Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf (Vegan)
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
If you like Starbucks Lemon Loaf, you will love this VEGAN copycat lemon loaf! This recipe is easy to make, loaded with lemon flavor and topped with a delicious lemon glaze.
If you find yourself standing in the line at Starbucks in front of the pastry case, staring longingly at that glazed lemon loaf, then this recipe is for you! Anyone else wish Starbucks would get some vegan pastries already? I know sometimes they have salads that are vegan, and maybe some snacks, but can I get a vegan scone or muffin with my coffee, PLEASE?
I did several trial runs to perfect this vegan lemon loaf. My first several tries were delicious, but they didn’t have that pound cake quality I was going for. Instead, they were light and fluffy, like a delicate lemon cake. To achieve a pound cake texture, I had to get creative! The secret ingredient? Tofu. Okay, don’t run away! I promise you can’t taste it at all, but it works like magic to achieve pound cake perfection.
How to make Starbucks Copycat Vegan Lemon Loaf:
It’s super easy! You should know by now I like to keep things as simple as possible in the kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
- Blend all wet ingredients in a blender (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW)
- Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the wet and mix.
- Pour in pan and bake for 35-45 minutes.
- Let cool, then glaze.
Glaze for Lemon Loaf:
The glaze is probably the best part of this whole thing. It’s simple: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice. Whisk in a bowl, pour over your loaf, and devour. Well, I do like to let the glaze harden for a little bit before slicing and serving, but it’s not necessary!
This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.
What kind of tofu should I use and where can I find it?
For this recipe, you want the silken tofu in the vaccum packs. You could use soft, firm or even extra firm. But it should be silken. Try to avoid the tofu packed in water, as it tends to leave a bit of a taste of tofu, while the silken in vaccum packs is pretty much undetectable. It’s in several grocery stores, but you can also order it on Amazon here.
You will only use 1/2 the package for 1 loaf, so maybe consider doubling the recipe and make 2 loaves at once! You can freeze the 2nd.
Want more vegan baked goods? Try one of these:
- 1 Bowl Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- 1 Bowl Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Easy Vegan Banana Bread
- Starbucks Copycat Vegan Pumpkin Scones
- Vegan Lemon Cake
Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf (Vegan)
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 6 ounces silken tofu (1/2 package)
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest from 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Lemon glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a standard loaf pan.
- Blend all of the wet ingredients in a blender until smooth.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Now pour the wet mixture into the dry and mix with a large spoon until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack.
- While the loaf cools, add the icing ingredients to a medium sized bowl and whisk until smooth. Once the loaf is cooled, drizzle or pour the glaze on top of the loaf. Let the glaze harden, if desired, before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Calories estimate is for 1/8th of the loaf.
- Look for the silken tofu in a vaccum pack, not packed in water.
- May sub coconut oil or melted vegan butter for the canola oil. For oil free, sub non-dairy yogurt or applesauce.
- May use any non-dairy milk, such as soy, coconut, almond, hemp or oat. Unsweetened is best; if you only have sweetened milk you may want to reduce the amount of sugar you add.
- Make sure to use fresh squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor, and a full zested lemon. I love this grater/zester!
- You can try subbing white whole wheat flour/ whole wheat pastry flour for the white, but it will change the flavor. I haven't tried this with gluten free flour.
Nutrition
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Read my full disclosure here
113 Comments on “Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf (Vegan)”
This is a beautiful and fabulous cake. I arranged it on a white pedestal platter and tossed organic blackberries on top, as one of my desserts at a small family gathering. People raved. Luckily a slice was left over for me to have this morning with coffee. Berries go spectacularly well with this cake.
I baked a few minutes longer than stated and added a little more lemon juice because of a comment that it was not lemony enough. I used only lemon juice with the confectioner sugar in the glaze and I sifted the sugar first
Hi Lynne. Your description with the berries sounds delicious! Also, so beautiful! I’m glad it turned out delicious and was loved at your gathering. Thank you very much for taking the time to share!
I made this tonight & it was delicious. We all were so excited. I’ve had Starbucks lemon loaf many times in the past. This definitely tasted cleaner & lighter. This will be in our rotation for sure.
I made some substitutions. I used applesauce in place of the oil & gluten free all purpose flour instead of the regular flour. The only issue I had was that the crust of the loaf was a little chewy. I was wondering if this was because of the applesauce sub or flour sub? How do you think this would taste using half almond flour & half gluten free all purpose flour? I might try that next time to see if there’s a difference.
Thanks for making this Nora. We love lemon cakes over here!!
Hi Christina! I’m glad you enjoyed the lemon loaf even with your substitutions. The crust being chewy is definitely what happens when you make oil free cakes and quick breads. It’s the whole fat free thing. Sometimes almond flour does help, but it can be tricky. I’m not sure it would work or not, but it would be interesting to try it! Thank you, hope that helps!
This was delicious! I added 1.5 tablespoons of lemon extract and baked it closer to 45 mins.
Perfect, they couldn’t believe it was vegan, texture on point. Thank you! Sidenote, I blended seeded Meyer Lemons right into the tofu/sugar.
You’re welcome!
This cake was perfection. Brought it to Thanksgiving and my family devoured it. They said the texture was amazing!
Followed the recipe exactly, as I almost always do the first time I make a recipe. If I make it again, I’ll add lemon extract to the zest and juice used; I can barely taste the lemon flavor in mine. The texture of the one I made is also a little strange. The middle is fine, but the edges are like… chewy. I’m pretty new to vegan baking so I’m not sure if that’s just something to expect, but I don’t find it entirely pleasant. Maybe I did something wrong? Not sure.
Second time I’m making this very lemony moist cake and this winner will be a regular on my table.
I’m happy to hear that, thank you!
Hi Nora,
I made this yummy cake last year without the tofu but I no longer have the recipe saved and I can’t have tofu. Do you still have the old recipe?
This recipe has never changed and has always had tofu, perhaps you made a recipe from a different blog? I do have a double layer lemon cake as well, in case that is what you made. Thanks!