This is the easiest BEST Vegan Lemon Cake you will ever make! It is only 6 ingredients and takes just 10 minutes prep time. It is incredibly light, fluffy, moist and amazingly, delicious! Oil-free, no oil or vegan butter!
EASY VEGAN LEMON CAKE
This vegan lemon cake is seriously one of the yummiest cakes I’ve EVER TASTED in my life! And bonus, it also happens to be the easiest. My husband practically inhaled this cake. Lemon is his favorite dessert flavor, but I’ve shared before how he doesn’t like cake. Well, he couldn’t keep his hands off of this one! This cake is for those who want a back-to-basics straight forward cake with no-fuss, odd ingredients or any difficulty.
Due to several of you writing me asking for extremely simple and basic ingredients in a cake, I created the easiest cake I’ve ever created. It took me 3 trials to get the texture just right, but friends, it is SO light, so fluffy and amazingly, delicious! And talk about easy, only 6 ingredients and it’s also oil-free, but doesn’t taste oil-free I promise. It’s moist, buttery and fantastic! With the glaze, it’s only 8 ingredients total! How is that for an easy vegan lemon cake??
This vegan lemon cake is for those who don’t mind using regular white flour and white sugar. I totally get it if you don’t! I rarely use those either, as most of you know. 90% of the recipes I write, I use gluten-free or healthier flours and healthier sweeteners, but this is not one of those times. My Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes use white flour and white sugar and are one of my most popular desserts, so there’s still enough of you all who love the super simple ingredients.
SO in other words, this is not the cake to want to try to make healthier, there are too many of those options already on my blog, so if you don’t mind a little white flour or white sugar on a special occasion, then make it as is and enjoy how delicious it is! For those wanting a healthier lemon cake, try my Healthy Vegan Lemon Cake instead! And for those of you who DO need gluten-free, make my Vegan Gluten-free Lemon Cake instead!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- Regular white all-purpose flour
- Fine regular granulated white sugar: Do not sub this with another sweetener or coconut sugar, it will not taste like a lemon cake then or have the right texture! If it’s super important to you, make sure the sugar you buy is vegan, as not all are vegan. Wholesome sweeteners is a vegan brand.
- Baking powder
- Full-fat coconut milk: THIS cannot be subbed, it replaces all oil/butter and is what makes the cake light and moist, it leaves NO coconut taste whatsoever. If you are allergic to coconut, you will just have to skip this recipe, as it will not work without the milk.
- Fresh lemon juice and zest
- Vanilla extract
- For the glaze: Additionally, powdered sugar and yogurt
HOW TO MAKE EASY VEGAN LEMON CAKE
Step 1: Now this step is VERY important to the cake end result. First, make sure you are using a fresh can of room temperature, NOT COLD, full-fat coconut milk. With full-fat coconut milk, the coconut cream will separate from the water in the can. You MUST scrape out all of the water and cream from the can into a blender or another bowl and either blend it until smooth or whisk very well until completely smooth and mixed. If you do not do this first, you run the high risk of either getting too much cream or too much water and not the right mixed combo of each, will be really affect the cake’s texture. After it’s mixed and smooth, then measure the correct amount of milk needed for the cake.
Step 2: Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until mixed.
Step 3: Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, zest and vanilla to a separate bowl and mix.
Step 4: Pour the liquids over the dry and gently whisk or stir with a large spoon until moistened and mixed, being very careful not to overmix. The batter will be quite thick, do not be tempted to add more milk! Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth out.
Step 5: Bake for 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and the edges are golden brown and have pulled away from the dish.
Step 6: Glaze and add extra lemon zest for presentation. Let the glaze firm up a bit and then cut and serve!
HOW TO STORE THIS CAKE
This vegan lemon cake is best stored at room temperature covered with foil. I just keep the slices in the same dish it was baked in. It stays fresh and moist for the first 2 days (although best the day made), but by the 3rd day, it starts to dry out some.
MORE VEGAN CAKE RECIPES
- Easy Vegan Vanilla Cake (7 Ingredients!)
- Vegan Gluten-free Funfetti Birthday Cake
- Vegan White Wedding Cake
- Vegan Gluten-free and Grain-free Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Almond Butter Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
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If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Easy Vegan Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (224g) regular white all-purpose flour (GF below)
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (170g) fine white sugar (SEE NOTES)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (210g) ROOM TEMPERATURE full-fat coconut milk (THIS cannot be subbed, it replaces all oil/butter. SEE NOTES AT BOTTOM!
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (37g) fresh lemon juice PLUS the zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
LEMON GLAZE
- 1 cup (152g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15g) fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (15g) non-dairy yogurt (plain or vanilla) This gives a nice tang, but if you don't have it, add 1/2 tablespoon of any creamy milk instead.
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
NOTE
- I always recommend to use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed, since we all measure differently. This greatly improves your chance for success and lessons room for error. You never need cups or to compare them to the weights, just use the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient. My recipes are 100% tested specifically using my exact weights and your results will turn out as mine are pictured this way. SEE NOTES at bottom if you don't have a scale.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- This step is VERY important to the cake end result. Make sure you are using can of room temperature, NOT COLD, full-fat coconut milk. With full-fat coconut milk, the coconut cream will separate from the water in the can. You need to scrape out all of the water and cream from the can into a blender or another bowl and either blend it until smooth or whisk very well until completely smooth. It must be blended before measuring..
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and lightly grease an 8x8 square stone baking dish. Stone is best, but if you don't have one, use glass or metal, just keep an eye, as the edges will cook a bit more in these types of pans.
- To a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and whisk well until mixed. Set aside.
- After you have premixed the coconut milk (from step 1), add the 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (210 grams) to a separate bowl (weighing for best results), then add the lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Whisk to mix and pour over the dry ingredients.
- Mix the batter with a large spoon and fold in the flour, gently, from the edges of the bowl into the batter. DON'T OVERMIX. Overmixing can result in a dense cake and a sunken center. Mix until just moistened and no flour is visible. The batter will be THICK. It will seem too dry at first, but as you mix and it gets moistened, it will loosen up a bit into more of a soft batter. DO NOT be tempted to add more liquid or you will not get the light and fluffy texture.
- Scrape all of the cake batter into the greased dish and spread out evenly and flat with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The edges should be golden and pulled away from the edges. Cool for 45 minutes before glazing.
- This cake is SO good on it's own, but the glaze improves the lemon flavor A LOT. Add the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk for a few minutes until it's completely smooth and no lumps remain.
- Pour all of the glaze over the center of the cooled cake. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula and spread it out evenly all over the cake. Zest some more lemon over the top for presentation and extra zing of flavor. Let the glaze firm up a bit (15 minutes or so) and then slice and serve.
Notes
- COCONUT MILK: I cannot stress this enough the importance of the brand of coconut milk. DO not use a brand that has additives or gums, it will ruin the texture and make the cake dense and gummy. DO NOT use the Polar brand, it is all stabilizers and additives and not pure coconut milk. The only ingredients should be coconut and water. I like Trader Joes and the Sprouts grocery store brands. They all work well.
- MEASURING FLOUR: As you know, I always recommend a scale for the best results, following my weights listed, but if you don't have a scale or really do not want to get one, make sure to measure your flour this way: Place the cup on the counter and spoon the flour from the bag into the cup, filling it all up, overflowing a bit and then take a butter knife and level it off. Measure the 1 cup this way and the 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup (for the 1 3/4 cup total) but since you won't be using a scale, by measuring with this spoon method, you will need 1 additional tablespoon of flour to equal the 224 grams. I tested this spooning method myself and this was exactly how I arrived to 224 grams that you need for the recipe.
- Keep in mind, that even with measuring cups, they themselves can vary. This is also why some readers will have variances in weights when they try to compare, so just follow my weights listed.
- SIMPLE CAKE: This cake is for those who just want a very simple cake with very basic, regular ingredients. It is not meant to be one of my standard healthier flours and sweeteners I usually use in recipes. This isn't the cake to change all the ingredients. I have plenty of other healthy recipes on the blog if you want a healthier cake! Try this Healthy Vegan Lemon Cake if you don't want to use white flour or sugar. It is low-fat and whole grain.
- SUGAR: This amount was JUST enough of the perfect sweetness to counteract sourness, it is lightly sweetened. I advise against subbing this with coconut sugar or another sugar, it will overpower the lemon flavor that way and change the cake.
- GLUTEN-FREE: Here is the gluten-free version of this cake!
This cake turned out amazingggg!! I baked it in a glass pan so my baking time was about 10 minutes longer. My non vegan friends LOVED IT and asked me to make more soon! Definitely adding it to my repertoire of recipes!
Thank you so much for sharing!
That is awesome feedback, thank you Karen!
This was my very first vegan cake that I’ve made, and OMG it is absolutely delicious and so super moist! It did not last long in my house because everyone ate it up and loved every bit of it! I will definitely make this and hope to share it with my work peeps when we all get back into the office!
woohoo, so very happy to hear this Lynn!!
Such a lovely easy to make cake! Thank you for the recipe.
Wonderful Julia, thank you!
Loved the cake – easy recipe and so delicious!
I made this cake yesterday and it was pure perfection! 10/10 for sure! I will be making this very often.
Thank you for the super easy and delicious recipe 😊
Hi! Thanks so much for the recipe, I made it and the cake is absolutely delicious. I just have one question: I would like to make it in a bigger dish, do you think it is ok if I multiply the quantities by 1.5?
That is amazing to hear Christelle, thank you! What size dish?
Outstanding! The flavor just keeps getting better with each piece.
Amazing to hear that Kelly!!
I followed the recipe to a tee and it was PERFECT!! I especially loved that I already had all the ingredients. Thanks for another awesome treat!
Yay Tatiana, that is amazing to hear!!
Lemon, lemon,lemon. I did make a couple of mistakes along the way, but I plan to make this again because, even with the mistakes the family couldn’t keep their hands off of it and neither could I. Yum!
haha that is so wonderful to hear Nicole, yay!
Hi Brandi
Made this cake last night, so good. Had to restrain myself from tucking in before it cooled, the smell so good, so lemony.
All the family loved it, it’s sitting on the worktop now, calling out to me 🙂
Instructions so clear, made exactly as instructed, perfect, a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing. Loved the video with your little one.
Haha that is awesome to hear Lig!! Thanks for the lovely words too, glad the recipe was very easy for you to follow! And thank you for watching the video!
This is easily a 10-star recipe. I made this cake twice this week, because we just had to have it again for Easter. And in general I don’t even like cake! These ingredients are almost always on hand and it’s hard to go wrong when you weigh your flour. Both times I used light coconut milk (5g fat) because that’s what I buy and both cakes turned out great. For the second cake I doubled the recipe and baked in my stoneware bundt pan for 55 minutes – it was perfect. I cut it into two layers and added vegan lemon curd between, then used this icing recipe on the top. So fluffy, lemony and easy. This is going to be my go-to potluck recipe for a very long time! Thank you Brandi!
aww thanks so much Rhonda for such a beautiful comment! So happy you loved this cake so much!!
This was delicious! I made it exactly as the recipe specified, except I sadly did not have any vanilla. Nevertheless it was so delicious, and really lifted my spirits during this quarantine. I was concerned by how THICC the batter was — but as you said in the recipe notes, I did not add any extra liquid even though I was tempted. Well, you were right, the texture of the cake was fluffy yet moist. Mine took about 35 minutes to cook in my 8×8 glass pan, and I made a half recipe of the glaze which proved to be just right for my taste. Thank you so much for a simple vegan cake recipe that actually tastes good!
SO thrilled to hear that Alexandra! So glad it worked out so well! Ovens can really vary in cooking time, as well as locations/environments/weather, etc.!
I made yor cake for Easter. It was so easy and quick to make but most of all sooo delicious!! I will definitely make it again!! Easter or casual style 😊
Thank you so much Sigrid for the lovely review and sharing your pics on Facebook, sooo adorable how you decorated them!
My brother and I have been on the lookout for the perfect lemon cake and we have finally found it…thank you!!! I remember one Easter years ago before I was vegan, we did a bunch of research to find a lemon cake recipe for a family brunch that had a good bit of lemon but also a significant amount of butter and the finished product with the icing was unfortunately like eating a stick of butter. Yuck. This cake is the opposite–it’s incredibly light but still decadent, and the lemon is the star. I agree, after a lot of my own experimentation into alternatives, that you do have to use white flour and sugar to get that perfect “special occasion” cake texture, though cane sugar did work fine, and I also used a Meyer lemon instead of regular since they are one of my favorite things. The detailed directions make all the difference as well as weighing ingredients–was good to know about the batter being thick so to not be tempted to add more liquid. I used a glass baking dish and kept checking the time after 20 minutes until it was done–it was a little under 25 minutes total. Thank you again for this wonderful recipe.
Thank you so much Christa for such a detailed feedback! You described it all so well. Haha, I laughed too because I totally know what you mean! Whenever I see recipes with so much butter, it turns my stomach since I remember tasting cakes with butter before and they were always so greasy and upset my tummy everytime! I don’t want to eat a stick of butter in my cake, lol! This one is light and rich, like you said, without the icky greasy side effect!
I just made this delicious recipe!💖 So I, like so many others, had to improvise since I only had unsweetened almond milk and coconut oil. So I measured almond milk as stated in recipe and I melted 1/3cup coconut oil and it turned out great!!
So glad you loved it Lisa!
so delicious, or as we say in germany: so köstlich 😉
Yay, glad to hear it!
I love making your recipes because they’re all SO good! One question, it seems when I make baked goods, like this lemon cale, the middle always falls or sinks in a bit. Is it something I’m doing wrong? I baked it in a glass 8×8 dish on convection bake setting on my oven.
Hi Celeste, baking is very scientific, so many factors can contribute to a cake deflating: mismeasuring the ingredients, changing the ingredients, using cold ingredients, overmixing, opening the oven door too early or removing the cake too soon when it need more time cooking. Also, different environments (weather, humidity, etc.) can all affect baking. Also, convection setting is different than traditional conventional setting. Convection tends to cook things faster so it’s possible it’s causing the cake to rise too fast and deflate for my recipe and others you’ve tried. I always test my recipes using traditional setting. Were any of those things I mentioned a factor or did you use a different ingredient? Make sure to bake it with the traditional setting and be careful not to over mix.
Mine did the same thing…
Mine never sinks, please see my response to Celeste as to how this can happen. Different environments, mismeasurements, different atmospheres, altitudes, etc. all can cause this.
Well…. she did it again! @thevegan8 Brandi’s recipe for Easy Vegan Lemon Cake might become our new go-to. It’s the perfect lemon flavor and the texture — oh my gosh. I want to deliver to family, so made mini bundts for the adults and cupcakes for their littles. This cake is simply divine. Wish I could give more than 5 stars!
Thank you so kindly Jodi for leaving this review! Your cake on Instagram is just stunning!!
Hi all, I made this recipe with Jovial all-purpose einkorn flour (organic). It turned out great and fluffy. We used half the amount of glaze and it was perfect. This is a great easy recipe for the kids to help make! The kids chose it and were looking forward to it all week. A great splurge recipe lol 😉 thank you Brandi!! Ps I have your cookbook and bought the scale you recommended and I feel like a pro. All your tips are on point. We love all your recipes <3
That is so amazing to hear Mali! So glad you all enjoyed it and thank you for buying my book, so glad the scale and tips have helped you so much! Thank you for the kind words!
I tried this cake now aswell as the funfetti cake before and i must be doing something wrong, bc both times the cakes came out really heavy and dense =( I use a scale for all measurments like you said. With this lemon cake I was feeling the batter was a tad bit drier than yours, but i didnt add any liquid, like you adviced. Last time i used the convection heat but this time i used the normal heat but still same dense result. Could you please advice me what i might be doing wrong?
Hi Isabel! Sorry to hear that, it’s impossible for me to say what went wrong without being there, so I can only ask questions to try to help troubleshoot. Both the funfetti cake and this cake are very fluffy, as can be seen in the pics and all the reviews have been experiencing the same fluffy results as well, so I’m sorry to hear you had trouble. Are you at a higher altitude? Are you hitting zero after adding the bowl and the adding the ingredient, hitting zero in between each addition? Are you using different ingredients? Also, using room temperature canned full-fat coconut milk and NOT coconut cream? Coconut cream is much much thicker and will yield a more dense cake, that is one thing I can think of. Old baking powder? These are the only things I can think to ask. I am willing to help walk you through it through instagram messaging or facebook if you like? Because these cakes are super fluffy and so delicious!
Thanks for your input! I live in Sweden so i dont know which type of full fall coconut milk you have in the US, mine is 18% fat, is it too much maybe? I hit 0 in between but im starting to think there is something wrong with my scale haha. i dont think my baking powder is old though. I will try it again, with little less fatty coconut, another scale and maybe try to hand mix the batter instead of machine. Also i will stick to the 25 min, maybe i overbaked it bc i left it 5 min more in the oven. Will get back to you with an update on my progress 🙂 ps. The taste was divine!
Yes, it could most definitely be the coconut milk, how many grams of fat does it say PER serving, which 1/3 cup usually counts as one serving. Here the cans of coconut milk are 12-14 grams of fat per serving, which is what contributes to the right texture. Also, though, I’ve heard in different countries, even the basic flours have varying gluten amounts, so the flour could be a factor as well. And yes, skip using a machine, it sounds like it may have gotten overmixed possibly and that will result in a dense cake too. But again, my guess is the milk you used if your batter was dry. it is thick, but moist and fluffy, definitely not dry, but rather like a thick muffin batter.
Thank you SO much for sharing this delicious recipe Brandi 🥰 I made it the other day and I’m making another for Easter weekend because my husband and kids loved it. Emma XXX
That is so amazing to hear Emma!
Quick and easy and sooo good!
Awesome Patti, thank you!
So delicious! I followed your instructions exactly, even weighing ingredients. But I did have to nearly double the baking time. I used a glass dish with parchment paper, so not sure why it took so long. Regardless, this is the best lemon cake I’ve ever had! 😋
That is amazing to hear Amy that it’s the best you’ve ever had, yay! Yes, if you use a different pan or size of dish, that can completely alter the baking time. It’s always exactly 25 minutes on the dot for me in my square 8×8 stone dish!
Made this recipe! Followed the directions and ingredients exactly and it came out amazing!
So wonderful to hear Beth, thank you for leaving a review!
Delicious! Had to increase the cooking time a bit, but so fluffy and flavorful!! Will definitely make again, we all really enjoyed this!!
Hi Brandi — Would you have instructions for how to turn this luscious cake into cupcakes? Would love to make them in smaller bites and freeze…thanks!
Hi Kate! Yes, this should make 12 cupcakes and bake from 18-20 minutes until a toothpick is clean!