This vegan lemon cake with velvety lemon buttercream frosting is moist and fluffy 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 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.
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 and our easy vegan chocolate cake adapts well to multiple different cake pans.
- 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.
- Want to have an English tea? Make this delicious vegan Victoria sponge cake!
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lemon Cake
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 25 minutes.
Maryland Gal says
Many thanks for the delicious birthday cake that brought joy this weekend! I ignored the instructions to mix only until the large lumps were gone and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Possibly because of this, the cake was a bit dense and didn’t rise as much as non-vegan cakes with eggs. However, it was a perfectly respectable cake and perfectly delicious. Some people (name redacted to protect the guilty!) ate multiple pieces. So good!
Alison Andrews says
Hahahaa, awesome that it was good enough to eat multiple pieces! Always a good sign. Yes, over-mixing will definitely cause that but so glad it was good anyway. 🙂
Carol says
Made this cake yesterday (Dec 2020). Exceptional! Made it for a friends birthday and she could not tell it was vegan, and it was a big hit. Do not exclude the lemon extract. The cake has a nice level of lemon flavour with the extract but without it, I think it would be too bland. I did not use the butter cream recipe but instead made a whipping cream icing. Regardless, the cake was the star of the show. Thank you for this great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much Carol!
Cheryl B. says
The first time I made it the cakes turned out like two hockey pucks! Ha! It was supposed to be for my son’s birthday. Luckily, my son’s birthday wasn’t until the following day. I knew it had to be an error on my part and I read through the recipe to see if I had made a mistake. I couldn’t find anything amiss in my execution of the recipe. If other people could make it and rave about it I figured it had to be a great recipe. I persevered and put on my thinking cap. I thought about the ingredients that would give it a fluffier texture and went to the cupboard to check the expiration date on the baking soda…it was two years expired! I made the cake the day of his birthday and it turned out absolutely perfect! My family raved about it and now it will be one of those recipes that we will cherish! Thank you so much for the great cake recipe, Alison! You are awesome!
Alison Andrews says
I’m so glad you persevered and it was a hit! Thanks so much for the brilliant comment and review!
Liz says
I’ve made this a few times and really like it. It was most successful baked in cupcake form. Also tried the pineapple upside down cake recently. Curious about the color, in the past when I made upside down cake (non-vegan) it was whiter inside. Thanks for the great recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Liz, glad you enjoyed it. If other cakes you make used baking powder instead of baking soda, that can cause a lighter color in your baked goods. 🙂
DiHann says
I made this for my Daughter’s Birthday. She absolutely loved it and so did family
members and friends who are not vegan. They all want me to make it again and
they are going to give making it themselves a go.
Thank you for a really delicious recipe
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the lovely comment and review! 🙂
Elizabeth says
Is there a preference as far as vegan butter goes? Which would do you recommend or was used in this recipe? Thanks,
Alison Andrews says
Hi Elizabeth, it depends where you are as to what is available. If you’re in the US, then Earth Balance will work great.
Marilyn says
Best vegan cake ever!!!!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Marilyn!
jennie says
Can i use brown sugar instead of white sugar for the cake batter and margarine instead of butter for the frosting? Or it would be different?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jennie, you can use brown sugar but the color of the cake will be darker. Margarine is just fine for the frosting. 🙂
Jennie says
I made this cake! It was so good!! But i was wondering if i used the batter for a lemon loaf, how long would i have to bake it and in what temperature ?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jennie, I haven’t made this as a loaf cake so I’m not entirely sure, but I would guess it would be around 50-60 mins bake time. You can also check out our vegan lemon pound cake which is made in a loaf pan. 🙂
Brinda says
Hi Alison..
I love all your recipes.. thank you so much ❤️
I would like to know if I can add fresh
blueberries to this cake(lemon cake).
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Brinda! And yes I think you can!
Sophie says
Can you make this gluten free by using a gluten free flour blend?
Alison Andrews says
Yes you can.
Olivia says
Can I use fresh lemon juice instead of lemon extract? We have so many lemons I need to do something with!
Alison Andrews says
Yes you can, but the lemon flavor won’t be as strong.
Sylvia Devlin says
Hi, I made this lemon cake and brought it into work. Everyone loved it.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Sylvia!
Kristine says
First cake I ever made and it was easy. The instructions were easy!!! Thanks for the recipe. Absolutely love it!!!
Alison Andrews says
That is awesome! Thanks so much Kristine!
Aradango says
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!
Alison Andrews says
So glad it was a success! Thanks for sharing!
Sarah says
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.????
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Sarah! So happy to hear that! Thanks for the great review.