Vegan Lemon Cake

Fluffy vegan lemon cake made with fresh lemon juice and zest! This cake is easy to make, uses only common pantry ingredients and comes together in one bowl (plus the frosting).

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Vegan

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 339

Author Anthea

Ingredients

Wet ingredients

1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240g) dairy-free milk
⅔ cup (145g) neutral flavored oil (note 1)
½ cup (120g) lemon juice (about 2-3 large lemons, note 2)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional

Dry ingredients

3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour spoon and leveled (note 3)
2 tablespoons lemon zest
3 teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt optional

Lemon buttercream (see note 4 for alternatives)

1 cup (225g) vegan block butter room temperature
4 - 5 cups (480g - 600g) powdered sugar / icing sugar as needed (note 5)
2 tablespoons lemon juice to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To decorate

fresh or dehydrated sliced lemon

Instructions

To make the vegan lemon cake:

Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F). Grease or line 2 x 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pans with parchment paper.
Add all the wet ingredients (including the sugar) to a large mixing bowl. Mix until combined. Add all the dry ingredients and whisk until mostly smooth (a few lumps are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of flour).
Evenly divide the lemon cake batter into your prepared cake pans.
Bake the cakes for around 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and there's no wet batter on it.
Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 15 minutes then cool on a wire rack.

To make the lemon buttercream:

Add the vegan butter to a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add more sugar for a firmer frosting or more lemon juice (or milk) for a smoother frosting.

To assemble the cake:

When the cakes have completely cooled, place one layer on a serving plate.
Spread or pipe around 3/4 cup of buttercream on the cake and place the remaining cake on top.
Spread around 1 1/2 cups of frosting around the sides. If you have excess frosting, use a piping bag with a star nozzle to pipe the remaining frosting on top of the cake. Decorate the cake as desired.
Store the vegan lemon cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Allow the cake to come to room temperature 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 1 month.

Video

Notes

If you enjoy the flavor of olive oil, you can use a brightly colored extra virgin olive oil or a mild olive oil. The oil will give the lemon cake a beautiful light golden hue.
Don't be tempted to add more lemon juice. Too much lemon juice will make the cake dense, gooey and it will deflate. If you want extra lemon flavor, add more lemon zest.
Ensure you measure the flour accurately, otherwise your cake will be dry and dense. If you're using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method where you fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to your measuring cups, then level it off with a knife. Please don't use the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container, as it will pack in too much flour. Or, for the best results, use the gram measurements and a kitchen scale.
Alternatively, you can decorate this cake with a vegan cream cheese frosting. I suggest using the frosting recipe from my vegan mango cake recipe and adding lemon zest (not lemon juice). Cream cheese frosting tends to be on the softer side and lemon juice will make it too unstable.
Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar in the frosting to taste. Keep in mind that the more sugar you add, the more stable your frosting will be.

Nutrition