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    Home » Desserts » Vegan Lemon Cupcakes (Moist and Perfect!)

    Vegan Lemon Cupcakes (Moist and Perfect!)

    Published: May 25, 2017 Modified: Apr 15, 2019 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    18.5Kshares
    Vegan Lemon Cupcakes

    Light and spongey vegan lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. Packed with lemon flavor, deliciously moist and super simple to make. 

    Vegan lemon cupcake topped with lemon frosting and lemon zest

    These vegan lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting and lemon zest are so divine, they are my latest favorite cupcake in the whole entire world.

    Well, of course that is until I bake one of my other absolute favorites in the entire world – such as – any of the other cupcakes on this site. Love them all I must admit.

    These were super good and I’m a big fan. As is everyone else who ate them.

    That being said I didn’t have the easiest time in making these. I had the idea of using lemon juice (in quite a large quantity, maybe that was the mistake) to make these, but hey, it just didn’t work out. 

    The moment I added that lemon juice to the batter it fluffed up in a way that just didn’t look right, so I was highly sceptical even before they went into the oven, and I wasn’t wrong!

    They came out just as ‘not quite right’ as they went in.

    Vegan lemon cupcakes about to go into the oven. Vegan lemon cupcakes freshly baked on a wire cooling rack.

    The perfect lemon flavor

    So I had to ditch the lemon juice idea and instead went for lemon zest and lemon extract to create the deliciously lemon flavor for these cupcakes. The lemon buttercream ended up being where the lemon juice got a chance to shine!

    The lemon buttercream has lemon juice and lemon extract and has a fabulously lemony taste, and topped with lemon zest there is no doubt that these are lemon cupcakes!

    I adapted the recipe from my vegan vanilla cupcakes which is just the best recipe! Perfectly moist with a light and spongey texture.

    Vegan lemon cupcakes topped with lemon frosting and lemon zest.

    I think you are going to love these vegan lemon cupcakes! They are:

    • Deliciously lemony
    • Light and spongey
    • Perfectly moist
    • Topped with lemon buttercream
    • Super easy

    Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for a couple of days, or keep them in the fridge (covered) where they will last up to a week.

    Vegan lemon cupcakes topped with lemon frosting and lemon zest.

    More vegan cupcakes!

    1. Classic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
    2. Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes
    3. Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
    4. Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

    And if you love lemon flavor then check out our vegan lemon cake and our vegan lemon pie. 

    So let us know what you think of these lemon cupcakes! Leave a comment and rate the recipe if you’ve made it!

    And definitely sign up to our mailing list – you’ll get a free book with 10 great recipes – and you’ll stay updated with all our latest recipe postings!

    Vegan lemon cupcake topped with lemon frosting and lemon zest. Vegan lemon cupcakes topped with lemon frosting and lemon zest, the front one cut in half to show the center.

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    Lemon Cupcakes

    Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting


    ★★★★★

    5 from 35 reviews

    • Author: Alison Andrews
    • Prep Time: 20 mins
    • Cook Time: 25 mins
    • Total Time: 45 mins
    • Yield: 12
    • Diet: Vegan
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Light and spongey vegan lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. Packed with lemon flavor, deliciously moist and super simple to make.


    Ingredients

    For the Cupcakes:

    • 1 and 3/4 cups (220g) All Purpose Flour
    • 1 cup (200g) White Granulated Sugar
    • 1 tsp Baking Soda
    • 1/2 tsp Salt
    • 1 cup (240ml) Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
    • 1/3 cup (80ml) Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
    • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
    • 2 tsp Lemon Extract
    • 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest

    For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:

    • 3 cups (360g) Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar
    • 1/3 cup (75g) Vegan Butter or Margarine
    • 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)
    • 1 tsp Lemon Extract

    For Decoration:

    • Lemon Zest

    Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
    2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Then add the soy milk, vegetable oil, vinegar, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon zest. Whisk briefly with a hand whisk to combine properly and remove any lumps.
    3. Line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners and divide the batter between them.
    4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
    5. When baked transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
    6. Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter, lemon juice and lemon essence to an electric mixing bowl. Start at slow speed and gradually increase speed until smooth and thick. If it’s too thick, add a little more lemon juice (a couple of drops at a time) until you reach the right consistency.
    7. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and then decorate with some lemon zest.

    Notes

    Adapted from our Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes.

    • Category: Cupcakes, Dessert
    • Method: Bake
    • Cuisine: Vegan

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 Cupcake (of 12)
    • Calories: 345
    • Sugar: 48g
    • Sodium: 254mg
    • Fat: 9.4g
    • Saturated Fat: 1.4g
    • Carbohydrates: 63g
    • Fiber: 0.6g
    • Protein: 2.5g

    Keywords: vegan lemon cupcakes

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #lovingitvegan

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    18.5Kshares
    Alison Andrews

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.
    Previous Post: « Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Caramel Tarts
    Next Post: Chocolate Steel Cut Overnight Oats »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. AvatarSarah Jones says

      April 05, 2021 at 2:21 pm

      I want to make these right now but I do not have any lemon extract, should I add more zest, lemon juice or I do have almond extract? Thanks

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        April 06, 2021 at 10:54 am

        You can just use extra lemon juice.

        Reply
    2. AvatarMaureen Cram says

      March 15, 2021 at 8:54 am

      Been looking for a recipe that mimics the one my mother used to make way back when for my children. Her recipe wasn’t vegan – but this looks very similar to the lemon drizzle cake she made. Think I will try these as cupcakes and then pour on the drizzle (lemon juice and caster sugar) once they come out of the oven.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        March 15, 2021 at 11:14 am

        Sounds awesome, hope they come out great!

        Reply
    3. AvatarJolie says

      March 13, 2021 at 7:09 pm

      I made this cupcake, though I didn’t make the frosting as I was using another flavor. This was the absolutely best cupcake I have ever made! You can’t even tell that it was vegan and I will 100% be making these in the future! Thank you so much!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        March 15, 2021 at 12:01 pm

        Awesome! Thanks so much Jolie!

        Reply
    4. AvatarPreeti Suryakumar says

      February 19, 2021 at 11:07 pm

      I would like to make 6 lemon cupcakes and 6 vegan chocolate.
      Will using the ingredients in half its quantity work?

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 20, 2021 at 12:02 pm

        Hi Preeti, yes you can halve the recipe. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Avatarleona says

      February 15, 2021 at 6:20 pm

      I was testing some lemon cupcake recipes to see which one was the best and this was the clear winner. Thank you for this amazing recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        February 16, 2021 at 9:37 am

        Thanks so much Leona!

        Reply
    6. AvatarVira K says

      January 09, 2021 at 12:28 am

      Just whipped these up on a whim tonight. DELICIOUS, light and so easy

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        January 09, 2021 at 1:22 pm

        Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂

        Reply
    7. Avatarvalentine says

      December 17, 2020 at 5:47 am

      can i just ask if these can be made with gluten free flour

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        December 17, 2020 at 10:44 am

        It should be fine so long as it’s a gluten-free all purpose baking blend.

        Reply
    8. AvatarSandy says

      December 02, 2020 at 7:58 pm

      Can you freeze the cupcakes?

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        December 03, 2020 at 10:06 am

        Yes!

        Reply
    9. AvatarElicia says

      November 18, 2020 at 12:59 pm

      Omg these are absolutely divine!! They were a huge hit with my non vegan family 🤤👌

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alison AndrewsAlison Andrews says

        November 18, 2020 at 1:18 pm

        Yay! Thanks so much Elicia!

        Reply
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    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

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