Citrusy, moist, and oh so fluffy vegan lemon poppy seed cake with sweet vanilla icing or glaze! It’s a fuss-free, one-bowl snack cake that always brings a little sunshine to the dessert table.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, applesauce, and vanilla extract until well-combined. Add water and mix thoroughly.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and stir until just combined. (Your batter may have a few small lumps and that's okay. You don't want to overmix.)
Fold in the poppy seeds.
Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are golden and begin to pull away from the pan. Take a toothpick, insert it into the middle of the cake and make sure it comes out clean. If it doesn’t, bake in 5 minute increments until it does.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
Notes
Measure the flour accurately: To avoid adding too much flour and ending up with a dense cake, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off the excess on top with the back of a knife. DO NOT scoop the cup into the bag of flour.
Don’t overmix the cake batter: Use a silicone spatula to gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until the dry mix is just incorporated. A few lumps left behind are okay!
Use room temperature ingredients: Place all of the wet ingredients on the kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes before baking so they have time to come down to room temperature.