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. And I definitely want to make one of those too!
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, I’ll do one of those soon too don’t worry, I want to do ALL the cakes! (Update: Vegan lemon pound cake is here!)
I went with two 8-inch cake pans for this cake. Usually my preference has been for 7-inch cake pans, but I have broken out. I got some 8-inch and 9-inch cake pans and I am going to be making a bunch of cakes for them now!
And don’t these layers look fat and gorgeous? They rise just beautifully!
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. Somehow it all just works.
That’s all I’ve ever done with my cakes, try things and see if they work, and they definitely do! At least the ones published here do, the failures don’t make it to the blog (of course).
Vegan Lemon Layer Cake Q&A
Can I make this vegan lemon cake gluten-free? You can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour, but if you do that I would recommend you increase the oil by around 1/4 cup and perhaps add a couple of tablespoons of applesauce too.
I have not tested this recipe as gluten-free but that is what I would do based on what I know about gluten-free baking. It may also alter the baking times slightly, just keep an eye on it and make sure it passes the toothpick test – a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake must come out clean – to know it’s done.
Can I make this recipe into cupcakes? We’ve already done it! Check out our vegan lemon cupcakes recipe.
Can I just use lemon juice instead of lemon extract? Well, sure you can, but the lemon flavor will be lessened quite a bit. I do recommend getting some lemon extract if you possibly can.
So I really think you are going to love this vegan lemon cake! It is:
- 2-Layers
- So Lemony!
- Moist
- Spongey
- Topped with velvety lemon buttercream!
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay gorgeous for a few days or keep it covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week.
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.
So what do you think of this gorgeous vegan lemon cake? Let us know in the comments and please be so kind as to rate the recipe too. Thank you!
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Vegan Lemon Cake
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10-12
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
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) Extra Virgin Olive 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, olive 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 extra virgin olive oil for canola oil or other vegetable oil if you prefer. Any vegetable oil will work great here.
*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 still perfect! The cooking time will be the same.
- Category: Dessert, Baking
- 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 want to make this cake and I was wondering if I would be able to fold fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter before baking to make it a lemon blueberry cake? I love lemon with blueberry, it’s so fresh tasting! Thanks so much!
Hi Victoria, you can absolutely do that! I think it would be awesome. Fresh blueberries are usually easier to handle than frozen as the frozen blueberries can create a bit of a tie-dye looking batter when they thaw, so if you are using frozen blueberries, let them thaw and then dry them off very well before using. All the best! 🙂
I LOVED this cake and it was a success! My husband is not eating dairy so I figure I would try a vegan cake for his birthday, no one there was vegan and everyone was talking about this cake and I got to be known as a great baker for it haha. Thank you so much!!!! I’m sharing this with everyone!!
It came out a little dense but it was a good dense. Still fluffy but didn’t grow as much as I’m used to.
★★★★★
That is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review! 🙂
That cake was really tasty!
I had no lemon extract so I used lemon juice and it was really good, I added some poppy seeds also, everyone liked it, I am gonna keep that recipe for sure, thanks for sharing it with us!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Camille! 🙂
This cake was great!!! I was very impressed with the simplicity of the recipe. I didn’t change a thing. The cake had great taste and consistency. The icing was also a winner. In addition to this recipe, I have made the apple cake and the iced lemon cookies. All were delicious.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Robin! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
I made this recipe for non Vegans and they loved it.
I wanted to bake this for the in-laws this weekend but can only bake it tomorrow as I am working the other days. I have never frozen a cake before but do you think this would work?
★★★★★
Hi Ruth, yes you can definitely freeze this cake! This is a great guide from Sally’s Baking Addiction on how to freeze cakes. So glad you enjoyed it before, thanks for the awesome rating! All the best! 🙂
Hi, I’m not quite sure what’s the difference in your recipe between lemon zest and lemon juice?
Thanks
Lemon zest is grated lemon peel. 🙂
Has anyone made this into a Bundt cake instead of layer cake?
Hi Kelley, I’m sure you could! It would just involve a longer baking time. 🙂
Hi, I was wondering how this recipe would change if I only had baking powder instead of baking soda? Thanks!
Blessings, do you think lemon essential oil could replace the use of the lemon extract?
Sure! That should work fine. 🙂
I can’t find your lemon cake made into cupcakes
Hi Janet, the cupcakes are here: Vegan Lemon Cupcakes. 🙂
I’ve been using this recipe for a few months now. Its amazing 😍 and it’s never let me down. I’m starting to find everything from #lovingitvegan works well.
★★★★★
Yay! So happy to hear it! Thanks so much for the awesome review Matt. 🙂
Can I use coconut sugar instead of white?
Hi Vivian, you should be fine to do that, but it will change the color of the cake as coconut sugar is very dark in color, otherwise it should be fine. 🙂
This looks gorgeous! I’m planning on making it for my daughter’s first birthday! If I make it tonight (Thursday), will it be fine for Saturday? Or should I make it on Friday?
Thanks a lot, xx
Hi Sophie, not sure if you baked it yet, but Friday would be better, as it’s at peak deliciousness for first couple of days. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe!
I would like to make it more lemony and orangey too for a friend who loves citrus., If I were to add lemon juice, lemon zest, orange essence orange juice, and orange zest to the mix, would i have to amend any of the other ingredients in any way ?
Thank you!
★★★★★
It’s very lemony as is! If you added more juice to the recipe then it would need to be adjusted so that the wet and dry ingredients are balanced. Also check out our orange cake. 🙂
Can I use whole-wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose?
Hi Meghan, I haven’t tried it so I don’t really know. It might work though!
Alison, I tried it and it worked great! I followed some instructions I found elsewhere about that flour type, using 1 tablespoon less and also letting the batter sit for 15-30 min before pouring into cups (I think it was because the ww pastry flour absorbs moisture more slowly). I used mini-cups, half the amount of sugar (I used coconut sugar), a little more lemon extract…the cupcakes were moist and delicious! Great reviews from our party guests. I would definitely make again!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for updating us! That’s super helpful info to know. I’m so happy it worked out great. 🙂
Easy to bake. Simpy awesome and taste so yummy even without frosting
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Do you know if you can a just use a sweetened lemon juice instead of lemon extract?
Hi there, yes you can, but you will lose some of the lemon flavor as the lemon extract is very concentrated. 🙂
Hi,
Can you explain why does this recipe have vinegar in it please as I haven’t come across this in before.
Thanks C
It reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise.
Is it possible to freeze these cakes?
Yes definitely! 🙂
Hi i made this cake a few days ago it was just lovely, one of the best vegan cakes i have made, probably thee best , I’m making it again later for a charity coffee morning at work , thanks it will be a regular
Hi Debra! So happy to hear this, thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Made it for a wedding cake, it was great!
★★★★★
So happy to hear Mary! Thanks for the wonderful rating! 🙂
I’m making this cake for my dad’s birthday, and he’s not a big fan of overly sweet desserts, so I was wondering if cutting the sugar down by a half in the cake and icing would affect the consistency (I’m planning on making 1/3 or 1/2 of the actual amount of icing anyway)? As in, would I need to alter other parts of the recipe to accomodate for the lesser amount of sugar?
Thank you 🙂
Hi Angela, I have never tested this cake with less sugar, but you might be able to cut it down a bit without any other changes to the recipe. With the frosting though it would be hard to make it less sweet, because it just is a sweet frosting, it might be better to just serve the cake with something like whipped coconut cream instead if someone doesn’t really like sweet desserts. All the best! 🙂