Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake

A moist and light almond and lemon sponge with fruity pieces of rhubarb baked on top smothered in sticky lemon icing and roasted rhubarb.  This vegan cake is easy to make and comes together with minimal effort and maximum wow-factor.

I am really into rhubarb this year and cannot get enough of it. From breakfast bowls to cakes, donuts and muffins, I am really enjoying experimenting with the seasonal fruit. After a few social media posts recently, you voted to see this Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake as my next rhubarb recipe, and I am so happy to share it with you today. It went down such a treat at home – barely lasting 24hours!

Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake

This cake is moist and light with a delicious crumb thanks to the ground almonds – they really do add such a great texture to bakes. I have tried this with plain and spelt flour which are both lovely; the spelt is “heartier” but still great. As well as almonds, lemon zest is key to this bake as it really lifts the cake and adds such a zesty flavour. Stir together all the cake ingredients and then top the cake with some slices of rhubarb. I was slightly annoyed that I could only find green coloured rhubarb when making this recipe but it doesn’t matter as you smother it with icing anyway!

Bake this Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake until deliciously soft with a golden exterior and in the meantime, roast some extra rhubarb for the top. This is simply rhubarb, lemon juice and sugar – I make up big batches of this for using for crumbles, breakfast bowl topping or spooned from the jar, it is so delicious!

Once the cake has cooled, smother it with frosting – this is a simple lemon zest infused glaze of icing sugar and water. As in my Sticky Orange Banana Bread, some citrusy zest really makes this simple glaze extra-special.

Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake

Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake

Serve this Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake to friends or family and make it for special occasions even though it is so simple. Slice it thick for a summery, light and vibrant treat with a cup of tea or enjoy it as a summertime or springtime dessert. The sticky sweet glaze contrasts with the slightly tart rhubarb for the most satisfying cake!

I hope you will love this Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake; it is light and vibrant, moist and nutty with so much zest lemon flavour and roasted rhubarb. Easy to make and bake while being impressive to serve, it is naturally plant-based and wholesome.

If you are looking for more summery bakes, how about my Strawberry Lemon Banana Bread, Rhubarb and Raspberry Crisp, Carrot Cake Muffins or Cinnamon Raisin Not Yeast Swirl Buns.

Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake

• Servings: 12
• Time: 50 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A moist and light almond and lemon sponge with fruity pieces of rhubarb baked on top smothered in sticky lemon icing and roasted rhubarb. This vegan cake is easy to make and comes together with minimal effort and maximum wow-factor.

Ingredients

• 260g (2 cups) plain or spelt flour (GF should work)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 50g ground almonds
• 300ml milk
• 180ml (or 160g) syrup (e.g. maple or fruit or honey)
• 120ml (or 70g) sunflower oil
• 60ml lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tsp almond or vanilla essence
• 2 rhubarb stalks, chopped
• Icing:
• 200g icing sugar
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp water
• Roasted Rhubarb:
• 2 stalks rhubarb
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• To serve: fresh berries, flaked almonds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line a 20cm round cake tin with parchment paper. Slice the rhubarb into pieces that are just shorter than the radius of your cake tin, ideally 6 or 8 pieces.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the ground almonds.
3. In a second bowl whisk together the milk, syrup, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and almond/vanilla essence. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir/whisk until fully combined.
4. Pour the batter into the cake tin and top with the rhubarb pieces. Bake for 40-45 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
5. Meanwhile, slice the extra rhubarb into 2-cm pieces diagonally and add to an oven-proof dish with the sugar and lemon juice. Bake for 20-25 minutes until really tender.
5. Allow the cake and rhubarb to cool fully on a wire rack. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by stirring together all the ingredients until smooth.
6. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and top with the roasted rhubarb, some fresh berries and flaked almonds.

Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake

I look forward to hearing what you think of this Vegan Almond Lemon and Rhubarb Cake so please let me know below. If you make this cake, please tag me in your creations – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With rhubarb almond lemon cake love x