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    Oh My Veggies » Vegan Recipes » Vegan Dessert Recipes

    Easy Vegan Lemon Cake

    Published: Aug 11, 2020 · by Nicole · Updated: Sep 20, 2023 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    This vegan lemon cake is zesty and sweet! Topped with a light lemon frosting and fresh fruit, this cake makes for a perfect summer dessert!

    vegan lemon cake topped with fruit
    Jump to:
    • How to Make Vegan Lemon Cake
    • Tips, Tricks, & Variations
    • More Vegan Cake Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    I've been on a cake baking spree lately - and no one around here is complaining. This vegan lemon cake is the latest addition to my vegan cake recipes, and it is absolutely perfect for summer baking.

    I've made many lemon cakes over the years. Some of my personal favorites are this Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake, this healthy Spelt, Zucchini, and Lemon Cake, this pretty Lemon Cake with Blueberry Frosting, and this simple Lemon Syrup Cake.

    But I think I love this new vegan lemon cake best.

    This cake recipe is prepped in just 15 minutes, and you can make the frosting while the cake bakes! It doesn't get much easier than that.

    This vegan lemon cake recipe is... 

    • vegan
    • vegetarian
    • dairy-free
    • egg-free
    • prepped in 15 minutes
    • an easy dessert

    If you love vegan baking, make sure you grab a copy of my free vegan baking cheat sheet while you're here. It's packed with all my favorite plant-based substitutions to help you vegan-ize any recipe!

    collage of images showing how to make a vegan lemon cake

    How to Make Vegan Lemon Cake

    1. In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and lemon zest. 
    2. Add sunflower oil, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Mix.
    3. Pour into a baking pan and bake for 1 hour. 
    4. Make the lemon frosting by whisking together vegan butter and icing sugar.  Add coconut milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk into a frosting.
    5. Frost the cake, and serve!

    Scroll down for the full recipe with measurements and detailed instructions.

    vegan lemon cake with a slice cut out

    Tips, Tricks, & Variations

    Keep it Fresh

    Store this vegan lemon cake in the fridge. To maintain moisture, cover the cake with saran wrap, or store it in a cake storage container with a lid. It will store for 5 days. 

    Decorating It

    Feel free to top the cake with the fresh fruit of your choice. We used strawberries and lemon slices, which I think are really pretty! But you could also use strawberries or blueberries.

    Fruits with skins will work best so that they don't make your cake mushy from the extra moisture sitting on top.

    Non-Dairy Milks

    You can use any non-dairy milk of your choice to make this vegan lemon cake- you might try almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, or rice milk. 

    Personally, I like using coconut milk for cakes. Canned coconut milk is an especially great non-dairy choice because it’s a little thicker than other plant based milks and makes the cake really moist.  

    Make Orange or Lime Cake

    If you don’t have any lemons in the house, but you do have oranges or limes, you can easily turn this lemon cake into an orange cake or lime cake. 

    Just switch out the lemon juice and lemon zest for orange or lime zest and juice. Totally different cake - but just as tasty!

    slice of vegan lemon cake on a blue plate

    More Vegan Cake Recipes

    If you love this vegan lemon cake, be sure to check out these other incredible vegan cake recipes:

    • Vegan Pound Cake
    • Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    • Vegan Vanilla Cake
    • Vegan Cheesecake

    And don’t forget to grab a copy of my free vegan cheat sheet too! It’s packed with my favorite easy substitutions to help you make just about any recipe vegan!

    Recipe

    Vegan Lemon Cake

    This vegan lemon cake is zesty and sweet! Topped with a light lemon frosting and fresh fruit, this cake makes for a perfect summer dessert!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Keyword: Delicious Everyday, how to make vegan lemon cake, lemon cake recipe, vegan lemon cake, vegan lemon cake recipe
    Servings: 12 servings
    Calories: 292kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    Equipment

    • 7" cake tin

    Ingredients

    • 2 ⅓ cups self raising flour
    • 1 cup brown sugar
    • 1 tsp baking powder
    • 1 lemon zested
    • Juice of half a lemon
    • ¾ cup coconut milk or other plant based milk
    • ⅓ cup + 2 tbsp sunflower oil or other neutral oil

    Lemon Frosting

    • 1 cup icing sugar
    • 1 tbsp vegan butter softened
    • ½ tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 tbsp coconut milk or other plant based milk
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F and grease a 7" round cake tin.
    • In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest together. Pour oil, lemon juice and coconut milk into the bowl and whisk well.
    • Pour into the cake tin, and bake for 50 - 60 minutes. Double check with a skewer or toothpick. It’s ready when it comes out clean. Leave Lemon Cake out of the oven to cool down.

    Prepare Lemon Frosting

    • In a medium bowl, whisk the vegan butter and icing sugar together. Add coconut milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix together until you get a sugary frosting.

    Frost the Cake.

    • Cut cake into 2 layers. Cover the first layer with sugary frosting, then stack the second layer on top. Cover the whole cake with the rest of sugary frosting. Decorate with lemon and strawberries or any fruits of your choice.

    Video

    Notes

    See article above for tips, tricks, and variations.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 292kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 16mgPotassium: 134mgFiber: 1gSugar: 28gVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
    « Vegan Pound Cake
    Vegan Coffee Cake »

    Dairy Free Recipes, Delicious Everyday, Dessert Recipes, Vegan Dessert Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes almond milk, Brown Sugar, DE, Icing sugar, lemon, sunflower oil, vegan butter

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    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
    Learn more here.

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