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My vegan lemon cake recipe is light, fluffy, and full of citrusy flavor. It’s made in one bowl and covered in a silky lemon cream cheese frosting!
If you love vegan cakes as much as we do, try my vegan birthday cake, vegan strawberry cake, or vegan chocolate cake next.
I’m always coming up with vegan versions of my family’s favorite recipes, and lately, they’ve been BEGGING me to make a vegan lemon cake.
Well, their wish is my command. For this recipe, I kept the necessary staples to yield a light and fluffy cake–but made a few dairy-free swaps to keep it vegan. The results are, well, a cake that no one would guess is vegan! That’s the goal, right?
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Made in one bowl. So the prep time and clean up is over in seconds.
- No egg substitutes. No flax eggs, no chia eggs, nada. Instead, I use a little vinegar to mix with the baking soda to yield a light and tender crumb.
- Adjust the lemon flavor. If you’re a hardcore lemon head, you can add more than my suggested amount of lemon juice. If you prefer it milder, add less.
- Perfect for any occasion. We always make lemon cake for Mother’s Day and Easter, though is there ever a bad occasion for lemon cake?
Ingredients needed
- All-purpose flour. Sifted to remove any clumps. Use gluten-free flour with xanthan gum mixed in if desired.
- Sugar. Any sugar works. I used white sugar, but brown sugar or coconut sugar could be used. The darker the sugar you use, the darker the cake will be.
- Baking soda. Gives the cake some rise and fluffiness. Don’t use baking powder as it won’t yield the same results.
- Salt. Brings out the sweetness of the cake.
- White vinegar. Acts as a binding and leavening agent. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
- Oil. I used canola oil, but any neutral-flavored oil works, such as vegetable oil or refined coconut oil.
- Milk or water. I used unsweetened almond milk, but soy milk or water would both yield similar results.
- Fresh lemon juice. Gives the lemon cake the gorgeous tangy lemon flavor. Use fresh lemons so you can add the zest too.
- Lemon extract. Brings out the lemon flavor even more! If you don’t have any lemon extract, you can use vanilla extract.
- Lemon zest. Optional but highly recommended for some extra lemon flavor.
For the lemon cream cheese frosting:
- Vegan butter. Choose a vegan butter from a block, not a spread. Blocks of butter are easier to mix and yield a creamier texture. I like the Miyokos brand as it has the most similar texture to dairy butter.
- Vegan cream cheese. Softened to room temperature. Like the butter, choose the cream cheese from a block if possible.
- Vanilla extract. A must for flavor.
- Lemon juice. For essential lemon flavor.
- Powdered sugar. To thicken the frosting.
How to make a vegan lemon cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven and line a cake pan with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix. In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Whisk in the wet ingredients until smooth.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack.
Step 4- Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and lemon juice until creamy. Fold in the powdered sugar until fluffy.
Step 5- Frost. Once the cake has cooled, frost it, slice, and serve.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Make a layer cake. Double or triple the ingredients and cover each of the cake layers with frosting.
- Save time. Use a stand mixer for the batter and/or the frosting.
- Enhance the lemon flavor. Add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice or 1-2 teaspoons of lemon extract to the batter.
Variations
- Add mix-ins. Fold in ¼ cup of fresh berries, shredded coconut, or a few dollops of vegan lemon curd into the batter.
- Make a lemon glaze instead. Combine powdered sugar, almond milk, and lemon juice until smooth and glossy, then drizzle it over your cooled cake.
Storage instructions
To store: Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Wrap cake slices in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 6 months. Let the cake slices thaw overnight in the fridge.
Frequently asked questions
The cake may be crumbly if it was overmixed or if there weren’t enough wet ingredients added. Only stir the cake batter until there are no lumps; if it’s pretty thick, add a splash of milk or water. It should be slightly thicker than pancake batter.
All-purpose or cake flour can be used, but I wouldn’t recommend other alternative flours as they would require the other ingredients to be altered.
If the cake batter is too dry and thick, add a splash of milk or water. If the cake has already been baked, the best you can do is cover it in frosting…or use it to make my cake pops!
More vegan lemon desserts
Read my ‘Arman’s tips’ section on each recipe for how to make them vegan!
Vegan Lemon Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar * See notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 5 tablespoons oil vegetable, canola, safflower etc.
- 3/4 cup water ** See notes
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract can use vanilla extract
Frosting
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 1/2 cup vegan butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Once mixed, add your vinegar, oil, water, lemon juice, lemon extract and mix well.
- Transfer your lemon cake batter to the square pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out just clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan completely. Once cool, frost if desired.
- To make the frosting, beat together the vegan cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, and lemon juice until smooth. Slowly add in the confectioners sugar until fluffy.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally updated May 2023, updated and republished November 2024
This was very sweet and moist which actually worked really well!
Never had a recipe that’s failed or that wasn’t delicious. This is no exception and I’m a lousy baker. I read comments for tips, my heart sank when I saw the militant vegan bullying someone for using an egg, please don’t let bullying from hypocrites flood your comments. It’s off putting and makes people leave.
Very healthy lemon cake. It must be also easy like not feeling ti hard after eating.
This vegan lemon cake is fabulous!!!
my oh my, this is really nice.
TIP: the frosting is also really nice as Crème Pâtissière on a croissant. try it. really, try it.
Great recipe, very moist and tender crumb. I swapped the lemon juice and water quantities, 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 cup water and made the cake so lemony and delicious! This recipe is a keeper!
One of the best vegan lemon cakes EVER!
lovely cake, it was a bit wet tho
I absolutely love this recipe grew up in a vegan family and found most Foods were Bland and lacked flavor and excitement when I tried this recipe I knew that it was possible to cook vegan or baked vegan and it be delicious thank you thank you thank you
Best cake I ever made for my daughter. Everyone raved!
Aw, thank you Frances!
this is the best lemon cake I’ve ever made, vegan or not.
So glad to hear that, Ellen!
Tried this lemon cake recipe last week with a mascarpone roasted coconut frosting. It was amazing.
This is a very tasty, very easy-to-make cake. It baked evenly but came out extremely sticky. Next time, I will bake it a little bit more and see if that firms it up a bit. But the flavor was fantastic.