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    Home » Recipes » Sweets

    Vegan Lemon Cake

    Modified: Jun 26, 2024 by Addison LaBonte · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    This is the easiest vegan lemon cake you will ever make! This one bowl recipe gets whipped up in minutes and bakes in only 30 minutes. Perfect for a last-minute gathering or special occasion!

    The satisfying lemony flavor is lusciously carried in a soft, melt-on-the-tongue cake crumb. This recipe is so simple you will not believe how delicious the result is.

    If you are expanding your healthy baking repertoire, try this Vegan Strawberry Cake or these Dairy Free Vanilla Cupcakes.

    This Vegan lemon cake has a soft and fluffy texture and bright fresh flavor! The cake is moist while the frosting is smooth and creamy. This homemade vegan cake recipe is great for springtime, Easter, Mother's Day and summer!
    Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes minutes
    Resting Time 1 hour hour
    Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
    JUMP TO RECIPE
    Vegan lemon cake.

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    • One-step vegan lemon cake: Whip it up in one mixing bowl. The preparation time with this cake is minimal. It is as easy as these Vegan Cupcakes!
    • Cost-effective: This cake uses regular, store-bought ingredients that do not cost the earth.
    • Long-lasting: This cake will stay fresh for days. Store it in the fridge.
    • A base to play with: Add other tasty ingredients to this base recipe. Try it with fresh blueberries, poppy seeds, or toasted coconut.
    • Fresh flavor: The lemon flavor is bright, fresh, and flavorful.
    • Gluten-free: Make this cake gluten-free with gluten-free flour.
    • Versatile: This cake is great for so many different occasions! Bake it for Easter, Mother's Day, birthdays, summertime, and family parties. Another Easter favorite is this Homemade Carrot Cake!
    • If chocolate is your thing, make this Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe!

    Ingredients & Substitutions

    Check out the ingredients for this vegan lemon cake recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom.

    Granulated sugar: Plain old white sugar is perfect in this recipe. You want it to be lump free. Give it a light whisk before adding it to the batter if it contains lumps.

    All-purpose flour: Sifted flour is best for an easy smooth cake batter. Use your favorite gluten-free brand if you want a gluten-free cake. All the other ingredients are already gluten-free.

    Baking soda: Use fresh baking soda for a well-risen cake. This is a crucial ingredient as the cake batter is without eggs.

    Plant-based milk: Go for any of your favorites. Oat milk, soy, coconut, almond, or rice milk

    Vegetable oil: Avocado, canola, and mild olive oil are delicious in this case.

    Vanilla extract: Use a high-quality extract if possible. Switch it out for lemon essence (also good quality) if you prefer.

    Lemon juice and zest: Fresh lemon juice is first prize. You can also make this cake with orange juice and zest (also fresh) or grapefruit juice and zest (a totally different experience). Use half lemon and half lime juice for a fun flavor combination.

    Vegan frosting: Use vanilla or lemon, depending on your taste preference. Lemon frosting delivers a more intense citrus experience. Vanilla balances the citrus a little and is lighter on the palate. Store-bought vegan frosting is all you will need. Go ahead and make a homemade batch if you like.

    Ingredients for vegan lemon cake.

    Taste & Texture

    This moist vegan lemon cake is the perfect combination of citrusy goodness with a touch of sweetness. It is not loaded with sugar and is, therefore, beautifully balanced. The veggie oil in the recipe gives a lovely velvety crumb.

    The soft and fluffy cake crumb will melt in your mouth. A pillowy pop of frosting follows each bite. It is truly the most delicious yet simple cake.

    How to Make

    Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray.

    Cake pan with nonstick spray.

    Step 2

    In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, and baking soda. Stir together.

    Dry cake ingredients in bowl.
    Mixed dry cake ingredients.

    Step 3

    Add in the remaining ingredients, except frosting. Stir until combined.

    Wet ingredients for lemon cake.

    Step 4

    Pour batter into the two greased pans.

    Two cake pans with batter.

    Step 5

    Bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

    Baked yellow cake.

    Step 6

    Remove vegan lemon cake from oven. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

    Step 7

    Once fully cooled, add frosting. Frost one cake then place the other cake on top. Frost on top!

    Expert Tips & Tricks

    Use room temperature ingredients: Use room temperature oil. Cold vegetable oil will not mix in easily with the other ingredients. In addition, you want your batter to be silky and light.

    Grease the tins well: Nothing is worse than a cake that sticks to the sides of the tin. Apply plenty of nonstick spray to the sides.

    Change the tin: Use this recipe in a Bundt pan for a different shape and look. Make sure to grease and flour the tin well. If you bake a full load of batter in a single tin, increase the baking time as needed.

    Cool the cake: Cool this vegan lemon cake before frosting and/or storing. This will prevent the cake from sweating and becoming sticky.

    Do not overmix the batter: Your cake will likely be dry if you overmix it. This is because the gluten will overdevelop and cause the baked cake to be stretchy and dry rather than soft and light.

    Store the cake in an upside-down container: Place the cake on the lid of the container. Next, pop the container on top of the cake. This way, you will not need to reach into a deep container to pull out the cake.

    Slice of citrus cake.

    How to Serve & Store

    Serve this vegan lemon cake as part of a tea party or as a birthday cake. Top it with sprinkles, edible flowers, and glitter. So pretty! It is also great for a Spring party at Easter time.

    This vegan lemon cake is a lovely, quick afternoon tea cake to put together. Box it up and take it as a gift or serve it to kids with ice cream and a drizzle of lemon curd. What a treat.

    To store this vegan lemon cake recipe, cool it first. Completely. Once it has reached room temperature and ice frosted, pop it in an airtight container. Use a tin or plastic container that is tall enough not to touch the top of the cake.

    This vegan lemon cake will keep for about 5 days. It will freeze for 2 to 3 months.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How do you bake a cake without eggs?

    Use an egg substitute like mashed banana or a combination of baking powder and apple cider vinegar. Another good option is a chia egg. To make a chia egg, mix 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water. Once the mixture has turned to a jelly, your “egg” is ready.

    How are vegan cakes different?

    Vegan cakes, like this vegan lemon cake, do not contain any ingredients derived from animal products. Instead, they use all plant-derived ingredients. The main elements to switch out are eggs, butter, honey, and milk. Easy alternatives include chia eggs, vegan butter, maple syrup, and plant-based milk.

    Is this recipe gluten free?

    No, the flour in this recipe makes it a wheat based recipe. The all-purpose flour can be substituted for gluten-free flour to make vegan gluten-free lemon cake.

    Can you make this into cupcakes?

    Yes, you can. Use cupcake liners to prevent sticking. Bake for only 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

    Can you freeze this cake?

    Yes, this is a freezer friendly cake.

    Can I substitute lemon juice for lemon extract in a vegan lemon cake?

    You can, although the taste from fresh lemon juice is best.

    Vegan cake with lemons.

    Equipment Needed

    Hand Mixer: This hand mixer is convenient, easy to clean and sturdy. This recipe can be mixed by hand or with an electric mixer.

    Pyrex 3 Glass Mixing Bowls: These are the best mixing bowls for baking cake.

    Pyrex Glass Measuring Cups: These glass measuring cups are great for baking and cooking.

    Whisk: Whisk together or stir together the cake batter.

    8 Inch Cake Pans: These are my favorite affordable cake pans. They are easy to clean and bake beautifully well.

    You May Also Like

    • How Long Do Lemons Last
    • Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes
    • Fluffy Almond Milk Pancakes
    • Dairy Free Whipped Cream
    • Vegan Vanilla Pudding

    If you make this vegan lemon cake recipe, I would really appreciate a review! You can find more great recipes on my Facebook page.

    Vegan lemon cake.
    Print Recipe Pin Save RecipeSaved!
    5 from 49 votes

    Vegan Lemon Cake

    This Vegan lemon cake has a soft and fluffy texture and bright fresh flavor! The cake is moist while the frosting is smooth and creamy. This homemade vegan cake recipe is great for springtime, Easter, Mother's Day and summer!
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Keyword baking, cake, easter, lemon, mother's day, vegan
    Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 30 minutes minutes
    Resting Time 1 hour hour
    Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
    Servings 12 slices
    Calories 428kcal
    Author Sireesha A.

    Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 ½ cups dairy free milk
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
    • 2 cups vegan frosting vanilla, buttercream or lemon

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). Spray two 8 inch round cake pans with nonstick spray.
    • In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar and baking soda. Stir together.
    • Add in all remaining ingredients, except frosting. Stir together.
    • Pour batter into the two greased pans.
    • Bake for 30 to 32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
    • Remove from oven. Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes. Then remove cakes from pan and place on wire rack to cool completely.
    • Once fully cooled, add frosting. Frost one cake then place the other cake on top. Frost on top!

    (Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)

    Notes

    • Be sure to use 8-inch cake pans, not 9-inch pans.
    • Generously spray the cake pans with nonstick spray.
    • Mix the cake batter until no clumps of flour remain.
    • If needed, replace all-purpose flour with gluten-free 1 to 1 flour.
    • Do not bake too long.
    • Once a toothpick inserted comes out clean, remove the cakes from the oven.
    • Allow the cakes to fully cool before adding the frosting.
    • Feel free to use any flavor of frosting.
    • Store cake in the fridge for up to 4 days.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Fiber: 1g

    Enjoy this vegan lemon cake! Have you signed up for my newsletter? Join the Watch Learn Eat community for more great recipes!

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    About Sireesha

    Hi There! I am the recipe developer, content writer, and owner of Watch Learn Eat. A lifelong foodie, I enjoy cooking, baking, traveling, and spending time with my two little twin daughters.

    Learn more about me

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