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    Home » Desserts

    The Best Vegan Lemon Cake

    Published: May 10, 2018 Updated: Sep 8, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    Vegan Lemon Cake

    This vegan lemon cake with velvety lemon buttercream frosting is moist and fluffy and will make all your lemon cake dreams come true!

    Lemon cake topped with lemon zest on a white cake stand.

    This vegan lemon cake is pure lemony perfection!

    Jaye was saying it’s exactly like the lemon cake his grandmother used to make! Which is high praise considering his grandmother was quite the chef.

    The recipe is based on our vegan vanilla cake, with lots of lemon flavor added in via lemon zest and lemon extract and of course, a delicious lemon buttercream frosting and lots of lemon zest as decoration.

    It’s super easy, and will happily fulfil all your lemon cake dreams!

    Lemon cake on a white cake stand with one slice cut and ready to be served.

    When looking around the web at lemon cakes in general, I saw a lot of lemon loaf cakes.

    But that isn’t what comes to my mind when I think of a lemon cake, to me a lemon cake is a lemon layer cake, and a lemon loaf cake or a lemon pound cake is the loaf cake. Anyway, just saying because I hope you didn’t come to this page hoping for a loaf cake.

    If you did, well don’t worry, we also have a gorgeous vegan lemon pound cake.

    I went with two 8-inch cake pans for this cake. The layers are really fat and beautiful. This cake also works perfectly in 9-inch cake pans.

    Step by step process photo collage of making a vegan lemon cake.

    Egg replacement?

    I didn’t use a flax egg in this cake, which I also don’t use in my vanilla cake recipe that I based this recipe on. I don’t find I need it in this recipe and I don’t want it to affect the color.

    In light colored cakes, a flax egg can affect the color leading it to look a bit spotty, so in this case it’s best to leave it out.

    So there isn’t any specific egg replacer in this recipe, unless you count the baking soda/vinegar combination, which definitely acts together to create some crucial baking science that causes the cake to rise beautifully. It all just works. 

    Lemon cake on a white cake stand, one slice cut and ready to be served.

    Recipe Q&A

    Can you make it gluten-free?

    You can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour in this recipe. If it comes out a bit dry (gluten-free flours can absorb more moisture) then increase the oil a little. 

    Can I make this recipe into cupcakes?

    Yes you can. This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Or for a perfect 12 cupcakes see our vegan lemon cupcakes recipe. 

    Can you use lemon juice instead of lemon extract?

    Sure you can, but the lemon flavor will be lessened quite a bit. I do recommend getting some lemon extract if you possibly can. 

    A slice of vegan lemon cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature where it will stay gorgeous for a 3-4 days or keep it covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week.

    The cake is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. You can freeze it either frosted or unfrosted. Thaw overnight in the fridge. 

    A slice of lemon cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Gorgeous Vegan Cakes

    1. Our vegan white cake is a classic 8-inch beauty which is pretty much a vanilla cake, just with attempts to make it even whiter in color.
    2. Our recipe for the best vegan chocolate cake can be made in either 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans and our easy vegan chocolate cake adapts well to multiple different cake pans.
    3. Our vegan banana cake can be made as a 9×13 sheet cake or a 2-layer 8-inch cake. It’s also topped with a delicious lemon frosting. 
    4. Our vegan coffee cake isn’t just a cake to eat with your coffee, it’s actually a coffee flavored cake! Topped with a kahlua frosting it’s a real treat. 
    5. Our vegan red velvet cake has a beautiful vibrant color and it’s perfect for special occasions and our vegan carrot cake is always very popular. 
    6. Want to have an English tea? Make this delicious vegan Victoria sponge cake!
    A slice of vegan lemon cake on a white plate with a forkful of cake on a cake fork next to it.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Sliced vegan lemon cake on a white cake stand.

    Vegan Lemon Cake

    This vegan lemon cake with velvety lemon buttercream frosting is moist and fluffy and will make all your lemon cake dreams come true!
    4.92 from 192 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: American, Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 512kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Vegan Lemon Cake:

    • 2 ⅔ cups All Purpose Flour (330g)
    • 1 ½ cups White Granulated Sugar (300g)
    • 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
    • ¾ tsp Salt
    • 1 ½ cups Soy Milk (360ml) or other non-dairy milk
    • ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
    • 3 tsp Lemon Extract
    • 2 Tbsp Lemon Zest

    For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:

    • 4 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (540g)
    • ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
    • 2 tsp Lemon Extract
    • 3 ½ Tbsp Lemon Juice

    For Decoration:

    • Lemon Zest
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 8-inch* cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
    • Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Then add the soy milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon zest. Whisk with a hand whisk briefly until nicely combined and no big lumps remain. Don't overmix, tiny lumps are okay.
    • Divide the batter between the two cake pans and place into the oven to bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    • Remove the cakes from the pans and place onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    • Prepare your frosting by placing the powdered sugar, vegan butter and lemon extract and lemon juice* into the bowl of an electric mixer. Start off at slow speed, gradually increasing speed until thick and smooth.
    • Frost the cooled cakes and decorate with lemon zest.

    Video

    Notes

    1. Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method or by weighing it on a food scale. For the spoon and level method, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. 
    2. You can switch the canola oil for another vegetable oil if you prefer. We have made this with various oils including a light olive oil and it has come out great.
    3. 2 Tbsp of lemon zest is from about 2 lemons, but it does depend on the size of the lemons, if it’s a large lemon you might get 2 Tbsp worth of zest from 1 lemon.
    4. You might not need all the lemon juice in the frosting. I used all of it, but how much you need will largely depend on the brand of vegan butter you use. If you use a firmer type of vegan butter (lower water content) you will need more lemon juice, whereas if it’s more of a soft spread (higher water content) you may need less. So this will require a little flexibility.
    5. This cake recipe can also be made in 9-inch cake pans with no other changes. The layers will be slightly thinner, but perfect! The cooking time will be 25 minutes. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 512kcal | Carbohydrates: 92.8g | Protein: 3.8g | Fat: 14.2g | Saturated Fat: 2.2g | Sodium: 400mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 69.5g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    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.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bonnie says

      August 15, 2022 at 5:45 pm

      So good. One little question. It was not a fluffy as I had hoped and I think it was because I used coconut oil instead of canola – do you think that could be it? I also over-baked a couple minutes (oops). Even still – was delicious and everyone loved it. Thanks for the great recipe.4 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 16, 2022 at 10:13 am

        Coconut oil usually does result in a slightly denser texture, but it could also be over-mixing or using too much flour.

        Reply
        • Bonnie says

          August 16, 2022 at 4:00 pm

          Thanks. I will try again.

          Reply
    2. Daphna says

      August 04, 2022 at 9:02 am

      Wonderful ! I am not a vegan and not used to cook this way, but we have some friends who are. I made this cake as a birthday cake and it was a great success. Thank you for exact and good explanations. I used only half of the sugar coating mixture. A succulent lemon cake.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        August 04, 2022 at 12:08 pm

        Thanks so much for the great review Daphna!

        Reply
    3. Olivia S says

      July 16, 2022 at 12:29 pm

      Hello, I’d like to make this cake for the top layer of my sisters wedding cake. Do you have any suggestions for sizing it down to a 4 tier 6″ cake? Also, what do you think about lemon curd and lemon buttercream filling? I’d like it so when you cut into it you have pattern. Thank you! Olivia

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 16, 2022 at 1:51 pm

        Hi Olivia, I would start with testing the recipe as it is for a 4 layer 6-inch cake, it may not need any adjusting, though the bake time would reduce to around 20 minutes. I haven’t tried lemon curd as a filling, only buttercream, but it sounds like a great idea!

        Reply
    4. Megan says

      July 08, 2022 at 5:36 pm

      I made this last night after a day of strawberry picking. Added a thick layer of thinly sliced strawberries to the bottom of one of the pans so that the end result was caramelized strawberries on top of the cake. Halved the icing and used it only between the 2 layers. Folded more strawberries into the batter, which I’d followed almost exactly except I cut the sugar down to 1 cup and the lemon extract to 1 tsp. It was a huge hit with my family and guests. Will definitely make this again.4 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 09, 2022 at 11:38 am

        So happy everyone enjoyed it Megan! Thanks for sharing!

        Reply
    5. Jayne Champion says

      July 08, 2022 at 4:34 pm

      I made the cake for a christening where 2 guests were vegan, it was very well received, not just by vegans. I am making it tonight for my nephew from America and a family get together.5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 09, 2022 at 11:37 am

        Wonderful! Thanks for the great review Jayne!

        Reply
    6. Ananya says

      June 30, 2022 at 7:27 pm

      Came together so fast and my parents who usually eat half a slice to be polite reached in for seconds! Loved it:)5 stars

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        July 03, 2022 at 11:24 am

        Yay! So glad to hear that!

        Reply
    7. Marsha says

      May 18, 2022 at 5:29 pm

      I love your recipes. Can i make this as a bundt cake?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 19, 2022 at 12:35 pm

        Thanks Marsha, yes I think it would work as a bundt cake, but the baking time would be longer, probably in the region of 50+ minutes.

        Reply
      • Marsha says

        May 26, 2022 at 1:16 am

        Thanks, Allison. I’ll try it this weekend for a birthday party and let you know.

        Reply
    8. Greer says

      May 18, 2022 at 2:48 pm

      This looks delectable! I don’t have lemon extract… will it be okay to skip it or do you think I should add more zest to the cake/juice to the icing?

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 18, 2022 at 3:37 pm

        You can use lemon juice instead, but the flavor will be much more subtle. Still delicious though.

        Reply
        • Greer says

          May 19, 2022 at 9:57 pm

          Okay thank you 🙂

          Reply
    9. Pamela Phillips says

      May 15, 2022 at 4:47 pm

      Great recipe. Always turns out moist and incredibly delicious. Even my non -vegan friends and family love it.

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        May 16, 2022 at 11:10 am

        Thanks Pamela!

        Reply
    10. Karen says

      April 12, 2022 at 12:14 pm

      Hello, I really love this recipe, the lemon really shines and the texture is beautiful. I’d like to use this for an upcoming event and am hoping I can freeze the cake for a few weeks in advance? What’s the best way to store it in the freezer, any tips? I’ll frost it on the day of the event.
      Many thanks!

      Reply
      • Alison Andrews says

        April 12, 2022 at 1:12 pm

        Hi Karen, so happy you love the recipe! Yes you can freeze it in advance. Let it cool completely and then ideally wrap each layer in saran wrap and then foil and then place in a freezer safe container, or double wrap it each layer in foil if you don’t have a container. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and then bring to room temperature on the counter and frost.

        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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