Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Cake: So Berry Tasty

This Strawberry Lemonade Cake is like sitting on the porch in summer, while sipping on a big ole glass of homemade lemonade. But in cake-form.

The tender vanilla cake has a kick of lemon, and bites of strawberry dancing through each slice. And so that we can all indulge, it’s dairy-free, nut-free and can be made gluten-free.

5 Reasons to Love This Cake!

The lemonade cake – it’s light and fluffy, and full of lemony goodness that melts in your mouth.
The pink lemonade frosting – it’s tender and airy, tart yet sweet and perfectly refreshing. You may want to slather this on anything you can!
All those strawberries – the fresh berries make the cake even more delicious, they help create the frosting’s lovely pink shade, and they also work as decoration. Just add a few slices strawberries on top of the cake and it looks amazing.
It’s allergy-friendly and can easily be made gluten-free – and, if you’d like to make it gluten-free, simply use a cup-for-cup GF flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill) that already contains xanthan gum.
Easy to make and take – what’s great about sheet cakes is that they’re quick to prepare, great for serving a group – and far easier to transport than a layer cake.

Vegan Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Makes 12-15 squares
Free of Top 9 allergens (if using gluten-free option)

Ingredients for Strawberry Lemonade Cake

Lemonade Cake

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup dairy-free milk (I used flax milk)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup neutral oil (vegetable, safflower)
1 tsp lemon extract (can sub with vanilla extract)
1 3/4 cup flour, all-purpose or 1:1 GF flour blend
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/2 cup diced strawberries (fresh, not frozen)

Pink Frosting

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening (like Spectrum Naturals)
1/4 cup room temp dairy-free, soy-free buttery spread (like Earth Balance)
3 cups powdered (or icing) sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
1/4 cup strawberries, blended into a puree

Instructions for Strawberry Lemonade Cake

For cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 9×13-inch cake pan with non-stick spray and dusting of flour. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together sugar and lemon zest. (This infuses the lemon.)
In a small bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: dairy-free milk, lemon juice, water, oil and extract.
Sift remaining dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt – directly into bowl with sugar/zest. Whisk first, then pour liquids into dry mixture. Stir by hand until fully incorporated.
Fold in diced strawberries, then pour into prepared cake pan.
Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool and make frosting.
For Frosting: Place shortening and buttery spread in bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, whip 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Sift in powdered sugar, then add lemon zest and extract. Whip until fluffy. Blend in 3 to 4 tablespoons of strawberry puree, or until spreadable for your cake.
To assemble: Spread layer of frosting, as much as you’d like, on cake while in pan. Decorate with slices of fresh strawberries or allergy-friendly sprinkles.

Photos: Nicole Dawson

Nicole Dawson is the allergy mom behind the Allergylicious blog (https://allergylicious.com/), where she creates delicious and inspiring recipes you can easily make for your own family. Her youngest child has multiple food allergies. Follow Nicole on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/allergylicious/ and on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/allergylicious/.