Try this soft homemade vegan lemon cake recipe, with ultra light and creamy plant based lemon frosting. It is an absolutely delightful dessert!
The best vegan lemon cake
This recipe is for all of you lemon dessert lovers.
The delightfully simple one bowl lemon cake is the ultimate classic dessert, perfect for any summer party or gathering.
It’s a naturally dairy free and vegan recipe, made with basic ingredients you can always keep on hand – no butter, and no eggs required!
You might also like this 100 Calorie Chocolate Cake
I was having a conversation with my younger sister a few days ago about our favorite dessert flavors.
Mine are chocolate and peanut butter, which you can probably guess from how many of my recipes include them, such as the Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars, the Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie, this Peanut Butter Dip, or the Chocolate No Bake Cookies.
But my sister said she much prefers lemon desserts to chocolate. And I’ve come across quite a few of you who feel similarly.
After tasting this light-as-a-cloud vegan lemon cake with its irresistible lemon whipped cream frosting, even I contemplated transferring over to team Lemon.
A classic will always be in style.
(Unlike the male romper, which apparently is a thing now. Please, just no.)
The recipe will also work as Vegan Lemon Cupcakes.
Follow the cake directions below, and bake in cupcake tins for seventeen minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a lemon cupcake comes out clean.
Dairy free lemon cake ingredients
The recipe calls for lemon juice and lemon zest, pure vanilla extract, dairy free yogurt, spelt, white, or gluten free all purpose flour, sunflower, vegetable, or coconut oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar or a sugar free substitute, and water.
You can use your favorite frosting and stir in the zest of one lemon. Or beat together the creamy part of two cans of coconut milk (discard the watery part in the cans) with two teaspoons each of lemon juice and zest, and half a cup of powdered sugar or stevia to taste.
If you prefer to frost your lemon cake with a vegan cream cheese frosting, try the one included in my recipes for Vegan Cinnamon Rolls and Vegan Carrot Cake.
Vegan Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- zest of one lemon
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup yogurt, such as coconutmilk yogurt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 cups spelt, white, or gf ap flour
- 3/4 tsp each: baking soda and salt
- 1 cup sugar, unrefined or xylitol if desired
- Optional Frosting: Beat together just the thick cream from two cans of coconut milk with 2 tsp lemon juice, pinch stevia or 6-8 tbsp powdered sugar, and 2 tsp lemon zest
Instructions
- *You can use any glaze or frosting recipe you wish. If using the one above, it's best to serve right after frosting. This makes two 8-inch cakes or one 9×13 cake. If you'd like a double-layer cake, simply stack one cake on top of the other.Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9×13 baking pan or two 8-inch pans (round or square), and set aside. Whisk the first six ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in the flour until just evenly mixed, then stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan or pans. Bake 25 minutes or until cake has risen and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. This cake tastes ten times better the next day if you can wait!View Nutrition Facts
Notes
More Lemon Desserts
Or this Keto Cheesecake Recipe
Lemon is by far my favorite cake flavor! And I’m craving for it more and more with this heat wave we’re getting. So glad I can have this healthy alternative! It will definitely be making an appearance at backyard bbqs this summer.
This looks so Springy and yummy! I love anything lemon flavored 🙂
xo,
Em
This looks wonderful, I adore anything lemon especially for spring and summer. Thanks!
LOVE IT! You’re so talented, chica. Keep up the great work! xo
Yummy, Katie! I will definitely be trying this one as I too lean toward “team lemon”!! Male rompers…how funny?!?!
Haha oh have you not seen them??? Articles about the male romper are taking over my facebook feed this week. I haven’t yet found a guy who likes the idea, and I kind of suspect the trend was invented by a media outlet hoping for a viral hit…
Do you think I could sell about the oil for very well drained crushed pineapple? I would imagine it would be similar to replacing oil with applesauce. Thoughts?
Sorry, meant swap out the oil.
Katie can only vouch for substitutions she’s tried, because there’s really no way of knowing how the texture and taste will be affected by swapping a fruit for a fat. But be sure to report back if you experiment!
I like to use honey as my unrefined sugar but will that alter the taste of the lemon cake?
Not sure about the taste, but subbing in a liquid sweetener for the sugar will alter the texture for sure.
I think honey and lemon are a great flavor combination–like a cup of tea. I use honey as the sweetener in lemon coconut mousse.
Wow, these look delicious! I am tempted to make this right now even though it’s super late. I can’t wait to try it!
I love lemon desserts too! Could you do lemon pancakes or lemon overnight oats? That would be delicious and perfect for spring/summer.
Lemon overnight oats sound delicious!
Wow. This looks delicious. My mom and I love lemon pie so this may be a close second if it goes over well. Also because it’s cake, haha. Might have to try this out soon.