Light and fluffy vegan lemon cupcakes with a lemon buttercream frosting. Moist, packed with lemon flavor and super simple to make.
These vegan lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting 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. But there is really something special about the tangy, sunshine flavor of lemon.
These cupcakes were super good and I’m a huge fan. As is everyone else who ate them. And they’re super easy to make too.
The perfect lemon flavor
The perfect lemon flavor in these cupcakes comes from lemon zest and lemon extract. The vegan lemon buttercream frosting is made with lemon juice and lemon extract and the flavors REALLY pop.
I adapted this recipe from my vegan vanilla cupcakes which is just the best recipe! Perfectly moist with a light and fluffy texture.
And if you love lemon like I do then you’ll also love our vegan lemon cake, vegan lemon cookies, vegan lemon pound cake, vegan lemon pie and vegan lemon poppy seed cake.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make These Cupcakes:
Ingredient Notes
- Soy milk – you can use soy milk or any other non-dairy milk that you have on hand.
- Lemon zest – we used 1 tablespoon of lemon zest in this recipe, which is usually what you’d get from 1 medium sized lemon.
- Lemon extract – this really pops the lemon flavor! If you can’t get hold of it, you could just use lemon juice but it won’t be nearly as flavorful.
- Canola oil – can be replaced with vegetable oil.
- White vinegar – distilled white vinegar reacts with the baking soda (called bicarbonate of soda in some countries) in this recipe and creates the beautiful rise. You could replace this with apple cider vinegar.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, canola oil, white vinegar, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest. Mix into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- When they are completely cool, frost them with vegan lemon buttercream frosting.
Recipe Tips
Measure the flour correctly. For the perfect light and fluffy cupcakes it’s crucial that you don’t accidentally use too much flour. So it’s perfect if you weigh out your flour on a food scale. If you don’t have a food scale though then the next best thing is to use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
Don’t overmix the batter. Mix it until just mixed and then stop mixing. Over-mixing can affect the texture and rise of your cupcakes.
Bake right away. As soon as the batter has been divided between your cupcake liners, bake them right away. Letting the batter sit too long can also affect the texture and rise of your cupcakes.
Gluten-free. If you’d like to make these cupcakes gluten-free then the best thing would be to use a gluten-free all purpose baking blend to replace the regular flour.
Decorate. If you want to decorate these cupcakes then a sprinkle of lemon zest on top (as in our video) works great.
Storing and Freezing
Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for 2-3 days, or keep them in the fridge (covered) where they will last up to a week.
They are also freezer friendly (frosted or unfrosted) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
More Vegan Cupcakes
- Classic Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
- Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes
- Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups All Purpose Flour (220g)
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup Canola Oil (80ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Extract
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add white granulated sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Add soy milk, canola oil, white vinegar, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest. Mix into a batter. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between 12 cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting by adding the powdered sugar, vegan butter, lemon extract and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the bowl of your stand mixer. Start at slow speed and gradually increase speed until smooth and thick. If it's too thick, add the remaining lemon juice a drop at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe on the frosting and serve.
Video
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly. For the perfect light and fluffy cupcakes it’s crucial that you don’t accidentally use too much flour. So it’s perfect if you weigh out your flour on a food scale. If you don’t have a food scale though then the next best thing is to use the ‘spoon and level’ method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into the cup.
- Lemon extract – this really pops the lemon flavor! If you can’t get hold of it, you could just use lemon juice but it won’t be nearly as flavorful.
- Lemon zest – we used 1 tablespoon of lemon zest in this recipe, which is usually what you’d get from 1 medium sized lemon.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix it until just mixed and then stop mixing. Over-mixing can affect the texture and rise of your cupcakes.
- Bake right away. As soon as the batter has been divided between your cupcake liners, bake them right away. Letting the batter sit too long can also affect the texture and rise of your cupcakes.
- Gluten-free: To make these cupcakes gluten-free the best thing would be to use a gluten-free all purpose baking blend in place of the regular flour.
- Storing and freezing: Keep them covered at room temperature where they will stay fresh for 2-3 days, or keep them in the fridge (covered) where they will last up to a week. They are also freezer friendly (frosted or unfrosted) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bring to room temperature before serving.
- This recipe has been updated with new photos and extra tips but the recipe itself is the same.
Barbara Carroll says
Thank you Alison… absolutely wonderful vegan lemon cupcakes with smooth, tangy frosting! I always use lemon essential oil in place of lemon extract; it works beautifully. LOVE your recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Barbara! So happy to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes and glad to hear lemon essential oil is great to use as well. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Cozie says
Can you use lemon juice instead of lemon extract?
Alison Andrews says
Yes you can, the lemon flavor won’t be as strong though.
tina loveridge says
Sorry I give this recipe 5stars yummy ??
tina loveridge says
Converted this recipe into gluten free and tweaked it’s a little I used doves gf plain flour and I replaced the sugar with sugar and crumbs lemon icing sugar I use an extra 1/8 of olive oil and I didn’t use the lemon or vanilla extract but did up the lemon zest to about 2 tablespoons.OMG they was fluffy, soft and moist ? I put a zesty core of lemon curd and made a Sherbet lemon frosting no-one noticed that they was vegan and gluten-free ?
Alison Andrews says
Sounds awesome! Thanks so much for sharing and the fabulous review! xo
Subh says
Hey Alison how many cupcakes will the above recipe make ?
Alison Andrews says
It makes 12 cupcakes. 🙂
Kanika says
Hi, I’m wondering what ratio to use to substitute all purpose with cake flour ? Would this recipe still work?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kanika, the ratio would be the same, I haven’t tried this with cake flour, but usually cake flour has a lower percentage of gluten in it, but nonetheless I think it should still work fine and as far as I remember, others have used cake flour in some of our cakes and it has worked fine. All the best! 🙂
Bernadette McMahon says
Lemon cupcakes were perfect, will be making them again. Thank you for sharing recipe, keep them coming:)
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! So happy to hear. Thanks so much for the wonderful review! 🙂
Hanah says
Hi
Is there anything I can substitute the vinegar with as I only have malt vinegar.
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Hi Hannah, the acidity of the vinegar reacts with the baking soda and causes the cupcakes to rise so you should be able to use lemon juice instead since it’s also an acid ingredient, though I haven’t tried it in this recipe.
Payal Maskara says
Hi, instead of soy milk can I use regular milk?
Alison Andrews says
Sure! 🙂
Vivi Belle says
I made these last weekend. Incredibly sweet and tangy! I would say that unless you are a big fan of lemon you should make these with a vanilla/chocolate/strawberry frosting. I loved them, but the lemon frosting was a little to much lemon for my husband. I think the cake part of these is the real winner; so perfectly moist and sweet, it was the best “cake” part of a cupcake I have ever had. Do not write these off if you don’t want the lemon buttercream. Just make them with a different flavor frosting. They are well worth it! Thank you for the recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Vivi, thanks so much for sharing and the great review! 🙂
Kristen says
I’m looking forward to trying these!
I have a LOT of cupcakes to make, and for efficiency’s sake, I’d like to make the batter one day and bake the following day. Do you think I’d get the same result? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kristen, it’s not a good idea to let the batter sit overnight for these as it can affect the cakes rising. All the best! 🙂
Kathy says
I made these tonight and they are amazing! The lemon flavor in the icing is perfect! Thank you for the great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Great! So glad they turned out well. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Robyn says
These are my absolute favorite cupcakes – both to make and to eat! Every time I make them, my non-vegan friends and co-workers have said, “you can’t even tell that they’re vegan!” 😉 The only change I would make is total time – maybe I’m just a slower baker, but it takes me much longer than what’s above the recipe, but that’s okay! Because these are seriously good and totally worth it. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear they’re a hit with everyone! Haha, yes, maybe I’m a bit speedy now since I do so much baking! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
Hassan says
This was my first time ever making cupcakes and they came out exactly like your pictures. I used all ingredients to the measures suggested. They were so great the family were raving about them. I was a bit worried about the buttercream as I’ve never made it before and the icing sugar flew out when I turned on the whisk however after whisking for a while it came together. Am rubbish at piping so will watch some videos on youtube before trying piping again. Many thanks for the recipe, I will try your other vegan cupcakes and I know my vegan colleagues will enjoy them. Thank you again!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Hassan, so happy you like the cupcakes! Yes, if your stand mixer has quite a small bowl when you first start mixing, icing sugar can go everywhere, what I often do is hold up a tea towel over the bowl when it first starts mixing to avoid that. Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Karen says
Mine are in the oven as I post … I’m just wondering what you use to get the cake batter into the muffin cases …? My batter was quite runny and I made quite a mess! Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Hi Karen, I usually put the batter into a measuring jug (half of the batter at a time so I don’t overload it and make it harder to control) and then pour out into the cupcake liners when the batter is quite thin. If the batter is thick, then I just spoon it. 🙂