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!
Can you make this in a 13×9 baking pan?
Hi Kat. Yes, bake around 35-45 minutes or a bit longer. When a toothpick comes out with no wet batter in the middle, it’s done. Enjoy!
Made this for my grandma’s birthday cake, and then again for mine because it was that good.
Hi Riley! One of my favorite cakes, and I’m glad you guys loved it as well! Happy birthday to you and your grandma! Thanks for sharing your glowing 5 star review! Wishing you happy cooking!
Again – another ‘best cake I’ve ever made/eaten’ moment for Nora Cooks! Made this on the weekend for my vegan partner and OMG – this tastes just like a lemon meringue pie! It turned out so moist and beautiful, I can’t stop pecking at the leftovers! I didn’t have lemon extract so used yuzu juice and about 5 drops of lemon oil to the cake instead. I also did a combo of lemon and yuzu juice for the icing. Just delicious – will certainly be my go-to cake from now on! P.s. love the yellow dye in the cake idea – makes it look so vibrant and pretty 🙂
Hi Sarah. Your cake sounds vey happy and beautiful! I’m thrilled that you loved it and that is now your go-to cake recipe! Thanks for sharing your glowing review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Hi Nora! I tried this cake and it’s delicious. But I find that when I cut it, it’s very crumbly and doesn’t hold well. What am I doing wrong? I used cake flour and whipped the aquafaba until soft peaks. Help!
You might be over baking it somewhat, causing it to get too dry and crumbly. Only bake until a toothpick comes out clean, not any longer. Ovens can vary a bit. I’m glad you enjoyed the cake, and I hope this helps!
Made this for my daughter’s birthday party and we got so many compliments! This might be the best cake I’ve ever made.
We took a shortcut and used storebought vanilla frosting with lemon juice and zest stirred into it per the amounts in the recipe. It worked great!
This was terrific! The recipe makes enough batter to fill three 8″ pans instead of 2 which is always my preference. I feel like this makes for a more dramatic cake. Also, I put a raspberry filling between the layers and used the lemon buttercream everywhere else. Really stunning. I’ve made several of Nora’s recipes and always find them reliable!
Hi Jackie. Your cake sounds beautiful and delicious! It’s so fun to learn how others use their creativity in their cake creations! I’m so glad you are loving the recipe! Thanks for sharing your glowing review! I appreciate you using my recipes and wish you happy cooking!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! This is the first time I’ve ever actually made a cake from scratch and I definitely want to try it again. I was really intrigued by the aquafaba process! I did wonder if I let the aquafaba sit too long though – when I finally added it to the mix, a fair amount of the liquid had reconstituted under the foam – is that normal? Should I have added it sooner after it was all frothy?
I would also love to know if there is a way to make it less sweet? I would have been happy flavorwise with half the amount of sugar, but I didn’t know how to compensate for that – do you have a suggestion?
Thanks!!
Oh! I also added more lemon juice to the frosting and it was awesome!! Would adding lemon juice to the cake recipe mess it up??
You are so welcome! It’s okay if there is a bit of liquid in the aquafaba you add. Sometimes aquafaba needs to whipped until there are stiff peaks, but not for this recipe. You can lower the sugar amount a bit, perhaps even by half but I haven’t tried it myself. Adding too much lemon juice will alter the cake recipe but a little bit should be fine. Thank you!
Sounds amazing! I will be making this for the holidays but a layer cake is too much work for me. 😂How long do you think it will need to bake in a 9×13?
Hi Amy. I think you will love this cake! For a 9×13 pan, bake at the same temperature for about 45-50 minutes. Enjoy, and happy baking!
For my birthday I opted to do a lemon lime version of this cake with using 1/2 tablespoon lemon extract and 1/2 tablespoon lime extract in the cake and 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lime juice in the frosting. Tastes absolutely AMAZING!
That sounds Amazing, Devin! Thank you for sharing these ideas! I’m thrilled you loved the recipe! I appreciate your incredible review!
moist, and everybody said it was delicious! thanks so much! ps I was so surprised to see how much the aquafaba whipped up to look pretty much exactly like whipped egg whites! wow!
Hi Heather. I’m glad everyone loved the cake! I agree it is amazing how the aquafaba whips up so fluffy and light! Thanks for your terrific review and feedback! Happy cooking!
I had tried so many other vegan lemon cake recipes, and this by far is the best one! I did have a problem with slight caving, but the cakes turned out beautifully and were soooo delicious! I may try whipping up the aquafaba and folding that in. All in all, the best vegan lemon cake recipe. I would totally recommend it to every vegan baker!
I made this for a party celebrating our daughter who is vegan. It was a HUGE hit among everyone!! Absolutely delicious in every way.
Would oatmilk and apple cider vinegar work for the buttermilk? I want to make this next week for my birthday! Will update 🙂
Oatmilk will work! Happy birthday! Enjoy the cake, and happy baking!
I have not made this yet will be next week for my church food group. Can this be made in a bundt cake pan rather than the 2 rounds?
Yes, I think that will be fine. It will need longer to bake, probably around 50 minutes or so.
WOW! just WOW!!! I am not a fan of lemon at all but I made this for my daughter’s birthday (she’s vegan) and I could not stop eating it. This is one of my favorite cakes now and I will be making it for an elderly friend of mine for her birthday on Monday. It is something to behold! YUM!
Hi Carol. How awesome you loved the cake! Thank you for your wonderful review and fun feedback! Your friend is in for a treat on her birthday! Happy birthday to your daughter, your friend, and happy baking to you!
love the cake recipe but the frosting is just not setting i added 2 additional cups of powdered sugar & 1.5 cups of cornstarch and it’s still runny😭😭
When this happens, it’s usually because you accidentally started with melted or nearly melted vegan butter. It’s hard to recover frosting when you start with too melty of butter. You just want it softened, NOT melted at all.
I really want to try this, but I’d like to add fresh blueberries to the cake batter. Do you think it will still rise properly if I do?
Yes, I’ve added fresh blueberries before and it worked well. Enjoy!
A delicious cake! You’ve been on my radar for years and years, so when I had a hankering for this cake and your name came up, I felt in safe hands. You proved me right! Also very fun to make!
Hi Nora,
Just took this cake out of the oven. The flavor is dynamite! However, the layers didn’t really rise. How whipped is the aquafaba supposed to be? I got it pretty frothy (all froth with a thin layer of it in liquid form at the bottom.) I was wondering if I didn’t whip that well enough?
You might try whipping it a bit more. Also, did you use cake flour? I find that is key for a light and fluffy vegan cake.
Once again, Nora’s cake recipes are making me look good! I’ve tried several of them now, and have gotten raves every time. This lemon cake was a request from my pregnant (and nauseous) daughter-in-law, and she loved it!
Hi Wendy! I’m happy that your daughter in law loved and enjoyed the lemon cake! Thanks for taking time share your stellar review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy baking!
Hi Nora! I have been using your recipes for years and they are all amazing! I wanted to try this recipe but was curious if I could substitute 3 cups of gluten free flour for the 3 cups of cake flour. I made your gluten free vegan vanilla recipe just a few weeks ago which called for gluten free flour & almond flour. I wasn’t sure if I should incorporate almond flour as well or if gluten free would work just fine. let me know thank you!
I haven’t tried it myself but a quality gluten free flour baking mix should work quite well. The texture will probably be different, but it should work. I don’t think you need to incorporate almond flour here. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Tastes good but don’t use coconut flour. Just totally disintegrated when I removed it from the pan. Now I have cake parts and frosting. Oh well.
Hi Nora,
Could I add poppyseeds to this cake for a lemon poppyseed cake? Also I am looking to make a 4 layer 10 in cake, what measurements and bake time would you suggest?
Thanks!
How long will this cake last in the freezer?
Hi Kayla. The cake will last about 3 months in the freezer. Enjoy!
Another great cake Nora. Used gluten free flour and turned out great. Just realised that I could have ticked off the ingredients as I added them. Love that.
So glad you enjoyed the cake, even with gluten free flour, thank you!
How should I adjust the quantity and bake time for a loaf cake? Thank you!
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. Happy baking!