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.
Harriet Kahn says
Cupcakes were fine but not so sure about the frosting. I couldn’t get it to fluff up at all! I added a LOT more lemon juice and it was better but not fluffy. It was like fondit. I followed the directions to a tee! Frosted the cupcakes anyway, with some difficulty, and refrigerated them. I’m sure for a midnight snack they’ll be a hit!
Shelley says
Try adding about 2 teaspoons of soy milk, or whichever nut milk you prefer.
Charlie says
Update- It helps to add a bit more of everything! This is easily my favorite frosting recipe, with a delicious lemony flavour.
Mackenzie says
SO GOOD OMG!!! I found the icing worked best if you refrigerated it a bit before trying to spread to thicken it but these are a huge hit with me & my non vegan fam!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Mackenzie!
Helen says
Hmmm I don’t have lemon extract! Is there a way of modifying the recipe so they’re still super lemony? Xxx
Alison Andrews says
Hi Helen, you could replace the lemon extract with lemon juice, it should still have enough lemon flavor, though you can add in more lemon zest to the batter as well.
Helen says
Great thanks for the advice! 🙂
Isabelle says
Thank you for the recipe! I used coconut milk (carton not can) and made a lemon glaze instead of the icing and everybody loved them! I think next time I won’t use any glaze or icing so we can eat them with raspberry jam.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! 🙂
Louise Vinehill-Cliffe says
Hi Alison, love these lemon cupcakes I have made them a few times now, but do you have a similar recipe for a gingerbread, cinnamon or some other Christmassy flavour cupcake, thank you
Alison Andrews says
Hi Louise, I don’t have gingerbread or cinnamon cupcakes yet but I do have peppermint cupcakes which are very christmassy. 🙂
Louise Vinehill-Cliffe says
Thank you, I will give the peppermint ones a try ????
Ellie says
Love how clear this all is.
Can I just check the weights are right on the instructions? It says 220g of flour and 200g of sugar, but 3/4 of a cup MORE of flour – surely 3/4 of a cup doesn’t only weigh 20g?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Ellie, the weights are correct because it’s not a measure of volume but of weight. So a cup of stones weighs more than a cup of feathers for example. So in the case of flour – 1 cup is 125g and in the case of sugar – 1 cup is 200g. All the best! 🙂
Christina says
Can I use lemon juice instead of lemon extract? I don’t have any
Alison Andrews says
Sure, the lemon flavor will be more subtle though. 🙂
Anna says
I was wondering if I could use applesauce to replace the oil.?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Anna, sure it should be fine to do this. All the best! 🙂
Jen says
Can I double the recipe or do I need to make it separately for 24 cupcakes?
Made these last week and were DELISH! Making again for another party this week!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jen, if you’re careful with the measurements you should be fine to double it! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for the awesome rating! 🙂
NetSmith says
Awesome! Winner!!!
Roweida says
Hi Alison. I made the cupcake batter this past weekend and unfortunately my oven just decided not to work. My husband then suggested that we should try making it into pancakes and it actually worked wonderfully. They were super yummy and he(husband) and my son could not get enough of it. And to think I almost threw the batter out(rolls eyes). I’m glad to know my husband still has a working brain, hahahaha! Anyway, thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Oh wow! Who knew? Haha, thanks so much for sharing! So happy it worked out. 🙂
Poornima says
I made these today and they were super easy like you said! I substituted white sugar for brown sugar and they turned out perfect! More vegan pastry recipes please!
Alison Andrews says
So glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review! xo
Barbara Carroll says
These should be called “vanishing lemon cupcakes”… they are eaten as fast as I can make them! Absolutely delicious.
Alison Andrews says
Hahaha I love that name! So glad they were delicious! Thanks for the awesome review Barbara. xo
Kayleigh Lavornia says
tried this for my boyfriend’s mom’s birthday today and they were a huge hit!!! wanted a lemony cupcake and I definitely got one – so incredibly simple as well!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad they were a hit! Thanks for the wonderful rating. 🙂