An easy recipe for vegan Lemon and Thyme Cake. Make this lusciously lemony loaf with herbs picked straight from the garden and eat it with a cup of Earl Grey and a lemon slice for a perfect English afternoon tea.

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Lemon and Thyme Cake is topped with lemon and thyme glace icing, slices of lemon and sprigs of thyme. It is lying on a dark wood board with a whole lemon to its left.

Baking With Herbs

I love having herbs planted right outside my kitchen window, ready to be snipped, chopped and thrown into whatever I have cooking, they add instant flavour and depth and the smell of them is guaranteed to draw my family to my side.

Some of them, like mint, basil, lavender, rosemary and thyme, are just as happy in a sweet dish or aromatic cake as they are in a savoury. 

For this lemon loaf cake, I used Common English Garden Thyme which is the one most readily available in supermarkets but any culinary thyme will do: lemon thyme would obviously be very pleasing!

You could also use lemon balm or lemon verbena if you have those to hand.

A slice of lemon and thyme cake on a white plate. There are white and blue tea cups in the background.

Why We Love This Dairy and Egg Free Lemon Cake

This is one of those family workhorse recipes, it tastes great on day one and it stores well for at least 3 or 4 days in a cake tin.

It travels well so will happily join us for a picnic or in a packed lunch and it just tastes bloomin’ delicious!

It has appeared on the table at family gatherings and at birthday parties, for celebrations and commiserations.

It is great for the good days and the sad days and it is absolutely fabulous with a big mug of tea. 

A slice of lemon and thyme cake on a white plate. There is a cup of tea to its left and the rest of the cake on a board in the background.

Notes About Ingredients

For this recipe you will need:

The ingredients for Lemon and Thyme Cake are laid out on a table and labelled. 

  • You can easily replace the thyme with the same quantity of rosemary for a lemon rosemary cake. Lavender is also an excellent alternative.
  • If you don’t grow fresh herbs and you buy a bunch from the supermarket, freeze the leftovers in plastic bags to use as needed. Herbs freeze really well!
  • Or use any leftover thyme to make some Savoury Scones, Soda Bread with Fresh Herbs, add to Soup or Stew or sprinkle some on a Savoury Tart.
  • The icing isn’t absolutely necessary but its herby, lemony flavour does add mouth appeal – even my icing haters love this one! 

Recipe Tips and Tricks

This is a very uncomplicated cake but these tips will make it even more straightforward to bake.

  • Make sure your baking tin is greased and lined to ensure easy removal. I had run out of baking parchment but had some cake liners in the back of my baking cupboard – oh my word! Game changer! 

A lemon cake in a loaf tin lined with a premade cake liner.

  • Adding lemon juice to plant based milk makes a vegan buttermilk which reacts with the raising agents to ensure a good rise. Make sure you let the mixture sit for 5- 10 minutes until it is lumpy and you’re good to go!
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before icing it or the icing will just run away. For less mess place the cooled cake on a wire rack over a dish to catch the drips.

A cake being iced. It is sitting on a wire rack with a dish underneath it which is catching the drips.

Storing Lemon and Thyme Cake

This cake stores really well for 3 – 4 days in an airtight tine. It also freezes well, without icing, for about a month in a suitable container.

More Vegan Bakes For You

If you like this recipe you might also like to have a go at:

If you make my recipe I’d love to hear how it turns out for you. Please leave a comment and a star rating below and share your pictures with me on social media. Tag me @thinlyspread and include the hashtag #thinlyspread so I can see them!

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A slice of iced lemon loaf cake.

A slice of lemon and thyme cake on a white plate. There are white and blue tea cups in the background.

Lemon and Thyme Cake

This fresh dairy and egg-free lemon and thyme cake is perfect for Elevenses or for Afternoon Tea.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Baked Goods, Cake
Cuisine: English
Diet: Vegan
Keyword: easy lemon cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 10
Calories: 207kcal

Ingredients

For the Loaf Cake

  • 250 ml oat or soya milk
  • 25 ml lemon juice
  • 250 g self raising flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 125 g caster sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 100 ml vegetable oil
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme chopped
  • 1 lemon zest only

For the Icing

  • 125 g icing sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice You might not need all of it

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin.
  • Add the lemon juice to the milk and leave to stand for 10 minutes until curdled and lumpy.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together into a large bowl.
  • Add the caster sugar, lemon zest, chopped thyme and salt and stir to combine.
  • Add the oil and vanilla to the milk mixture and pour into the flour mixture. Fold in with a metal spoon until combined.
  • Spoon the mixture into your prepared tin, gently level the surface and bake for 30 – 40 minutes until golden brown. Test if it’s cooked by pushing a skewer into the centre, if it comes out clean it is ready.
  • Leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Once the cake is cool make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a small bowl and add the lemon juice a little at a time until you have a spooning consistency. Stir in the chopped thyme.
  • Place the cake on a wire rack over a tray. Spoon the icing over the cake and allow to drip down the sides. Leave to set for about an hour - if you can wait that long!

Notes

Nutritional information is only an approximate guideline. Calculations will vary according to the ingredients you use and your cooking methods.
Do read my post for additional tips and tricks to ensure a successful make!

Nutrition

Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg
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Updated January 2023. This is an updated and veganised version of my lemon thyme cake which first appeared here on Thinly Spread in 2016. I am gradually working through and rewriting my vegetarian recipes once I have created and tested a new vegan version. This picture was from the original post and I’m leaving it here because it is a snapshot of life in my kitchen over the years. 

I love the light in this picture, the shadows cast by my kitchen blind, the little hint of my spring apron hanging on the back of the door, my lovely cake tins waiting patiently for their occupants – hoorah for spring baking!

Lemon Thyme Cake cooling on a wire rack in the sunshine. Cake tins in a vintage 1930s cupboard are in the background.

 

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