Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8x4 loaf tin with parchment.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest through the sugar until very fragrant. Really get in there! Then, add the lemon juice, yogurt, soy milk, sunflower oil, and vanilla. Whisk to combine, breaking up any yogurt lumps.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to evenly mix. Then, add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir everything together until you have a thick batter. Try to avoid over mixing.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake until golden brown, slightly puffed up, and the internal temperature is around 200°F, around 45-50 minutes. Let the loaf cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the strawberry sumac glaze
Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
Add the strawberries, sumac and water to a small skillet and place it over medium heat. Once the strawberries start to soften and let off juice, gently mash them with a spatula. If the liquid is evaporating too quickly in the pan, just add additional splashes of water. Once the strawberries are mushy and you have about 2 tablespoons of liquid in the pan, take them off the heat to cool slightly.
Run the strawberries through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pushing down on the strawberries with a spatula to get as much liquid as you can.
Measure out 2 tablespoons of the strawberry liquid into the bowl with the powdered sugar. Then, add the lemon juice and tahini. Use a whisk to slowly bring the mixture together until you have a thick, but still fluid, glaze.
Glaze the lemon loaf
Remove the cooled lemon loaf from the pan and place it directly on the wire rack. Spoon the glaze evenly over the loaf, spreading it with the back of the spoon. Let the glaze set before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
For the dairy-free yogurt, I recommend using a thick one with a decent amount of fat that tastes tangy and delicious on its own. Here in Canada, my go-to brands are Yoggu and Simpla.
I like using the small amount of tahini in the glaze because I find that the contrasting earthy/slightly bitter flavor really works here.
You could also do a simple lemon glaze! Just combine 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Soft and fluffy crumbed vegan lemon loaf that's perfectly sweet with a tangy strawberry sumac glaze. Perfect for spring baking!