Brian actually made this for me on my birthday, and if he can do it, I know you can do it – it is that easy! It’s a one-bowl recipe; just stir, pour, and bake. Using Meyer lemons adds specialness, but regular old lemons are great too.
Coconut milk gives it a decadent richness that I love. It’s a light and flavorful cake perfect for special occasions and holiday tables. Serve with the lemony glaze, top with fresh berries or toasted coconut if you like, or sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Vegan Lemon Bundt Cake | 60-sec video
Lately, I have been receiving all sorts of gifts. Words filled with wisdom, chance encounters, and simple acts of kindness have left me feeling humbled. Gestures so unexpected and thoughtful they reach straight to my heart and squeeze.
I have been thinking about this lately, how the smallest gestures can make the biggest impact in our day and in our lives. I admit I am not always good at this. But all around me, examples keep pouring in, of how to be better, of how to love better.
When I was growing up, there was this magnet on our fridge that lived in the same spot for probably 30 years. My mom put it there after a trip to Finland. It is a Finnish saying…
I cannot tell you how many times I have looked at this without actually seeing it. A few years ago when I was helping my mom pack up and move here, I finally asked her what it meant. She translated it to: You can not teach someone to love, you must show them.
Sometimes lessons are born of suffering. These always get our attention, don’t they? Learn this now… or you will suffer more. HA!
More recipes you may like
- Meyer Lemon Cake with Pistachios
- Huckleberry Cake – Vegan adaptable
- Vegan Cranberry Cake
- Homemade Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Breakfast Cake
- Berry Trifles w/ Lemon Cake & Coconut Whipped Cream
- Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake with Blood Oranges
Vegan Lemon Cake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 10–12 1x
- Category: Vegan Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Northwest
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A one-bowl recipe for vegan lemon bundt cake with toasted coconut, topped with a lemon glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk ( 13.5–14 oz) (or sub 1 1/4 cups yogurt or sourcream)
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest, don’t skimp
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (3-4 Meyer lemons) or use regular lemons
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (or sub Bob’s Red Mill GF flour blend)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut or flaked coconut, lightly toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350F
- In a large bowl mix (or stand mixer) whisk sugar, oil, coconut milk, lemon juice, zest, and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda mixing in batches. Mix well after each addition. Add salt and shredded coconut. Stir.
- Grease and flour a bunt pan, really well, and pour the mixture in.
- Bake 1 hour or until a toothpick comes at clean and internal temp reaches 200F. (You could also make these into cupcakes, filling 2/3- 3/4 full and baking for 20-25 mins ). Cupcakes will bake faster – in either case, check by inserting a skewer or toothpick, if it comes out clean, it’s done.
- While it’s baking make this Lemon Glaze.
- Let the cake cool 20-30 mintues before inverting. Carefully slide a thin knife gently down the sides to loosen. Invert the bundt cake by placing a big plate (or cake plate) over the bundt cake then invert both. Firmly tap the bottom of the bundt pan a few times, to release.
- Drizzle the top of the cake with the lemon glaze. Sprinkle with toasted coconut before the glaze sets so the coconut sticks- or use powdered sugar if you like.
- Store the cake a room temp, lightly covered for up to four days on the kitchen counter. Or freeze.
Notes
This recipe was originally from Epicurean Vegan- who got it from Veganomics- with some slight changes. You can swap out the coconut milk for whole milk yogurt or sour cream– not vegan.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 416
- Sugar: 33.4 g
- Sodium: 364.9 mg
- Fat: 19.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.7 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
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My new favorite cake!
I have allergies to coconut. Do you think it would be ok to use oat milk instead of the coconut cream and leave out the shredded coconut?
I haven’t tried replacing it, so not sure how it would turn out. My fear is that it would stick to the bundt pan. It might need more “fat” than oat milk, so maybe up the oil.
Made this with regular lemons and it turned out lovely! Thank you for the recipe!
I made this cake with my meyer lemons and after 24 hours, it is gone! Everyone loved it. One small change is that I subbed a can of coconut cream for the coconut milk. It wasn’t intentional. It’s what I had at the moment and it turned out fine. So moist and dense. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe and the story.
Haha! Love it.
I swapped the sugar with 1 1/4 cup pure maple syrup and the olive oil with sunflower oil, came out delicious! Wonderful flavors and so moist!
Thank you!
this was sweet enough for me without the glaze so I left it out. I also used orange zest because I didn’t have fresh lemons and I love that extra orange kick it added. This is a perfect lemon bundt cake and I will definitely make it again.
Hi what if I only have sweetened coconut, will that work? And I adjust the sugar?
Thanks
Hi, haven’t tried this with sweetened, so am not positive, but I bet it would work. I would keep the sugar the same, or just slightly less.
Can i replace the coconut milk with regular milk? I really really want to make this recipe!
Hi Angela, I haven’t tried this with regular milk. Coconut milk is much thicker with a higher fat content, so not sure how well regular milk would work??
Can I make ahead and freeze before glazing?
I have tried freezing this, but. I don’t see why not.
SUPERB! I used an ornate bundt pan twice. The cake did not release as clean as I hoped. Next time I will use a simpler pan or cuocakes. It really was delicious!
Can you use lemon extract instead of juice?
I think it may affect the recipe, liquid ratio-wise.
Hi – can this be made with maple syrup instead of sugar? If so, how much would you use? Thank you. This looks really good and I’d love to make it (I also like your sweet story above).
Hi Ana- it probably could but all the ratios would change and I’m afraid your cake would not turn out without some major tweaking.
I made this for my sons friend, who is vegan, and is heading off to college. I made the cupcake version (saved a few for my family) and they were delicious! I already had all of the ingredients in my pantry and the recipe was super easy to make. Whenever I tell my family I am making one of Sylvia’s recipes they know it’s going to be yummy:)
Thanks Sylvia. Your recipes never disappoint!
Awesome! Glad you liked this! 🙌
The best cake ever. Made it for my daughter’s birthday. The whole family loved it and it was so easy. Thank you so much for your receipes. I have tried some of the others and they are wonderful and so healthy. I don’t post anything.
thanks so much Nancy- glad you enjoyed it and really appreciate you commenting. 🙂
I made this but omitted the shredded coconut. My cake did not rise much and tasted a bit flat – the batter tasted great and lemony, but the cake was pretty bland. Could the omission of coconut have impacted the rise, or did something else go wrong? is there a reason the flavor didn’t pop out after baking?
The coconut really helps the flavor. Is it possible you left out the salt?
I’m not much of a baker, so I am wondering if I can replace one cup of all purpose flour with whole wheat pastry?
yes!
Could I use avocado oil instead?
Yes, it would work… would you be ok with the flavor?
This cake looks so good but I’ve tried it twice exactly like this recipe and both times came out really bad, the first time the outer layer came out super hard and the inside really sweet, almost made my teeth ache. The second time I tried less sugar but again the outer layer came out super hard and the inside almost raw. Not sure what’s bro working
Hummmmm. Sorry about that. Something is not right- the cake should not be overly sweet? What kind of sugar are you using?
I had the same result as Yolanda. I’ve read the recipe million times. Can’t figure out what went wrong. I made cupcakes . The middle of the cupcakes flopped and was like pudding. The outer layer was hard. What acts as a binder in this recipe? Am I suppose to use an egg replacer ?
Hi sorry about that. So frustrating. There is no egg placer here – just baking soda and baking powder. Sometimes (rarely though) these can lose their “lift” if old? Also wondering, could it be an oven temp problem? An overly hot oven?
Wow just made this and it’s delicious! I was worried as I was adding all that olive oil to the batter that it would taste olive oily but it bakes really well with the fresh lemon juice. And I just used regular lemons. Can’t wait to serve it to friends tonight!
Excellent! I made with regular lemons and I drizzled with coconut icing to emphasize the coconut in the cake. Super moist and tender. I’ll be making this again for sure.
Perfect!
Made this tonight as cupcakes, so light, fluffy, moist and yummy! Thanks for the recipe
Love this recipe I am making it for a colleagues birthday tomorrow. I must have made it a dozen times. Always comes out really well. I love to drizzle lemony icing over it. Great cake for transporting into work too 🙂
I can only find ‘normal’ lemons but they work too
They do work too! Glad you like this!
Can you replace the all purpoe flour with other type of flour?
I haven’t tried this…has anyone else out there used a GF flour blend?
Absolutely delicious! Made it with GF flour and turned out great! It was a bit dry, but still yummy!
Had extra Meyer lemons on hand and was on the hunt for an egg- and dairy-free recipe. Thanks for this!! I think mine was a tad underbaked, even after an hour and a few minutes, but only a bit of the cake stuck to the pan. Taste is phenomenal. If I want to store it, is airtight container at room temperature okay?
Yes, that is perfect!
This is my most favorite cake. Whomever I serve this cake to, they love it.
Wonder if it would work as muffins.
Im so glad you like this- yes, I’ ve made them as muffins ( using muffin liner papers) and they work great!