This lemon poppy seed loaf cake with cream cheese glaze is the perfect spring treat! It has lots of citrusy flavor with fresh lemon juice and zest. Vegan friendly with gluten and refined sugar free options also included!
Spring is right around the corner, can you believe it?! I feel like we were just celebrating Christmas! Hey, I’ll take it though! I’m kind of over the dreary, cold weather and am excited to get outside again once the weather warms up a bit. My favorite part of the spring season is when all the pretty flowers begin blooming. It has me yearning for warm, sunny days and bright lemony flavored treats!
There’s just something about lemon that automatically makes me think of sunshine, which in turn, makes me happy! Basically, lemon treats bring happiness, so brighten your day with some of this lemon loaf cake! 😜
I testing this cake in several different ways. The first cake I made was free of dairy, gluten, eggs, and refined sugar, which tasted good, but it turned out more flat and a caramel-y brown color, since I used coconut sugar. I added eggs to the next batch, which made it rise much better, with a nice mound in the center of the loaf. In other batches I used all-purpose flour, organic cane sugar, and eggs, which produced the most fluffy cake with a pretty yellow color.Â
In subsequent batches, IÂ simply omitted the eggs and the cake was still fluffy and moist, but didn’t have the nice mound of the egg loafs. So if you are vegan or egg free, just omit the eggs, no need for flax eggs or other egg alternatives. The cake has enough moisture and flax eggs just made them soggy. If you feel the need to add a flax egg, just be sure to reduce the amount of milk you use by an equal amount. Using gluten-free flours, IÂ found that I needed less liquid, so it has it’s own recipe option below.Â
I also gave a couple of different glaze options, one using cream cheese and the other a simple powdered sugar glaze. It’s good either way, whatever your preference.
Let me know what you think if you give this cake a try! Be sure to share the love with your friends and family as well! Enjoy!Â
- ⅔ cup unsweetened plain or vanilla yogurt (I used non-dairy coconut yogurt)
- ½ cup milk of choice (I use almond milk)
- ⅓ cup oil of choice
- 2 eggs* (Helps loaf rise. Just omit if egg free)
- zest and juice of 2–3 medium lemons (about 2 tablespoons finely grated zest and ¼ cup juice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or lemon extract for more lemon flavor)
- ¾ cup pure cane sugar
or golden coconut sugar
**
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- glaze, options below
or 
**
- ⅔ cup unsweetened plain or vanilla yogurt (I used non-dairy coconut yogurt)
- ¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
- ¼ cup oil of choice (I use avocado or vegetable oil)
- 2 eggs* (Helps loaf rise. Just omit if egg free)
- zest and juice of 2–3 medium lemons (about 2 tablespoons finely grated zest and ¼ cup juice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or lemon extract for more lemon flavor)
- ¾ cup pure cane sugar
- 1 cup gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
)
- 1 cup super fine blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- glaze, options below
)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened (can use dairy-free)
- 2–3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
, use more or less to taste (can also use ¾â€“1 cup powdered sugar)
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, use more or less to taste (optional)
, use more or less to taste (can also use ¾â€“1 cup powdered sugar)- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, optional
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease the inside of a 9x3 loaf pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together wet ingredients—yogurt, milk, oil, eggs (if using. See notes.), lemon juice/zest, and vanilla. Stir in sugar, then add flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together just until dry ingredients are well combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and place into the oven on the middle rack. Baking time will vary, depending on your pan and oven. Begin checking cake at about 40–45 minutes, allowing for extra time if necessary. Can take up to 50–55 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from pan. Run a knife along the edge of the cake to help it come out of the pan easier. Top with glaze.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add maple syrup, lemon juice, and zest, then continue to beat until well combined. Add additional sweetener or juice to taste. If glaze isn't thin enough, you can mix in milk or water, a teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over warm cake.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk powdered sugar with lemon juice, and zest, until smooth. If glaze isn't thin enough, you can mix in milk or water, a teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle glaze over warm cake.
**Using coconut sugar makes the bread more of a brown/caramel color.
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