Light, zesty, and so lemony, this Vegan Lemon Cake is the best springtime recipe around! Celebrate the warm weather with a slice decorated in lemon buttercream and fresh vegan lemon curd in the center, if desired.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate sunny weather than with a big slice of this Vegan Lemon Cake. Like eating sunshine on a plate, this tangy cake is so soft, fluffy, and packs in bright and fresh flavors. It’s one of the best cakes I’ve ever eaten!
This recipe is similar to my moist and decadent vegan vanilla cake. The cheerful specks of yellow from the added lemon zest and lemon extract transform this cake into a treat with a pop of fresh flavors. It really is the prettiest cake around. I added a touch of yellow food coloring for that vibrant yellow hue, but you can leave it out if you like.
I haven’t forgotten about the buttercream either! It’s a lemony dream with all of the creaminess you love about a classic buttercream frosting. Give this eggless cake a try when you need the perfect dessert to bring to Easter dinner or any lemon lover’s birthday.
How to make vegan lemon cake
Start by making vegan buttermilk. Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a measuring glass and let it sit until it curdles.
Pour the aquafaba into a bowl and mix on medium-high speed until it’s light and foamy. It does not have to form stiff peaks.
Line two round cake pans (8 or 9 inch) with a square or round piece of parchment paper, and spray very well with oil.
Beat the vegan butter, oil, sugar, and lemon zest together in a large bowl.
Next, add the lemon and vanilla extracts and beat again. Add the yellow food coloring as well, if using.
Pour in the aquafaba and vegan buttermilk and mix one last time.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until they’re just combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the cakes comes out clean. When they’re done, let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack.
How to make vegan lemon buttercream frosting
Beat the softened butter until it’s light and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add in the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Finish by mixing in the rest of the powdered sugar and adjust the texture as needed.
Decorate the completely cooled cake layers with buttercream and vegan lemon curd if you want. Add decorations like candied lemon slices, vegan whipped cream, or fresh berries on top and enjoy!
Tips for success
- Is the frosting too thick? Mix in a tablespoon of non-dairy milk at a time to thin it out.
- Is the frosting too thin? Add more powdered sugar until it gets a bit thicker.
- Cake flour – For the best results, make this recipe with cake flour. It comes out of the oven super fluffy with a fine crumb that is unmatched! All purpose flour will also work if you can’t find cake flour.
- Decorating – If buttercream isn’t your thing, decorate the cake with Cream Cheese Frosting instead. Add a layer of Vegan Lemon Curd in the middle and fresh blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries on top for a colorful presentation.
Frequently asked questions
- What is aquafaba? Aquafaba is the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Simply drain the chickpeas over a bowl and collect the liquid.
- Can it be made gluten free? Yes! Replace the cake flour with a 1:1 gluten free flour. It works out quite well!
- Can this recipe be made into cupcakes? Pour the batter into two prepared muffin tins and bake for around 20 to 24 minutes. You could also use my recipe for Vegan Lemon Cupcakes.
Storing and freezing lemon cake
Leftover cake can be kept covered at room temperature for about 3 to 4 days. To keep it longer, store the individual slices or the whole cake covered in the fridge for around 1 week.
The baked cake layers also freeze nicely. Once they’re cool, wrap the layers well in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
Want more vegan lemon desserts?
Vegan Lemon Cake
Ingredients
For the lemon cake
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk or almond milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup aquafaba liquid from a can of chickpeas
- 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup neutral flavored oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon pure lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups cake flour*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2-1 teaspoon yellow food coloring, optional
For the frosting
- 1 cup vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8 inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment rounds (I cut them out myself to fit the bottom of the pans to prevent sticking.)
- Vegan buttermilk: In a measuring cup, combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit a few minutes until it curdles (this is your vegan buttermilk.)
- Aquafaba: In a medium sized bowl, drain the chickpeas to collect the liquid from the can. (Rinse the chickpeas and refrigerate for another use.) Measure 1/2 cup of aquafaba. With a hand mixer, mix on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes, until light and foamy. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the softened butter, oil, sugar and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed with the handheld mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Now add in the lemon and vanilla extracts and beat to combine. If using the yellow food coloring, add it in now as well.
- On low speed, add in the vegan buttermilk and aquafaba and mix. Now add the flour, sprinkle the baking powder and salt on top of the flour and mix on low until well combined, about 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides as needed with a spatula. Do not over mix.
- Divide the batter equally in the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on wire racks for 5-10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to loosen, and carefully invert the cakes onto your hand. Remove the parchment paper and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the vegan butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed, add in the 2 cups of the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Beat on low, then switch to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Now add in the remaining 2 cups powdered sugar and mix. If the frosting seems too thick, add a tablespoon at a time of non-dairy milk. If the frosting seems too thin, add more powdered sugar until a desirable consistency is reached.
- Frost the cake: Place one of the cake layers on your cake stand or plate. Frost the top evenly. Place the second cake layer on top. Top the second layer with more frosting, and frost the sides as well. Decorate as desired and serve!
Notes
- Aquafaba is the liquid in a can of chickpeas. Simply drain the chickpeas over a bowl and collect the liquid.
- Cake flour is wonderful here if you can find it. The cake will come out fluffier with a fine crumb, but all purpose works if you don't have access to cake flour. Gluten free all purpose flour works quite well, too.
- Store leftover cake at room temperature for 3-4 days and make sure to cover any cut parts. Or keep it in the refrigerator for 1 week. It freezes perfectly as well.
- Cupcakes - Divide into liners and bake for 20-24 minutes.
- Consider adding a layer of vegan lemon curd to the middle, if desired.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published July 2018 and has been updated April 2021 with new photos and an improved recipe to make it even more moist and fluffy, and with clearer instructions for the aquafaba. I’m always working on improving my recipes!
Hi 🙂
This cake looks amazing. I’m making it for x-mas together with your chocolate cake. I’m wondering if I can put the whipped aquafaba in the chocolate cake as well?
I’ve never tried it, so I’m not sure it would work. The chocolate cake doesn’t really need it, it’s super moist! I hope you enjoy them both!
Everyone! Make. This. Cake! It was so delicious. The only modification I made was some lemon extract in the frosting, and that was on accident because I thought it was the vanilla. Haha. But it was a happy accident. I’m not very good at piping, so I decorated mine with candied lemon slices. I made this and the chocolate cake, and the lemon was the first to go. Thanks!
I’m wondering if anyone has tried this with gluten free flour. If so, ratio the same? Cook time the same? Thank you in advance.
Hello Nora,
I would like to bake this cake for my daughter’s 40th birthday party. I was planning on making several cakes to tier and icing like a naked cake and decorate with fresh flowers. Do you think this cake would freeze well? Many thanks Toni( Australia )
That sounds like a beautiful idea! Yes, it freezes well. Enjoy!
Every member of the family raved and raved and raved!!! Best ever. Moist and dense with fluffy frosting.
I’m so glad everyone loved the lemon cake!
I used whole wheat flour because I ran out of all-purpose flour, and it came out amazing!! Made this for my boyfriend for our anniversary! Delicious 10/10!!!
can we use soy milk because I am allergic to almonds
Yes, soy milk will work just fine.
Why doesn’t this cake use oil, like the Vanilla one?
It works okay with oil, but I just really like how vegan butter worked in this lemon cake. They are pretty interchangeable though.
I want to make this cake for an upcoming birthday. Do the cakes rise enough in 2 8” cake pans for me to cut both of them in half and make a four layer cake?
Yes, I think that would work if you are careful slicing them. Make sure you let them cool before cutting in half as the cake is very moist, soft and fluffy. I hope it works!
Hi Nora,
Is there any chance of having metric conversions (as in everything in grams) — I’ve heard measuring flour is much more accurate that way, and I never know exactly how many mLs a cup is as it changes depending on the country!
Thank you 🙂
Yes, I am working on it actually! Eventually (hopefully soon!) you will be able to simply click “Metric” for conversions, underneath the ingredients list. I know this is an issue, and I’m working hard to get that done. Thank you!
Hey that’s so good to hear! I’m planning to use this recipe for my dad’s birthday, and he doesn’t like his desserts to be too sweet — if I halved the amount of sugar in the recipe (and maybe the frosting too?) what would I need to adjust in the other ingredients to ensure that the consistency is still good? Or would it not need adjusting?
Thank you again :))
I don’t think it would be a problem cutting the sugar in half in the cake part, but I can’t be positive as I haven’t tried it. For the frosting, to use less sugar, try not adding any non-dairy milk and make sure your vegan butter is not too soft, just barely softened so you can mix it. This will help you not need so much powdered sugar. Hope that helps!
Made this came for My daughters Birthday all vegan menu. The cake was very tasty indeed, however, we all found it a bit dense and not fluffy and it had a bit of “flour taste”
I followed the recipe exactly and I bake all the time so I measured properly. Could not sifting the dry ingredients be the culprit?
Want to try the chocolate cake next
Interesting! It sounds like the cake had too much flour in it. You say you measured properly, but I would of course check that next time. Did you whip the aquafaba and then measure 1/2 cup of the whipped stuff? Generally this is one of the fluffiest cakes I make and certainly not dense. Sorry and I hope that helps! You could try sifting, yes.
Sometimes you can accidentally measure too much flour if you scoop it with the measuring cup. If there are no measurements in grams given, you can spoon the flour into the measuring cup so it’s not packed in. I haven’t made this yet, but I’m going to try in in the next couple of days!
The first time I made this there wasn’t very much batter, so I only used 1 springform cake pan. Came out super dense with a bit of a flour taste. The second time I made this I split the teeny tiny batter into 2 pans and it came out perfect. Egg&Dairy cakes will continue to rise in springform pans no matter how much batter is in them, but vegan cakes seem to need less weight on top of them to fully rise and bake through. Give them the room, though, and shazaaaam!
This is my go to lemon cake!!! It tastes great and amazingly fluffy and moist. All my non vegan family love it. I have a question though- could it be made in a loaf tin as a loaf cake? I want to make a lemon loaf cake that isnt too dense and was wondering if you had tried this recipe in a loaf? Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear that you and your family love it! I haven’t tried to make it in a loaf pan, but I imagine it could be done. I think the recipe as written would probably make 2 loaf cakes, but I’m not totally sure. I do have a lemon loaf recipe if you want to check that out, it’s light but a little more dense than this cake.
Wow. Just like the chocolate cake, this one did not disappoint! The only thing I messed up on was overthinking the aquafaba consistency when measuring. Wasn’t sure if it is the “foam” that counts or just the actual liquid after hand-mixing. I probably put in too much of it since I let the foam settle for a short time and then topped it off to make the measurement. Any assistance on this for the next time would be greatly welcomed.
You are truly gifted, Nora with your recipes. Thank you so much,
Susan O’Flaherty
I need to make a vegan cake for my boss’s birthday and this one looks great, except I was hoping to incorporate blueberries, as she really likes blueberries. Do you think it would be no problem if I just added a bunch of blueberries to the batter? And I was thinking of making it into a sheet cake, because it might be easier/less messy to serve at work. There will be around 12-15 people – Should I use the same proportions in your original recipe, or add like 50% more to the ingredients??
Thank you!
Hi Brooke! I think it would be really yummy and just fine to add blueberries to the batter. And if you make it in a 9 by 13 inch pan the amounts should be just right. If you are trying to make a larger sheet cake than that, then you would need to adjust. Hope that helps and everyone enjoys the cake!
Can I say this is the ultimate cake?! Served it to my very non-vegan, extended family, and it was voted as the best cake they have ever eaten. Vegan for the win!! Thank you for sharing your talents and allowing others to get a taste of your creations!
Thanks Megan! That really means a lot to me, and I’m so glad they voted it the best cake!
I was looking forward to this cake but it came out a bit dry and flat. 🙁 question… I see many cakes require both baking soda and baking powder. Is there any reason why you didn’t use baking soda? I’m definitely going to make it again because the taste was delicious. I just need to work on texture. Oh! My milk separated and didn’t curdle. Could that be it? Also I would like it to taste more lemony. Any tips?
Hi Michelle! Something must have gone wrong here, as this cake is very moist and very fluffy! I’ve made it many, many times and so have others with the same results. I’m wondering if your baking powder was bad (as in, not working anymore). That can happen, you can get a bad jar of the stuff or it can go bad in your pantry. I tested the cake many ways before posting, and found baking soda was not necessary here. But you could add a little if you want to. What kind of milk did you use? Almond, cashew or soy all work fine for me. Did you make any substitutions at all? If you want it to taste even more lemony, you can add more lemon zest and even more lemon extract if you want. Hopefully we can figure out what went wrong here so you can enjoy this cake!
This cake has easily available ingredients and everyone I know who is not vegan loved it so much that they want me to bake this again ASAP. The cake texture was perfect when I baked it for 30 minutes. So delicious and has a great lemon flavor. I will definitely be making this again soon!
Hi Nora!
I’ve made this cake before exactly as written to rave reviews – thank you!! But I have had a request to make an eggless cake while keeping the dairy in it – would I achieve the same results if I subbed dairy milk and butter for their vegan counterparts in your recipe? Otherwise, I’m thinking what I could do is make the icing traditional buttercream, while keeping the cake wholly vegan 😉
Thanks!
I don’t think it would make a big difference at all, I’m sure it would be fine with real butter and milk. Of course, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure though! I’m glad you have enjoyed the cake before, and I hope you do again. 🙂
Thank you! In that case, I’ll let you know how it comes out 🙂
I was wondering if I can add blueberries to the batter to make a lemon blueberry cake. How much would I need and do I make any substitutions
Great idea! I would add about 3/4-1 cup of fresh blueberries. Simply fold them in gently once you have the cake batter made. You do not need to make any substitutions. I would also decorate the frosted cake with more fresh blueberries. Enjoy!
Thank you! I made this for my birthday today. Loved by my Fiance (someone who isn’t usually a fan of Lemony treats) as well as his dad (a Lemon Treat Lover). I used the suggestion you left in the comments about upping the milk as a sub for aquafaba. I also added more zest (to replace the lemon extract) and lemon juice (for vinegar). Would using Cake Flour (or AP w/ cornstarch blend) alter the moisture content/crumb? Thank you again 🙂
So glad you enjoyed the lemon cake! I think using cake flour would work just fine, in fact I have used it before and it was great. Thank you!
Dear Nora
I made this recipe making cupcakes topped with non dairy cream and chocolate dipped strawberry for my daughter’s birthday. It was a challenge for me to bake for a vegan but your recipe is simple and easy to follow. It tasted amazing that even the non vegans loved it. Thank you
That sounds wonderful! I’m so happy everyone loved the cupcakes, and it wasn’t too hard for you to try your hand at a vegan recipe. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Hi Nora,
Can you add lavender buds to this?
Sure, you could do that. Enjoy!
Will bake this for a bake sale,. can you recommend a plant sugar for the granulated? Thank you. .
Any cane sugar will work, use organic to make sure it’s vegan, such as this one. Organic sugar is not usually as bright white, but more of a natural tan color.
5 star rating because I’m so sure it’ll be delicious! Just a question though, is there anything I can use to replace the aquafaba? My mom is deathly allergic to chickpeas and anything having to do with them and she LOVES lemon!
Thanks Brittany! You can totally leave the aquafaba out and increase the milk to 1 1/2 cups. I have done this before and it worked well! You lose a little bit of moisture but it’s not very noticeable. I hope you and your mom enjoy the cake, you could also try my Lemon Cupcakes.
Insanely good. Eyes were literally popping open. I used the half WW pastry flour and no one could tell. I’ve been trying to find a solid vegan lemon cake for years – this is it!
So glad you found your lemon cake! Thanks so much.