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.
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.
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.
Notes About Ingredients
For this recipe you will need:
- 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!
- 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.
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:
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Lemon and Thyme Cake
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
Nutrition
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!
What a lovely idea! I adore herbs and thyme goes so well with lemon, definitely going to give this recipe a try.
Thanks Janice 🙂
I love the idea of pairing herbs that are usually used in a savoury dish in a cake like this. Rosemary springs to mind also. I adore lemon thyme – so fragrant and can only imagine how this smells!! Yum!
Rosemary goes really well in chocolate cake, I love it – *wanders off to make one AT ONCE* 🙂
What a lovely flavour combination! I’m loving the sunshine on those pics, yay for summer and tasty cakes!
There is a spot in my kitchen which catches the late afternoon sun’s lovely long rays Sus, I love it at this time of year!
Beautiful bake and gorgeous photos, you just motivated me to get my kitchen herb garden going – having been planning one for ages.
Hooray for herb gardens! I wouldn’t be without mine!
I’ve managed to keep some thyme alive this year so I think I might give this a go – it sounds delicious!
It’s lovely Laura and the thyme gives it something just a little bit special!
Mmm thyme is fab in cake, it is a fab herb! Waiting second on the list for an allotment, where I dream of growing rows of different herbs to transform dishes!
My Grandparents always stopped for elevenses. It is a fab tradition to have! x
P.S Not sure if it is a new format, but having a list of your posts on your email really invites you to read more. I need to walk the dogs now other wise I would be here even longer!
I’d forgotten how much I liked this cake and I still haven’t made it! Must do it this year.
Oh do Janice, you won’t regret it! 🙂