This vegan layer cake is the lemoniest cake I've ever tried! Tangy lemon curd is sandwiched between two layers of tender cake, flavored using the zest of 4 whole lemons!
It has a beautiful golden crumb that melts in your mouth. No one will guess that it's completely eggless and dairy-free.
The cream cheese frosting also uses homemade lemon curd, which packs way more flavor than just lemons or lemon extract.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here's what you need to make this easy vegan lemon cake along with the lemon cream cheese frosting:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Fresh Lemon Juice & Zest: Select unwaxed lemons, and if possible organic. Between the lemon curd filling, lemon frosting, and the cake you can expect to use the juice from around 8 medium to large lemons and the zest from around 6!
- Non-Dairy Milk: I use soy as the protein content reacts best with acid to create a vegan buttermilk substitute. Normally I use apple cider vinegar as the acid but the lemon juice does the job here. Feel free to swap it for oat milk or almond milk if you prefer.
- Vegan Yogurt: This is in my opinion, what sets vegan cakes apart from the rest. It adds so much moisture to the batter making it a fantastic egg replacer. Go for thick Greek-style yogurt such as Alpro. Thick coconut yogurt or vegan sour cream will also work.
- Vegan Butter: Like with vanilla cake, I found non-dairy butter to be a better option than olive oil for this cake. The butter adds richness to the batter and gives a wonderful texture. You will need block-style butter, not margarine from a tub.
- Vegan Cream Cheese: I always use Violife as it's available in Spain and Ireland. I've if you can get your hands on it!
- Homemade Vegan Lemon Curd: You'll need 6 ingredients to make the lemon curd (lemon juice and zest, dairy-free milk, cornstarch, sugar, and dairy-free butter) and an optional pinch of turmeric for color. As you can see, a lot of the ingredients overlap with the lemon cake itself so you won't need to increase your shopping list too much!
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Looking for more vegan lemon desserts? Try my recipes for vegan lemon muffins, vegan lemon loaf cake, lemon cookies, lemon lasagna, lemon tart, and lemon cheesecake next!
🥣 Instructions
This is a relatively easy vegan lemon cake recipe, but I do encourage you to read through this entire post as well as the printable recipe card below before getting started to help familiarize yourself with the process. Here's a visual of how it's done:
Step 1: In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar using your fingertips until the mixture feels "wet".
Step 2: Cream the butter and lemon sugar using the spade attachment in your stand mixer, or with a hand mixer.
Step 3: Add the vanilla extract and vegan yogurt gradually while continuing to mix into the wet ingredients.
Step 4: Alternate between adding the vegan buttermilk (soy milk + lemon juice) and dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) to the batter. I recommend adding these in three parts, mixing to combine each time.
Step 5: Divide the lemon cake batter between two 7.5 or 8-inch springform pans lined with parchment paper. For accuracy, use an ice cream scoop or scales to measure. Bake and cool the cakes.
Step 6: Make the lemon cream cheese frosting by whipping the softened butter and cream cheese until light, and then slowly incorporating the lemon curd.
Step 7: Add the cooled cake to a turntable and scoop around a third of the frosting on top.
Step 8: Smooth out the frosting with an offset spatula and pipe a border around the outer edge to hold in the filling.
Step 9: Pour the lemon curd on top, then top with the second cake layer.
Step 10: Frost the top and down the sides of the cake, using a cake scraper to smooth it out.
🍋 Variations
If you fancy switching up the flavors or fillings for this cake, here are some ideas to get you started:
- Lemon Meringue Cake: Frost with my dairy-free Italian meringue or Swiss meringue buttercream and/or decorate with mini vegan meringues!
- Lemon Sheet Cake: If you don't have round cake pans, try my lemon drizzle cake instead.
- Lemon Raspberry Cake: Frost with raspberry buttercream for a beautiful pink hue and bright berry flavor to contrast the citrus.
- Decorations: Top with fresh berries, edible flowers, mint leaves, or piped frosting. You could also pipe some lemons by hand by coloring part of the frosting with turmeric or vegan food coloring.
- Switch The Filling: For a fruit twist try raspberry curd, or blueberry curd.
- Skip the Curd: If you don't want to make the lemon curd frosting and filling, try my vegan lemon frosting instead which is based on custard and has a slightly milder lemon flavor.
💡Recipe Tips
Selecting the right lemons. While you can use any variety of lemon you have (Eureka, Lisbon, Meyer, Verna, Fino, etc) the most important thing to note is you want unwaxed fresh lemons or if possible organic. If you can't get organic, make sure you wash the lemons well to remove any pesticides or residue before zesting.
Roll, zest, then juice. Firmly rolling your lemon on the countertop for 10-15 seconds will help to release all the juice inside. When zesting, remove only the top, bright yellow layer - the white pith is quite bitter.
Rub the zest into the sugar. Spend a few minutes running the lemon zest into the sugar using your fingers. The rough sugar granules will help the zest to release its oils leaving you with fragrant lemon sugar.
Measure with a digital kitchen scale. I have also included a conversion of US cup measurements for your convenience, but grams are always the best way to guarantee accuracy as even the slightest deviation from wet to dry ingredients can affect the recipe.
Use room temperature ingredients. This is key for both the cake and frosting. This helps the ingredients emulsify more easily and encourages the batter to trap more air - resulting in a lighter baked good.
💬 FAQs
This eggless lemon cake is best served at room temperature to ensure it keeps its fluffy consistency.
If you don't plan on eating it all in a day or so, seal it in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 5 days. Then remove the cake from the fridge about 1-2 hours before serving to bring it back to room temperature.
I also recommend removing any mint of lemon garnishes until right before serving..
Yes, you can! Again, remove any lemon slices of mint leaf garnishes before freezing. You can freeze the cake whole or in pre-sliced portions. Simply wrap the cake in plastic wrap or place it in a sealed container and place it in the freezer.
To defrost, thaw it in the fridge overnight.
To check if the cake is done, insert either a skewer or toothpick into the center. It should come out almost clean with a few loose crumbs on it, but no batter.
If there is wet batter on the toothpick, return the cake to the oven to continue baking for another 5 minutes before checking again.
🎂 More Vegan Cakes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Cake With Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 2x 8 inch cake pans
Ingredients
Cake
- 360 g (3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 240 ml (1 cup) soy milk *see note 1
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) lemon juice freshly squeezed *see note 2
- 300 g (1 ½ cup) granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons lemon zest *see note 2
- 115 g (4 oz) vegan butter softened *see note 3
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 180 g (¾ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt or vegan sour cream
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ batch vegan lemon curd room temperature *see note 4
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan butter softened *see note 1
- 200 g (7 oz) vegan cream cheese room temperature *see note 5
- 60 g (½ cup) powdered sugar
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Please read through the ingredients and instructions thoroughly before getting started. The frosting uses homemade lemon curd, this can either be made in advance or while the cakes are baking and cooling.
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F.Line the base of two 8" cake tins with a circle of parchment paper and liberally grease the sides with oil or vegan butter.
- Combine dry ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Make vegan buttermilk: In a jug, mix the soy milk and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Flavor the sugar: Add the sugar and lemon zest to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl if you're using a handheld electric whisk. Use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar crystals feel "wet".
- Cream the butter and sugar: Add the softened butter to the bowl and beat using an electric whisk or the paddle attachment of your stand mixer for a minute or two until combined.
- Add the vanilla and yogurt to the butter in 2-3 parts whilst mixing until incorporated. Don't worry if the mixture appears a little split at this stage.
- Make the batter: Add around ⅓ of the dry ingredients and ⅓ of the vegan buttermilk to the batter and mix. Repeat this for the rest of the dry ingredients and buttermilk in 2 more increments until all of the ingredients are mixed into the batter. Stop as soon as there are no visible pockets of flour - don't be tempted to overmix!
- Bake: Transfer the cake batter to the lined cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. To check they are done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out almost clean with a few crumbs.
- Cool the cakes: Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes and then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool further. Carefully peel away the parchment that will stick to the base of the cakes.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep the lemon curd: If you haven't yet, make the lemon curd and let it cool to room temperature before use. If you have prepped it in advance, take it out of the fridge at least an hour beforehand and whisk it until smooth.
- Whisk the ingredients: Using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer or a hand-held whisk beat the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
- Slowly start adding 200g of the lemon curd (around ⅔ of the half batch) to the bowl and whisk until incorporated. The remaining lemon curd will be used for the filling.Lastly, slowly add the powdered sugar and whisk until combined.
Assembly
- Once the cakes are cooled, sit the first layer on a turntable.Add around ⅓ of the frosting on top of the first cake layer, and use an offset spatula/pallet knife to spread it in an even layer.
- Lemon Filling: Pipe a ring of frosting around the edge to create a dam for the lemon curd. Add the remaining lemon curd inside the dam and very carefully smooth it out using the spatula.
- Add the next layer of cake. Use the remaining frosting to coat around the top and down the sides of the cake. Carefully smooth everything out with a cake scraper. Garnish with fresh mint leaves, daisies, and lemon segments!
Notes
- Soy Milk: This gives the best result, but you can also use almond milk or oat milk.
- Lemon Zest & Juice: I used 4 medium unwaxed lemons. Zest the lemons first, then juice them.
- Vegan Butter: Take it out of the fridge around an hour before use and let it sit on your kitchen counter.
- Vegan Lemon Curd: A half batch is enough for the frosting and filling.
- Vegan Cream Cheese: Take it out of the fridge around an hour before use and let it sit on your kitchen counter.
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I am disappointed with the outcome. The cake turned out too moisture inside despite the fork test and definitely doesn't look as fluffy as in the recipe, despite baking for 35 minutes. Apparently, I need to bake even longer. I used 5 big lemons (instead of 8 for the recipe) and I think it was still too much lemon juice in the end. Also, the frosting was very liquid and didn't behave like the one from the photos at all. I guess for the better version, the cake should be baked longer, left until completely cooled down, but the frosting should be prepared right before being put on top and with not too warm butter as vegan butter starts to melt too easily. It wasn't really obvious, and my frosting turned out to be a puddle. Taste-wise the cake turned out pretty good, but still too sweet for me, the amount of sugar in the recipe is just enormous.
Nunca he preparado una torta de limón, se ve muy rica, ya intentaré preparar 😋
I made this cake for my husband's birthday. It was totally delicious and so very lemony. Everyone loved it (and unfortunately a lot of non-vegans). The hardest part was zesting so many lemons (cake, curd and frosting) but well worth it. I'd definitely make again. Its the third recipe of yours I've used and they've all been amazing. Thank you!
I'm about the make the pumpkin coffee cake for a dear friend of mine for her birthday.
Can a gluten free flour be use in place of all-purpose?
Hi Lindsay,
I haven't personally tried it, but in case you decide to give it a go, many readers have success with King Arthurs measure for measure flour with some of my other recipes
Made this cake for my mom’s birthday. Its pretty good but I was a little confused about the quantities for the frosting and lemon curd… i made half a batch of lemon curd as the recipe calls for and got just over 200g. But then she says to use 200g or 2/3 of it in the frosting and the rest for the filling. That would not have left me enough for the filling. I just used about 1/3 in the frosting and added some lemon zeste. Also, the frosting was too runny so i had to add a lot more powdered sugar than juste 1/2 cup. Beside this, pretty good. Might be user error.
Hi Jade,
It sounds like there may have been a mix-up with the lemon curd measurements - a half batch should yield closer to 290g, so that would explain why you didn’t have quite enough for both the filling and frosting. I’m glad you still enjoyed the cake overall, and thank you for the helpful feedback!
Tastes amazing and turned out perfect!
This is one of the best lemon cakes I have ever had. My kiddo and I made this together. I did not have vegan cream cheese or yogurt, so I subbed with vegan sour cream. Delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipes. My vegan skeptic family members also loved this cake.
Hi Amanda,
This is so lovely to hear, thank you so much for taking the time to leave your review 🙂
Hey. I'm confused. How much buttermilk goes in to the batter?
Thank you! Greetings from Slovenia 🙂
Hi Petra,
The vegan buttermilk consists of the soy milk (240ml) and lemon juice (80ml) mixed together. Hope this helps!
I'm going to make this cake for my sister, who is allergic to eggs but not vegan. Can I use dairy milk and butter?
Hi Kathy,
That's lovely that you're making the cake for her! I'm sorry, I don't use animal products so none of my recipes have been tested with them, so it's not something I would advise.
I don’t have any butter… can I substitute with oil?
Hi Lisa,
I reckon you could, just note that the cake will have a lighter texture. Do let me know how it goes!
I made this last week for a birthday party and everyone LOVED it! I’ve just used the same recipe for cupcakes and had to sample one… amazing! Your recipes always turn out great, thank you so much for sharing them!
I made the cake but paired it with black currant curd and black currant frosting. It was a big hit and looked beautiful.
Hi Alysia,
Oh wow! That sounds incredible, what a gorgeous flavor combination. I think I need to add the option for you to upload a picture here so we can all admire it!
This recipe is amazing! The cake texture is moist and the fresh lemons definitely add dimension to the flavor. For the cake I was able to do 1 1/4 cups of sugar instead of 1.5 cups and it still turned out. I used Smart Balance margarine for the frosting but it was very strong in butter flavor.
Hi Karin,
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for your feedback!
This made a really delightful cake. Unfortunately I think there’s a typo in the conversion for grams to cups for the vegan butter in the frosting. 200g is less than 1 cup, but the amount of butter says 1 3/4 cups. As such I had to add a LOT more powdered sugar to get the right consistency. That’s what I get for not double checking! Still delicious. 🤤
Hi Anna,
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! The conversion is based on 1 cup being 227g, but for accuracy I always recommend measuring with a digital scale.
Aaah! That’s good to know! That’s the only thing that seemed wrong about the recipe. Thank you!
I just made this cake for Easter. It came out beautifully and it was so delicious. The recipe was easy to follow and very clear. Thank you so much. I would love to attach a picture, but I’m not sure how to do that.
Hi Madeline,
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe, thank you so much for your lovely feedback. There isn't an option to attach an image here, but if you happen to share it on social media please do tag me, I would LOVE to see it!
Just made for my mum’s birthday cake.
She said it was lovely and best sponge I’ve made to date.
Hi Nathan,
Oh wow that's amazing! Thank you so much for sharing
Hi! Am I able to make cupcakes with this batter??
Hello,
I think they would be lovely! Just reduce the baking time to 20 minutes, and add extra time if needed. I would love to hear how they turn out if you give them a go!
Can this be made in a muffin tin? This cake looks wonderful!
Thank you, Malinda!
That's a lovely idea, for baking temps and times I would follow my other muffin recipes as a guide. Do let me know if you give them a try!
I have to be gluten free, can this be made using a GF flour blend?
Hi Patricia,
I haven't tested it I'm afraid, if you are giving it a go though a blend like Bob's or King Srthur is your best bet. And, I would let the batter sit for 30 minutes before baking too. Hope this helps and I would love to hear if you decide to give it a go!
Can I bake the cake at 325 degrees in a toaster oven?
Hi Pam,
I'm sorry I don't have experience baking with a toaster oven so can't advise on this.