Based on my popular Starbucks copycat lemon loaf, this buttery lemon cake is topped with homemade lemon curd and a delicious lemon crumb topping.
It's the perfect snack cake for weekend brunch, or a special occasion like Mother's Day.
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this easy lemon curd cake:
Ingredient Notes
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Vegan Lemon Curd: Since it can be tricky to find storebought version without eggs or dairy, make your own lemon curd using this recipe. It's packed with fresh lemon zest and juice.
- Fresh Lemons: I really have to emphasise that fresh lemon juice is a must for baking, the bottled kind leaves a fake lemon extract/essential oil aftertaste.
- Vegan Unsalted Butter: The butter is melted to give the cake a rich dense crumb. Make sure you use block-style butter and let it come back to room temperature after melting.
- Olive Oil: As cakes made with butter tend to be a little drier, a touch of oil helps to create a moister crumb. You can use canola oil or sunflower oil in it's place.
- Greek-Style Yogurt: Thick Greek vegan yogurt is best here, and it adds so much moisture to the cake. You can also use vegan sour cream or thick coconut yogurt.
- Dairy-Free Milk: I use soy milk, which is mixed with lemon juice to create a buttermilk substitute. You can use almond or oat milk if you prefer.
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🔪 Instructions
Here are step-by-step images for this vegan lemon crumb cake. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Step 1: Rub lemon zest, sugar, flour, and softened butter between your fingertips until it resembles a crumb consistency. Set aside in the fridge.
Step 2: Flavor the sugar by rubbing freshly grated lemon zest into sugar until the sugar crystals are fragrant and feel "wet".
Step 3: Whisk in the wet ingredients (vegan yogurt, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, dairy-free milk, and lemon juice).
Step 4: Fold in the dry ingredients in 2 parts using a rubber spatula. That's all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
Step 5: Pour the lemon cake batter into a springform pan lined with parchment paper. Spoon dollops of lemon curd on top.
Step 6: Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to gently smooth the lemon curd on the surface of the cake.
Step 7: Sprinkle the crumb topping in an even layer and bake until golden brown according to the recipe card below.
Step 8: Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Then dust with powdered sugar and an easy glaze made of the remaining lemon curd, powdered sugar, and a touch of non-dairy milk.
💭 Recipe Tips
Roll your lemons on the counter before juicing them to help release as much liquid as possible! Also, make sure you zest the lemons before juicing and use only the bright outer layer, not the bitter white pith underneath.
Make a full batch of lemon curd. This recipe requires a quarter batch, but trust me, it won't go to waste! You can use it for recipes like vegan lemon cake, lemon tart, lemon tiramisu, lemon cheesecake, or lemon ice cream. You can also store leftover lemon curd in an ice cube tray in the freezer.
Don't add too much lemon curd. When I first tested this recipe, I tried to add a thick lemon curd filling - similar to the pistachio cream filling in this pistachio coffee cake. However, the curd soaked into the base of the cake, making it gummy, and the lemon curd oozed out of the sides of the cake when released from the pan, causing the cake to collapse! You just need half a cup of lemon curd dolloped on top of the cake, which will go a long way
To check for doneness, insert a skewer or knife into the middle of the cake. It should come out almost clean with a few loose crumbs. If there is still wet batter (not lemon curd), continue to bake in 5-minute increments until baked through.
💬 FAQs
Store the lemon cake in an airtight container, a ziplock bag, or a plate tightly covered with plastic wrap. You can keep it out at room temperature for up to 2 days (granted it's not the middle of summer or a hot climate). You can also keep it in the fridge for up to a week. If stored in the fridge, take it out 2 hours before serving to let it return to room temperature.
Absolutely. You can freeze any leftover cake by slicing it into servings and placing them in a ziplock bag or freezer-safe container lined with parchment paper. Then defrost the slices in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
For sure, if you don't have a round cake pan, you can use a square 8x8-inch pan lined with parchment paper.
🍋 More Vegan Lemon Desserts
📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Curd Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Prep Ahead
- 145 g (¼ batch) vegan lemon curd *note 1
Lemon Crumb Topping
- Zest of ½ a large lemon *note 2
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 120 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour
- 60 g (2.1 oz) vegan butter room temperature
Cake
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) soy milk *note 3
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Zest of 2 large lemons *note 2
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 160 g (⅔ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt *note 4
- 90 g (3.1 oz) vegan butter melted and cooled to room temp
- 45 ml (3 tablespoons) olive oil *note 4
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Icing (optional)
- 90 g (¾ cup) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan lemon curd from above
- 1 teaspoon soy milk *note 3
Instructions
- Preparation: Make the lemon curd and refrigerate until ready to use (separate 2 tablespoons for the lemon icing, the rest will be added to the top of the cake before baking). Line the sides and double line the base of a 7.5 or 8-inch springform cake pan with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F.
- Lemon crumb topping: Add the crumble ingredients to a bowl and rub between your fingers unti it resembles a crumb consistency. Set aside in the fridge.
- Mix dry ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt into a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Make vegan buttermilk: Mix the soy milk and lemon juice in a jug and set aside.
- Flavor the sugar: Add the lemon zest and sugar to a large mixing bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar crystals feel "wet".
- Mix wet ingredients: Add the yogurt, melted butter, olive oil, and vanilla extract to the sugar and whisk. Whisk in the vegan buttermilk (soy milk and lemon juice).
- Make the batter: Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 parts using a spatula. Fold the ingredients into the batter between each increment until there are no pockets or streaks of flour. Do not be tempted to overmix!
- Assemble: Add the cake batter to the baking pan and use an offset spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Top with blobs of lemon curd and gently smooth them out with an offset spatula. Sprinkle the lemon crumble on top.
- Bake: Bake for 50-60 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out almost clean with a few crumbs. If there is still wet batter (not lemon curd) on the skewer, continue to bake for another 5 minutes as needed.
- Cool: Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Once the cake is completely cool, dust it with some powdered sugar and drizzle the glaze over the top.
Notes
- Vegan Lemon Curd: Prep up to 2 days in advance and store in the fridge. The full recipe and instructions are linked in the pink text above.
- Lemon Zest & Juice: Zest before juicing. Use organic or unwaxed lemons and wash and dry them thoroughly before use.
- Soy Milk: Swap for almond milk or oat milk.
- Greek-Style Yogurt: Sub with vegan sour cream, vegan skyr, or very thick coconut yogurt.
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