This vegan lemon cake with velvety lemon buttercream frosting is perfectly moist and spongey and will make all your lemon cake dreams come true!
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!
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 gorgoues vegan lemon pound cake.
I went with two 8-inch cake pans for this cake. The layers are really fat and gorgeous. This cake also works perfectly in 9-inch cake pans.
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.
Recipe Q&A
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.
Yes you can. This recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes. Or for a perfect 12 cupcakes see our vegan lemon cupcakes recipe.
Sure you can, but the lemon flavor will be lessened quite a bit. I do recommend getting some lemon extract if you possibly can.
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.
More Gorgeous Vegan Cakes!
- 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!
- Our recipe for the best vegan chocolate cake can be made in either 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans whereas our classic vegan chocolate cake is a 7-inch sponge cake topped with a velvety chocolate frosting.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Vegan Lemon Cake
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10-12
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan lemon cake with velvety lemon buttercream frosting is perfectly moist and spongey and will make all your lemon cake dreams come true!
Ingredients
For the Vegan Lemon Cake:
- 2 and 1/2 cups (312g) + 2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) White Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Canola Oil*
- 1 Tbsp White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 tsp Lemon Extract
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Zest*
For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 and 1/2 cups (540g) Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 cup (112g) Vegan Butter
- 2 tsp Lemon Extract
- 3 and 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice*
For Decoration:
- Lemon Zest
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 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.
Notes
*You can switch the canola oil for another vegetable oil if you prefer. We have made this with various oils including extra virgin olive oil and it has come out great.
*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.
*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.
*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 the same.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 12)
- Calories: 512
- Sugar: 69.5g
- Sodium: 400mg
- Fat: 14.2g
- Saturated Fat: 2.2g
- Carbohydrates: 92.8g
- Fiber: 0.8g
- Protein: 3.8g
Keywords: vegan lemon cake
Hi, I made this lemon cake and brought it into work. Everyone loved it.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Sylvia!
First cake I ever made and it was easy. The instructions were easy!!! Thanks for the recipe. Absolutely love it!!!
★★★★★
That is awesome! Thanks so much Kristine!
I made this recipe with gluten free flour and dates instead of sugar, the color changed into light brown, but the taste was still amazing! Since I didn’t wanted to use sugar, I used a dates paste (water and dates), reducing the amount of milk in order to balance the consistency. I really liked the result, it was delicious, thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
So glad it was a success! Thanks for sharing!
This cake was absolutely amazing. I haven’t made a cake since I was a child (I’m now 50), and it was so easy. I was the only vegan, but everyone else loved it as well. I used oat milk instead of soy and extra virgin olive oil. Thank you so much, will definitely make this again if I need to make a cake, so moist and delicious.🤤
★★★★★
Awesome Sarah! So happy to hear that! Thanks for the great review.
My mom made this for my birthday back in May. It was the best cake that anyone has ever made me! I’ve been raving about it since and waiting for an occasion to make a cake. My husband’s birthday is tomorrow and I can’t wait to make this, we are both crazy about this recipe. The lemon flavor is perfect and the use of lemon extract is CRUCIAL. I don’t trust a lemon cake recipe that doesn’t call for extract. You nailed it!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Sarah! Thank you so much!
Great, fool-proof cake recipe! I didn’t have lemon extract so I added a splash of fresh lemon juice and it came out delicious. Added a layer of lemon curd between the cakes and served it as a birthday cake. Such a wonderful cake for vegans and non-vegans alike.
★★★★★
Fantastic! Thanks Kate!
Hi Alison
The recipe says (312g) flour, is that the total amount of flour required or have to add 2Tbsp More on top?
Hi Tara, it’s 2 Tbsp in addition to that. So the total weight ends up being 330g.
Thanks tried it today without the 2 tablespoons and was still perfect yummy, and added Spoon and half poppyseeds
Hiya. I am going to make this tomorrow for a birthday. I’m not big on sweet things so this will be a challenge! 🙂
I’m in the UK and couldn’t find baking soda anywhere, so I have baking powder instead. Am I right in thinking that if I use baking powder instead of baking soda, I won’t need to include the vinegar?
Thank you.
Hi Lee, baking soda is called bicarbonate of soda in the UK. It’s much stronger than baking powder, so it’s recommended that you use baking soda here. 🙂
Hi, do you have any recipe modification suggestions if I want to use spelt flour instead of all-purpose for this reipe? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but I think it would work in the recipe as a straight swap for the all purpose. There may be a slight difference in texture though.
Hi…I made this cake for my Birthday and everyone loved it!!! I thought the buttercream frosting was a little sweet. I may cut back on the powdered sugar a bit next time!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi, would it work to use gluten free baking flour instead of all purpose flour?
Yes, we have info about that in the post. 🙂
The cake is amazing. I made it with a coconut buttercream and it was a hit with people who said they didn’t like lemon cake. I’m making it for the second time in 2 weeks today.
★★★★★
Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing Thea!
Hi! I’m curious if the amount of sugar could be reduced without altering the texture/outcome of the cake? I don’t like overly sweet cakes. But also realizing it may need that much to balance the spur of the lemon. Thoughts? Thank you!
Hi Brook, I don’t think it’s an overly sweet cake at all. It’s the perfect level of sweetness. Especially if you leave off the frosting and serve it with vegan whipped cream or something like that. If you want to experiment with reducing the sugar though you can definitely do it. It should be fine to reduce a little without any significant impact.
Hey!
Will it change the taste of the frosting if I use salted butter instead of vegan or unsalted butter?
No it should be fine.
Excellent vegan cake. Made it for my son’s 25th birthday. Everyone loved it! Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Sigrid! Thanks so much!
Can I use plant based margarine, like Becel instead of vegan butter for the frosting? I can’t wait to try this!
Sure!
I haven’t made it yet but i am making it for my moms birthday….CAN’T WAIT ;>
Made this for my mom’s birthday and it was a hit! Great recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Lisa!
How about making this into a 6-inch cake? Would that work? Would it make 3 layers? Or if I cut it in half would I get 2 layers?
Hi Allie, it might work as a three layer 6-inch cake. If the layers are quite fat then it may require a longer baking time. I think halving the recipe would work for a 2-layer thinner cake.
Would adding blueberries affect the texture of the cake?
I don’t think so! I think you would be fine to add some in.
This has become my go-to cake recipe for my non-vegan family for all occasions! It’s gobbled up and everyone raves about the lemon frosting. Thanks so much for this delicious recipe 😁👍🏽
Thanks Puja!
I made this cake for a non-vegan family function and it was gobbled up! Everyone raved about it! I didn’t have any soy or almond milk on hand, so subbed lite coconut milk which seemed to work great! Also subbed equal amount of applesauce for the oil and no issues – super moist! Thank you for the great recipe. I will be making it again!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Erin!
Hi, can I use flax egg instead of vinegar? And also can i use oat milk instead of soy?Will it effect anything? And if I want to make a three layer cake do I add half of the recipe?
Hi Tatyanna, the vinegar is crucial as it reacts with the baking soda, flax egg would not be a sub. Oat milk should be fine, and if you want to make a 3-layer 8-inch cake that will also work great with this recipe, no changes needed. 🙂
Is there something I can sub for the vegan butter in the frosting? It’s not available where I live unfortunately! Can’t wait to try this recipe x
Hi Hannah, any dairy free margarine will work, or you can make your own homemade vegan butter. 🙂