• Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 1 pound loaf pan with parchment paper. If your loaf pan isn't non-stick, you will also want to lightly grease the sides with vegan butter so it does not stick.

Make the lemon batter:

• To make the batter, start by adding the sugar and lemon zest to a bowl. Use your hands to rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the zest's oils.
• Next, add the room-temperature vegan butter to the bowl. Use an electric mixer or standing mixer to cream the butter, sugar, and zest together until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
• Then, add in the remaining wet ingredients including the plant-based milk, lemon juice, applesauce, and vanilla bean paste/extract. Mix together for another minute. Please note: The batter will be separated and lumpy at this point, but that's okay! It will all come together once the dry ingredients are added.
• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl starting with the all-purpose flour and then pouring the baking powder, baking soda, and salt on top.
• Use the electric standing mixer to roughly mix everything together for 30 seconds-1 minute. Then, switch to a spatula and continue to fold the dry ingredients into the batter until no streaks of flour remain. It's VERY important to switch to a spatula here or you risk overmixing the batter and forming too much gluten.

Bake the lemon loaf:

• Add the lemon cake batter to the parchment-lined pan. It is a pretty thick batter, so you will need to use a spatula to smooth it out evenly within the pan.
• Then, add the loaf pan to the oven and bake for 48-50 minutes or until the lemon loaf is cooked through and evenly browned on top.
• Remove the cooked cake from the oven and let it cool in the loaf pan for 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Removing it from the pan to cool ensures the cake doesn't get soggy on the bottom from excess moisture pooling in the pan while it cools.

Make the lemon icing:

• Once the lemon loaf has cooled completely, make the icing.
• Add the sifted powdered sugar, lemon juice, and plant-based milk to a bowl and whisk together until a thick, yet smooth, glaze forms.
• Pour the icing over the cake and use the spoon or a spatula to spread it out as needed. If desired, you can top the icing with an additional teaspoon of lemon zest.
• Let the cake sit for a few minutes so the icing can set. Then, slice & enjoy!