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    Home » Recipes » Vegetable Desserts

    Sweet Vanilla Pea Cake with Lemon Frosting

    Published: Jul 31, 2014 · Modified: Jun 4, 2021 by Kate Hackworthy · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Jump to Recipe
    A slice of vanilla pea cake with lemon frosting, with text overlay on image.
    A slice of vanilla pea cake with lemon frosting, with text overlay on image.
    A slice of vanilla pea cake with lemon frosting, with text overlay on image.

    This Sweet Vanilla Pea Cake tastes like a vanilla cake, but it's green! The flavor of the peas fades away in this vegetable cake. It's topped with a zingy lemon frosting and a halo of pea shoots for decoration. 

    A slice of cake close up.

    pea cake

    We all know the sweetness of peas, and in this cake the pea flavour fades beneath the vanilla, marrying nicely with the zing of the lemon buttercream frosting.

    In its wake the peas leave their moist green vegetable goodness, nutrients and vitamins. Wrapped in a blanket of delicious cake.

    I've made it as a 3-tier layer cake in 6" pans, but you can cook it as a 2-layer cake too. 

    The texture is light and fluffy, and super-moist from the added peas. The flavor is so gentle.

    There's a very delicate undertone of flavor from the peas, but in a really lovely sweet earthy way.

    Mostly, it tastes like a vanilla cake - which happens to be naturally green with no food coloring!

    vegetable cakes

    I've long enjoyed tinkering with flavors and putting together unusual combinations. It all started with putting kale into a cake and my love of vegetable cakes was born.

    I took the obsession with vegetables in cakes so far that I created this blog to highlight my weird and wacky recipes. Then I ended up writing a cookbook about them: Veggie Desserts + Cakes. Find it on Amazon!

    If you love this pea cake, you'll also love these other vegetable cake recipes:

    Apple Kale Cake
    Chocolate Beetroot Cake
    Roasted Squash Spice Cake
    Vanilla Spinach Cake
    Kale Orange Cupcakes
    Chocolate Squash Cake
    Pumpkin Cake

    Cake on a vintage plate with pea shoots piled on top.

    summer peas

    Sweet summer peas are an absolute joy.

    Ideally eaten straight from pod to mouth on a warm morning with nothing to rush for, nothing to do but burst the little spheres and savour the texture and flavour.

    Does anyone have the luxury of empty time? Will I ever have it again?

    You could stare into the distance blissfully eating peas, listening to songbirds and relishing the moment, or you could rush indoors and bake a cake.

    A pea cake with vanilla and a lemon frosting. Decorated with a halo of pea shoots like the cider queen at a village fete.

    recipes with peas

    If you love peas in a pea cake, perhaps you'll also love some of these more conventional pea recipes!

    Easy Pea Soup (4 ingredients)
    Pea Salad
    Pea Puree
    Courgetti with Pea Mint Sauce
    Pasta with Peas
    Pea Pesto
    Spinach and Pea Burgers
    Peas on Toast with Mint and Radishes
    Pea Hummus

    Cake on a plate.
    Veggie Desserts Cookbook by Kate Hackworthy

    Check out the Veggie Desserts + Cakes cookbook on Amazon

    Veggie Desserts Cookbook by Kate Hackworthy

    Check out the Veggie Desserts + Cakes cookbook on Amazon

    A slice of cake close up.

    Sweet Vanilla Pea Cake with Lemon Frosting

    Kate Hackworthy | Veggie Desserts
    This Sweet Vanilla Pea Cake tastes like a vanilla cake, but it's green! The flavor of the peas fades away in this vegetable cake. It's topped with a zingy lemon frosting and a halo of pea shoots for decoration. 
    4.85 from 20 votes
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    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 40 mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12
    Calories 451 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • 2 cups (275g) fresh or frozen peas
    • ¾ cup (200g) butter room temperature
    • ¾ cup (150g) sugar
    • 3 eggs
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • zest and juice of ½ lemon
    • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose (plain) flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    For the Lemon Buttercream:

    • ⅔ cup (150g) butter room temperature
    • 2 ½ cups (300g) powdered icing sugar
    • Zest and juice of ½ a lemon

    To finish:

    • Pea shoots optional
    • lemon zest optional

    Instructions
     

    For the Vanilla Pea Cake:

    • Preheat the oven to 325F / 160C. Grease and line two 9” cake pans (or three 6” pans, as I did in the pictures).
    • Boil the peas for a few minutes, drain, refresh under cold water and puree until completely smooth. Set aside.
    • In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the cooled pea puree, vanilla, zest and lemon juice.
    • Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt and stir to gently combine.
    • Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins, push to the edges and level, then bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the tins and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

    For the Lemon Frosting:

    • In a large bowl, cream the butter until fluffy. Add in the icing sugar and beat. Beat in the zest and a little of the lemon juice. Add more lemon juice to make it a frosting consistency and beat again. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

    To Assemble:

    • Spread a little of the buttercream between the layers of the completely cooled cakes and sandwich together. Cover the cake in the remaining buttercream and decorate with pea shoots and lemon zest.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 451kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 5gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 307mgPotassium: 170mgFiber: 2gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 914IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 2mg

    The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @kateveggiedesserts or tag #veggiedesserts! I love seeing your recreations.

    More Vegetable Dessert Recipes

    • Lime Avocado Popsicles
    • Sweet Potato Latte
    • Lemon and Cucumber Cake
    • Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Catherine Maxey

      April 15, 2022 at 6:40 pm

      5 stars
      Very good. I used canned peas. After draining them it was short just a tiny bit. I did reduce butter by half and substituted mash sweet potato for the missing butter. Baked as cupcakes. 16 minute bake time. I skipped the frosting. Great flavor and texture

      Reply
    2. Ariane

      January 26, 2021 at 5:34 am

      Wow, you're ruthless!....in the best of ways. Kale in cake as a headstart?! Kale is like the least compromise friendly vegetable I have ever encountered! I too find adding vegetable fascinating, but I started with the basics, carrots, beets, spinach... Mild or sweet tasteing stuff... There is no way in hell kale melts I to cake taste, right.... Oh no, I am going to have to try it...and I am dreading the outcome of this insanity.. But a curious baker got to do, what must be done...same as I made ommlet from fish and chocolate pudding from avocado's.
      To the actual recipe I am commenting under, I love the idea of using peas especially paired with citrus! It sounds really really nice. For I have more food I tolerances than is reasonable, I will have to adapt it heavenly, but still, the idea itself is great ^^

      Reply
    3. Catherine Ambrose

      July 04, 2020 at 6:49 pm

      5 stars
      Just had to pop on and say how good this recipe is. I tweaked it to use unrefined sugar and to make it gluten free and I was so impressed! Gluten free cakes can often be dry but it wasn't at all. I made a little lemon juice / icing sugar drizzle too rather than buttercream (I'm also dairy free) which worked really well. My kids happily ate it, despite the peas!

      Reply
      • Alexander Eoin Moll McCarthy

        February 18, 2021 at 3:12 pm

        5 stars
        Great stuff. I changed the lemon to lime and it came out a success. Thanks.

        Reply
    4. Nutty

      June 07, 2020 at 8:54 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely love this recipe! Made it on a whim and so pleased with how it looks and tastes. Lovely and moist but not too soggy, lovely colour and subtle but surprising taste. 10/10. P.s. I noticed if I boiled the peas a little longer they turned to puree easier.

      Reply
    5. shl

      March 18, 2020 at 12:27 pm

      Hello, I've just discovered this recipe and I can't wait to try it as I was given several packets of frozen pureed peas and want to use them in a cake. I was wondering if it would be possible to substitute mint for the lemon zest? Or to use it in addition to the zest? Somehow, peas and mint go together in my mind.

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        March 20, 2020 at 5:09 pm

        Absolutely! You can totally use mint instead. I hope you enjoy the cake!

        Reply
    6. Mrs E

      December 14, 2019 at 2:50 pm

      5 stars
      As a few others have, I also made cupcakes, they were really good. They weren't the sweetest cakes, but we're perfect with the buttercream. Am looking forward to making as a big cake!

      Reply
    7. Al

      December 06, 2019 at 2:03 am

      Looking forward to trying this cake. Would it be ok to use canned peas?

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        December 10, 2019 at 12:14 pm

        Hi, I haven't tried it with canned peas. In theory they should work, but the colour may not be quite so green. Let me know how it goes though!

        Reply
    8. Hayley

      March 21, 2019 at 7:25 pm

      Hi there, do you think I could make this with dried peas? Also, could I reduce the sugar or use honey or maple syrup? I'm trying to make some fun and colourful cakes for my daughter's second birthday but I don't want to create overly hyper toddlers! Thanks!

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        March 22, 2019 at 7:11 pm

        Hi Hayley, I think it would need to be fresh or frozen peas. You should be able to reduce the sugar a little bit without affecting the structure. Perhaps instead to reduce the sugar content you could make them into cupcakes and only add a tiny swirl of frosting, or leave the frosting off altogether?

        Reply
    9. Felicia

      May 27, 2018 at 7:15 pm

      5 stars
      I saved these a while ago, and finally made them last week! I loved how they turned out. I baked them into cupcakes, and baked for 20 minutes. The flavor was really lovely. No one could guess there were peas in there, and honestly most people just thought it was "very good lemon cake." I could tell there was more than lemon in there but probably wouldn't have been able to guess pea if I didn't already know!

      Thanks for another great recipe 🙂

      Reply
    10. Miss G M M Robertson

      May 06, 2018 at 7:54 am

      Could this be made using g
      Turn free flour, baking powder

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        May 08, 2018 at 2:34 pm

        Hi, I haven't tried this one with gluten free flour, but it should work. If you use the usual gf flour that you use for cakes then I hope it will work well. Please let us know how you get on if you try it.

        Reply
    11. Cara

      July 27, 2017 at 2:56 am

      4 stars
      Love your recipe! I adapted it to be gluten free and diary free for allergy purposes. so if anyone with a freakish list of allergies wants to try this recipe it can be done! I used earth balance butter and all purpose flour blend *I follow gluten free girls blend. I also made them into cupcakes which made for a cute party cupcake. princess and the pea cupcakes is what I called them and hide a pea inside the middle,

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 01, 2017 at 3:23 pm

        I LOVE your princess and the pea twist! And thanks so much for telling us about the gluten/dairy free options you used!

        Reply
    12. CakenGifts.in Faridabad

      April 27, 2017 at 12:47 pm

      5 stars
      Thankyou so much for shairing this excited recipe.

      Reply
    13. Kate

      March 19, 2016 at 2:12 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Kate!
      I've made this cake twice now and it's great. Everyone whose tried it has found it so unique and delicious whilst not being overly sweet. The second time I made it was for the cafe I work at and it sold very quickly so thankyou for posting the recipe! 🙂 However I found the icing curdled a bit - I was wondering if there's a way to prevent this?

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        March 21, 2016 at 3:04 pm

        I'm delighted that you like the recipe! That's great that it has been popular in your cafe. About the icing, I've not had it curdle - perhaps add it slowly? I've made it quite often and not had it do that so I'm not really sure what to suggest! I use a stand mixer, so perhaps it is that it is beaten in quickly?

        Reply
        • Kate Adams

          March 31, 2016 at 6:17 pm

          Perhaps it's that, unless I got the ratios wrong since I need to make the cakes alot larger. It's hard to make these cakes and not get a slice for myself! I'll try your cauliflower chocolate cake next I think 🙂

          Reply
    14. caro

      August 17, 2015 at 11:20 am

      I tried and loved it! I made it as cupcakes instead. It didn't taste vanila though. I will add a spoonful of vanila-infused sugar next time. Loved the colour, and it is really moist.

      Reply
    15. Devy

      May 31, 2015 at 10:40 pm

      I'm so glad to bump into your veggcellent blog:-)....the cake recipes look amazing. Will definitely try them as I too like the idea of veggie in a cake. Super Kate!

      Reply
    16. Margot C&V (@coffeenvanilla)

      August 17, 2014 at 3:30 pm

      Wow, so many amazing and unusual recipes here... love the coffee & avocado smoothie as well 🙂

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 18, 2014 at 8:43 pm

        Thanks so much, Margot! The smoothie was creamy and lush!

        Reply
    17. Stuart Vettese

      August 04, 2014 at 10:30 pm

      My in-laws have peas with EVERYTHING! I wonder how this would go down with them? I bet they would love it. Look forward to reading your interviews.

      Reply
    18. arthur

      August 04, 2014 at 10:02 pm

      Should we line three cake pans? The photo shows a three tiered cake.

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 04, 2014 at 10:59 pm

        In the photo I used three little 6" cake pans, but you could also use two standard cake pans. The small pans are fairly unusual so the recipe has timings for two standard pans. 🙂

        Reply
    19. Thalia @ butter and brioche

      August 04, 2014 at 9:49 am

      this looks delicious.. the colours are amazing. definitely curious to know what a pea cake tastes like, thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 04, 2014 at 8:02 pm

        You can't even taste all those peas, Thalia!

        Reply
    20. Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes

      August 02, 2014 at 12:52 pm

      Such a beautiful looking cake, I love the colour from the peas and the lemon buttercream sounds divine!

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 04, 2014 at 8:01 pm

        Thanks Jen, the peas gave it such a lovely shade of green. 🙂

        Reply
    21. PassTheKnife

      August 01, 2014 at 8:03 pm

      Your cakes are always so lovely, and they always look so moist too! This combination sounds so interesting, I definitely will give it a try!

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 04, 2014 at 8:01 pm

        That's what I love about vegetable cakes. They never dry out! I haven't had a dry crumbly cake in years. Yay veg!

        Reply
    22. Courtney @ Neighborfood

      August 01, 2014 at 3:29 pm

      Such a lovely cake--it seems like something the fairies would eat. 🙂

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 04, 2014 at 8:00 pm

        Ha ha I LOVE that! Definitely a fairy cake 😀

        Reply
    23. Urvashi

      July 31, 2014 at 11:33 pm

      Oh I wish my peas were up to make this lovely cake. Sadly only three strands have appeared from the ten planted. I could use frozen as you suggest. It does look very lovely. I'm glad you have given measures for two pans. Not sure I could manage three!

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        August 04, 2014 at 7:59 pm

        Shame your peas aren't producing. There's nothing like fresh peas, but this is really easy to make with frozen instead. 🙂

        Reply
    24. Jeanne Horak-Druiff

      July 31, 2014 at 4:40 pm

      Two weeks without broadband?!? Quelle horreur!! I would lose the plot... 😉 This cake is just gorgeous - I can picture it as a wedding cake with all those pretty pea shoots and maybe some sweetpea flowers to decorate 🙂

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        July 31, 2014 at 8:24 pm

        I know, TWO WEEEEEEEEEKS. Shocking. Thanks for your lovely comments. 🙂

        Reply
    25. Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche

      July 31, 2014 at 3:57 pm

      Wowwww this is absolutely stunning. I'm not the biggest fan of peas but I think even I could manage them if they were in a cake 😉

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        July 31, 2014 at 8:23 pm

        Ha, yup, you wouldn't even know they were there. Thanks!

        Reply
    26. Keep Calm and Fanny On

      July 31, 2014 at 12:41 pm

      So lovely as ever, and will watch out for your interviews! Welcome back to the digital world 😉

      Reply
      • Kate Hackworthy

        July 31, 2014 at 8:22 pm

        It's nice to be back in the land of the living!

        Reply

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    Kate Hackworthy in the kitchen

    Hi, I'm Kate, a journalist, author and multi-award-winning food blogger. I hope you enjoy my vegetarian and vegan recipes. About Me

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    My cookbook

    Veggie Desserts and Cakes Cookbook cover.

    Check out my Veggie Desserts Cookbook, full of tasty desserts with vegetables!

    Kate Hackworthy in the kitchen

    Hi, I'm Kate, a journalist, author and multi-award-winning food blogger. I hope you enjoy my vegetarian and vegan recipes. About Me

    Collage of press logos.

    Popular recipes

    • The BEST Easy Red Lentil Dahl
    • Easy Naan Bread Recipe (yeast-free)
    • Mini Baked Potatoes
    • Easy Lentil Soup

    Healthy Recipes

    • Butternut Squash Salad
    • Easy Healthy Cabbage Soup
    • Easy Vegan Ramen (15 minutes)
    • Rajma Masala (Kidney Bean Curry)

    My cookbook

    Veggie Desserts and Cakes Cookbook cover.

    Check out my Veggie Desserts Cookbook, full of tasty desserts with vegetables!

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