Lemon Avocado Cake

This moist Lemon Avocado Cake comes with a blueberry topping and it’s a heavenly combination of flavors. It’s an easy vegan dessert that you’ll come back to again and again.

If you’re into desserts of a different color, try this Vegan Orange Turmeric Cake (yes, Turmeric) or this Blue Velvet Cake.

A slice of lemon avocado cake is topped with frosting and blueberry sauce.

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

  • Flour — You can use all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or a combination of these flours.
  • Baking powder
  • Lemon — We’ll be using 1 lemon, both the zest and the juice. You’ll need some additional lemon juice, either fresh or from a bottle.
  • Salt
  • Oil — Any vegetable oil will do here.
  • Coconut milk — You’ll need one can of full-fat coconut milk. Make sure it has at least 12 grams of fat in the can.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Avocado
  • Poppy seeds
  • Powdered sugar
  • Coconut oil
  • Plant-based milk — Use your favorite vanilla or plain plant-based milk.
  • Maple syrup — You can substitute agave nectar or granulated sugar.
  • Cornstarch
  • Blueberries — You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.
Looking down on two slices of cake surrounded by lemons, blueberries, and blueberry sauce in a bowl.

How to Make Lemon Avocado Cake

It’s easy to make Lemon Avocado Cake!

Step One: Mix Dry Ingredients

Pouring flour into a white bowl.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl.

Step Two: Mix Wet Ingredients

Beat together oil, mashed avocado and granulated sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and lemon juice. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and poppy seeds and mix until just combined.

Step Three: Pour and Bake

Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake until a pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean and top is golden brown, about 35 – 40 minutes.

Step Four: Lemon Icing

For the Lemon Icing, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth. Add the coconut oil and stir until combined. Add plant-based milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you get a pourable consistency. Pour over warm cake, spreading it with a spatula to drizzle over edges. Let stand until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

Step Five: Blueberry Sauce

Now for the Blueberry Sauce, combine syrup, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan. Stir to combine. Add blueberries. Turn the heat to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then remove from heat and gently stir in lemon juice and peel. 

Drizzle the blueberry sauce over the cake slices.

The Best Lemon Avocado Cake

Avocados are loaded with fat, which is why a lot of people tend to avoid them. But don’t let that sway you. They include the kind of fat that’s good for you. They also come packed with potassium, Vitamin B, and even some fiber to boot.

That’s what makes avocado a great ingredient for cakes, replacing the not-so-good-for-you butter or margarine.

Looking for the best topping? This Avocado Frosting Recipe keeps this cake super healthy!

More Lemon Recipes

Marly’s Tips

  • Instead of a blueberry sauce on top, why not try another berry, like strawberries or blackberries
  • Lemons are great, but a lime zest would be tasty too
  • Add a fresh mint sprig to each slice of cake, to add visual appel and a little minty zest
  • A dollop of Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream would be nice on top as well.
A slice of Lemon Avocado Cake with Blueberry Topping sits in front of lemons and fresh blueberries.
A slice of lemon avocado cake with blueberry sauce on top sits on a plate

Lemon Avocado Cake

A delicious, moist cake, this Lemon Avocado Cake is made with avocados, lemons and poppy seeds and is topped with a blueberry sauce.
5 from 2 votes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12
Calories: 311kcal

Ingredients

Lemon Avocado Cake

  • 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (half whole wheat)
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 zest of 1 lemon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup oil
  • 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 avocado mashed
  • 5 tablespoons poppy seeds

Lemon Icing

  • 2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 – 2 tablespoons plant-based milk (vanilla or plain)

Blueberry Sauce

  • ¼ cup maple syrup (or agave or honey)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon peel if available, finely grated

Instructions

For the Vegan Lemon Cake

  • Put oven rack in middle position and heat oven to 375°F/190°C. Coat a 9×13 cake pan with margarine (I spray it with Pam).
  • Whisk together flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl.
  • Beat together oil, mashed avocado, and granulated sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and lemon juice. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture and poppy seeds and mix until just combined.
  • Transfer batter to the cake pan, smoothing top, and bake until a pick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the top is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let the cake cool.

For the Lemon Icing

  • Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth. Add coconut oil and stir until combined. Add plant-based milk, one tablespoon at a time, until you get a pourable consistency. Pour over warm cake, spreading it with a spatula to drizzle over edges. Let stand until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

For the Blueberry Sauce

  • Combine syrup, cornstarch, and water in a saucepan. Stir to combine. Add blueberries. Turn the heat to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then remove from heat and gently stir in lemon juice and peel. 
  • Drizzle the blueberry sauce over cake slices.

(The products above contain sponsored links to products we use and recommend)

Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 237mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 30IU | Vitamin C: 5.6mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 0.6mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Enjoy!

14 Responses to Lemon Avocado Cake

  1. Avatar thumbnail image for Marlymangocheeks Reply

    I have heard of avocado ice-cream, but not cake. I am intrigued by this – so much so that I am going to bookmark it and try and make it. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe – I like all the ingredients.

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      I think I’m going to start on the avocado ice cream next. Glad you liked the recipe!

  2. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyReeni Reply

    Everything about this is delicious – the avocado, the lemon, the poppy seeds and especially the blueberry sauce! I never baked with avocado but it’s the next step for me. I love them – have three in my refrigerator right now just begging to be baked with. I bet avocado and banana are a great combo – like an avocado banana bread.

  3. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMonet Reply

    I made an avocado pound cake a couple of months ago, and it was also a smashing hit. I can only imagine that the addition of lemon and coconut milk would make it even better. And blueberry sauce? How can you go wrong with that? Such a delicious recipe and one that I’m eager to try. As soon as my avocados ripen up (I bought quite a few the other day) I’m going to give this a try. Thanks love!

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      I have some ripening avocados myself. Now I can’t wait to try them in my next batch of homemade ice cream. Doesn’t that sound odd? But Leanne said it’s good so I’m willing to give it a try!

  4. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyStella Reply

    I love Aztec testicles! Okay, that sounded weird, but you know what I mean (smile).
    This cake looks delicious, Marly, and sounds super decadent. Hmm? I wonder if one could whip avocado till smooth and just use it as butter or margarine in a cake with no extra oil, etc.??? Sometimes I get ideas like this, and they work great. Other times, it’s a typical experimental baking episode with lots of waste-me no likey.
    By the way, I’m trying hard lately to move into a vegan diet. The problem is that, well, there are some serious temptations. Plus, I’m trying to do a lot of things right now like cut gluten, cut sugars, cut fat. In the end, it’s all kind of hard to just do all of that if you know what I mean? Oh, and gluten free baking is expensive and hard, plus it almost often involves eggs where they are actually needed (no substitutes)! Conundrums…

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      Wow. You are taking on a lot. I can empathize with you because I’ve tried variations of all these things too. I’ve been trying to incorporate more raw food lately too. You’re so right – all these ingredients can be kind of expensive. I try to remind myself that we’ll be glad we did these things down the road. That buying and preparing healthy food may cost a little more now, but will pay off when we’re older. And I never buy meat, expensive cheeses, or most processed foods (we buy tortilla chips and things like that, but that’s about the extent of it).

      I can’t wait to see some of your gluten free recipes. I bet they’ll be delish!

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      I’m always looking for things to substitute for margarine in a recipe. I like the idea of whipped avocado. I’ve used apple sauce too. Lately? I’ve made this concoction of peanut butter and chick peas which I refer to as PB hummus and I’ve been using that. Well, I should say I’ve been gradually adding more and more of it to recipes. If I keep the PB ratio low, it doesn’t add a PB taste to the recipe. I’ll keep working on it and will let you know if I come up with anything worthwhile!

  5. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyLeanne Reply

    5 stars
    I love love LOVE avocados! I praise you for praising them! Hehe. I only ever see avocados in salads and sandwiches here in NZ. I love this idea. I always wondered what it would taste like if they were baked into a cake.

    Great recipe 🙂

    I make avocado ice cream all the time and everybody seems to think I’m crazy.

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      Avocado ice cream? I have to confess, that does sound a little crazy. I’m always looking for a way to make vegan ice cream a little more creamy. Maybe that’s the answer?

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyLeanne

      Haha trust me it tastes good! What’s ur vegan substitute for cream? I can’t really eat much dairy but I can’t seem to find a soy substitute here for cream! Yes try it out, but make sure to add sugar or some sweetener to it.

      The recipe for avocado ice cream is on my blog somewhere:)

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      I originally started with soy milk. It tastes fine, but the texture wasn’t creamy enough. I next tried coconut milk. The texture is much better there but the flavor of the coconut is very strong. I mean, I love coconut. It just would be nice to have some ice cream with different flavors. I never though of avocados, but I think it’s a great idea. Can’t wait to check out the recipe and give it a whirl (ice cream maker humor)!
      Marly

  6. Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyLazaro Reply

    Marly,

    Just work feta cheese into your cream and you can enter this masterpiece in our Quickies Cooking Challenge. But umm, (You didn’t hear it from me!)

    I made an interesting avocado & feta cheese dessert, but I cannot participate in the contest.

    Great job.

    Cheers!

    • Avatar thumbnail image for MarlyMarly

      If I’m vegan can we substitute vegan cream cheese instead? I think I can do that! I think only you could create an avocado and feta cheese dessert. That takes a special talent!

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