Our vegan lemon cake is effortless to make with a few pantry staples and guarantees a moist, tangy, and tasty treat.
The crumb is moist and pillowy; you can taste the lemon with every bite. Top the cake with our vegan cream cheese frosting and the zest of a lemon.
Lemon desserts are the best! From lemon pound cake to lemon muffins, vegan lemon curd to vegan lemon bars, they are all easy to make, refreshing, and delicious.
Our vegan lemon cake is a soft, light, one-layer cake with a soft and moist crumb and a beautiful lemon flavor.
It’s one of our favorite easy dessert recipes made with minimal effort and simple ingredients.
This vegan lemon cake has a distinct lemon flavor thanks to the juice and the zest of fresh lemon, and for even more flavor, you can add some lemon extract.
It is delicious without fillings or toppings, and like our vegan apple cake and pear cake, you can eat it as a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of tea or coffee.
But if you want a more festive and indulgent lemon dessert, top it with a sweet and tangy vegan cream cheese and lemon frosting.
Ingredients
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Lemon
Get a large, yellow lemon; it is best if organic since we use the peel. We use lemon zest and lemon juice.
Lemon extract
Lemon extract is optional, but if you’d like a more evident lemon aroma, we recommend it.
Vanilla extract
It goes well with the lemon, making the flavor of the cake rounder. We recommend vanilla extract or the seeds of a vanilla pod.
Flour
We use all-purpose flour.
We haven’t tested this cake with gluten-free flour, so we are unsure if it’ll work out.
Water
We tried making this cake with almond milk, vegan buttermilk with apple cider vinegar, soy milk, and other non-dairy milks in the past.
However, after several rounds of testing, we figured out that the cake turned out much more delicious with water.
Sugar
You can use white sugar or brown sugar.
We haven’t tested this cake with maple syrup and are unsure if it works.
Coconut sugar or palm sugar works, too, although the cake will be less sweet and more dense.
Olive oil
We use olive oil – not extra virgin olive oil, just regular olive oil.
Substitute avocado oil for olive oil.
Other oils we tested in the past that work well are sunflower oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, and most other neutral vegetable oils.
However, compared to olive and avocado oil, these are less healthy.
Melted coconut oil will make the cake denser and less fluffy.
Baking powder
To help the cake rise and make it light and airy. We don’t use baking soda in this recipe.
Salt
A pinch of salt helps bring the flavors together.
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
You can make a delicious vegan cream cheese and lemon frosting with:
- vegan butter (use one that comes in a stick, and it’s solid, not a spreadable one)
- vegan cream cheese
- powdered sugar
- lemon zest
- vanilla extract
How to make vegan lemon cake
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Preheat the oven to 340°F or 170°C. Butter your cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. We use an 8-inch (20-21 cm) cake pan.
To a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine them.
To a smaller bowl, add the wet ingredients. Start with the grated lemon zest.
Then, cut the lemon in half, squeeze it, and add 1/4 cup or 60 grams of lemon juice to the same bowl. Make sure you don’t add any lemon seeds.
Add water, olive oil, lemon, and vanilla extract and whisk well.
Tip: Only grate the yellow part of the peel, not the white flesh under, as that part is bitter.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry one and whisk until just combined. Get rid of lumps, but don’t overmix the batter.
Tip: it is best not to overmix the batter when making vegan cakes. You can use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer, but remember that overmixing will activate the flour gluten and make the cake heavier and more compact.
Pour the batter into the cake pan and level it off.
Bake it immediately in the central lower wire rack of your preheated oven at 340°F or 170°C for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
Let the cake cool down in the cake pan for 10 minutes, then take it out and let it cool down completely (at least 1 hour) before applying the frosting.
Tip: to prevent the cake from sticking to your wire rack, line the rack with parchment paper.
How to make vegan frosting
Take the vegan butter out of the refrigerator and let it soften at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Add the softened vegan butter, the zest of one lemon, and the vanilla extract to a bowl.
Whisk with a hand mixer until the butter turns creamy.
Add the vegan cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until combined.
Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.
Store it in the fridge to set if you don’t apply it to the cake immediately.
Tip: you can add between 1 and 4 cups of powdered sugar based on your taste. We like it with 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar.
Spread evenly on top of the vegan lemon cake.
Optionally, garnish this delicious lemon olive oil cake grated lemon zest, strawberries, poppy seeds, or fresh berries.
For best results, let the cake and frosting cool down in the refrigerator for about an hour before slicing and serving it so the frosting firms up nicely (but if you can’t wait, we won’t blame you).
Pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes for a faster result, then slice it and serve.
Storage & Make Ahead
Make ahead: you can make this cake up to 3 days ahead.
Refrigerator: if you apply the frosting, keep the vegan lemon cake in the fridge for up to 3 days in a cake dome or an airtight container. If you don’t apply the frosting, keep it in a cake dome or in plastic wrap for three days at room temperature.
Freezer: let the cake cool down completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Thaw: defrost in the fridge slowly, over several hours, or overnight.
Similar recipes
If you liked this single-layer vegan cake, try these other cake ideas:
Vegan Lemon Cake
Video
Equipment
- cake pan 8-Inch or 21 cm | 9-Inch or 23 cm works too, but cake will be flatter.
Ingredients
Cake's Wet Ingredients
- 1 lemon the grated zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract optional
Cake's Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces vegan butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ lemon the grated zest
- 4 ounces vegan cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 340°F or 170°C. Line the bottom of your pan with parchment paper and brush sides with butter.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: 1½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1½ teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.
- To a second bowl, add wet ingredients: the grated zest of 1 lemon, ¼ cup lemon juice, ¾ cup water, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, and 2 teaspoons lemon extract. Whisk to combine.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined, without overmixing.
- Transfer cake batter to your prepared baking pan.
- Bake at 340°F or 170°C for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.Let cake cool down 10 minutes in the pan, then take it out and let cool down completely on a wire rack lined with parchment paper.
- Spread frosting on top, keep in the fridge if not eating it immediately.Cut into slices, then you can add grated lemon zest on top before eating.
For the frosting
- Soften 2 ounces vegan butter at room temp for 15 minutes, then add it to a mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the grated zest of ½ lemon. Beat with a hand mixer for 30 seconds.
- Add 4 ounces vegan cream cheese and beat for 30 more seconds.Add 1 cup powdered sugar, beat on low speed first, scrape down sides, and finish beating on medium-high speed until perfectly smooth. Don't overbeat it.Let it firm up in the fridge for 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 15 minutes, before applying it on the cake.
- Spread frosting on top of the cake, then let cool down 1 hour in the fridge or 15 minutes in the freezer before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We're here to share easy, healthy, and delicious recipes 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
Oh my gosh! Made this cake using exact measurements of the exact ingredients and it was perfect! Awesome lemon flavour … thus will certainly be a regular at our house. Thank you for a great recipe.
Fantastic, Patty, I’m so happy you liked the lemon cake.
Thank you for your kind comment, and for taking the time to leave a rating 🎉
Kindest,
Louise
Thankyou for this great recipe. I made it in 20cm tin ,needed to cook it longer, and it came out fantastic.
I made a blueberry syrup glaze for the topping. Highly recommended 👌
Fantastic, Mish – blueberry glaze sounds amazing on the lemon cake.
Thank you for your comment, and have a wonderful day ahead!
Kindest,
Louise
I agree with what many of the other commentators say – the batter turned out to be more like cookie dough. Maybe you got some numbers wrong when writing down the recipe? I added soy milk until the batter was more like cake batter, and it definitely is not just a bit of variation because I used 10 grams flour to much, I really had to add a lot of milk until it looked right. Given that others wrote similar things, maybe you could double check the numbers so that others in the future don’t run into this problem.
Thanks so much for the Comment Merve. I will remake the recipe this week and double check the numbers.
I’ll write an update here 🙂
Apologies the cake didn’t turn out as promised.
Nico
I made muffins with this recipe, it made 12 decently sized ones. I baked it for 35 minutes but it may have been too long as I found the bottom to be a bit browned. Just like the chocolate cake batter though, this was very thick/lumpy/hard to mix. Again, I did put the sugar with the flour instead of premixing with the wet ingredients. Could that be the cause again? Otherwise, they baked out just fine!
Hi Carrie,
Thanks for your message 🙂 For the muffins, we find that 23 minutes is the perfect baking time, so yeah I’d say 35 is probably too long 🙂 We have a recipe for lemon muffins here.
We never had the thick/lumpy/hard to mix problem with our batter so I think it could be the sugar mixed with the dry ingredients. Maybe try it mixing it with the wet next time?
The only other think I can think of is if you are using a different flour, like a whole wheat one? In this case you might need to add some more liquid.
Hope this helps 🙂
Have a great day and let me know if you have any questions.
Nico
Followed the quantities exactly and still the mixture was more like that of a cookie dough. It did rise, but the thickness of the mixture meant it was difficult to get an even bake all the way through. Very dense and could taste the baking powder very strongly. Edible but wouldn’t recommend, unfortunately. Glad to see others have liked it though:) thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi Leigh,
I’m sorry you didn’t like the cake. Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it.
Kindest, Louise
I tried doubling this recipe but it’s turning very thick even with two and a half cups of flour and double the rest. Is it the baking powder??
Hi Hannah,
Sorry I’m not sure what you mean – did you double all the ingredients amounts as well as the baking powder? What measurements do your baking tray have?
Let me know, and we’ll do our best to troubleshoot 🙂
Louise
Hi, could I use olive oil? Thank you
Hi Tara, thank you for your message.
We haven’t tested this lemon cake with olive oil, but my guess is that it would work.
We’ve tried making our lemon pound cake with a light olive oil, and it turned out delicious. Since this cake is very similar, I believe that it could work.
Do let me know how it turns out if you try. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Kindest, Louise
I liked the cake but it was a little heavy and dry. The frosting was delicious. I doubled it and frosted the entire cake.
Hi Susan,
Thank you for your feedback – I’m delighted you liked the frosting, and it’s a great idea to frost the entire cake too 🙂
Have a great day,
Louise
The lemon cake was delicious, and I want to make it again and again but just a bit moister, recommendations? Thank you!
Hi Nico,
I’m excited to try this egg-free vegan cake for Christmas! I’m curious if you’ve tried making this with gluten free flour (as indicated in the recipe as a substitute). Also, for the vegan cream cheese frosting, what vegan butter do you recommend?
Thanks,
Beatrice
Hi Beatrice, sorry for the delayed comment, we wanted to publish our vegan cream cheese frosting post first so you can get more information here: https://theplantbasedschool.com/vegan-cream-cheese-frosting/
Our top favorite brands are “Violife just like original cream cheese” (probably our favorite for frosting because it’s as thick as regular cream cheese), Wayfare, Simply V, and Trader Joe’s. Other brands are Kite Hill, The Dairy-Free Co, Daya, So Delicious, and Miyoko’s.
The vegan lemon cake works also with gluten-free flour (tested and approved by our readers) – we have yet to test it ourselves.
I hope this helps. Have a wonderful Monday. Kindest, Louise
Thank you for your response about the cream cheese. What about a recommendation for non-soy vegan butter good for baking?
You are welcome, Beatrice. We really like Violife’s Vioblock. It’s a really good soy-free alternative 🙂
Thanks for the response! Does it matter if the butter is a spreadable kind vs. stick? I know baking ingredients usually need to be precise.
Hi Beatrice, thanks for your message. Go for as solid a butter type that you can find. We’ve only tested with hard butter types and not softened butter. I hope that helps. Have a great Monday. Best, Louise
Can I use a regular pan and not a springform?
Hi Hannah, yes you can use a regular cake pan. The reason we like to use a springform pan is that I find it easier to remove the cake from it after baking. Make use to oil your cake pan well or use parchment paper, then you should be fine! Have a wonderful day. Cheers, Nico
I made this yesterday and it’s very tasty. I may have over mixed it slightly as it’s not as moist as normal, but very edible. I will definitely make this again. Thank you.
Hi there, thanks so much for coming back to leave a reply! I’m happy you liked it 🙂 Cheers, Nico
Hello, I’d like to bake this in a Bundt pan. Should I leave the recipe as is, or double it? Thank you
Hi Stacie,
Thanks for your comment. If you wanna make a bundt cake, I highly recommend following the lemon pound cake recipe which we tested with a bundt pan: https://theplantbasedschool.com/vegan-pound-cake/#variations
If you wanna make the vegan lemon cake, I would double the measurements and bake it 5-10 minutes longer until a toothpick comes out dry. We haven’t tested this version for the lemon cake, so I cannot predict the result 🙂
I hope this helps, have a wonderful Friday!
Kindest, Louise