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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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!
I made this with the low fat coconut milk and it turned out great! Love the glaze, too.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve baked a lot of cakes and this one is on point!
Thank you so much Dana!
Made this for a vegan friend and they loved it! I just made it again for next week and hoped it was freezable. Please let me know if I freeze this cake if it will be just as yummy next week when I thaw it.
Thanks!
Hi Patti! So glad to hear that! I’m not sure because I’ve never tried freezing it, personally. It has a lot of fat in it, so hopefully.
Wondering how many days in advance one can bake the cake before eating it? I read one comment about making it the day before and your reply to keep it foiled covered and not in the fridge. If I bake it two days out, should I put the lemon glaze on as soon as the cake cools, or would it be better to put it on the day I deliver it? Thank you for your time and any advice/ recommendations you provide!
So sorry I missed this! 2 days might be ok, although it’s always best the day of or after for any cake to taste it’s best. I would wait to add the glaze before serving, as it will make the cake too wet leaving it on too long.
I used this cake recipe for my daughter’s birthday and will definitely be making it again! In fact, it was ordered already for another family birthday soon. Very soft and moist, and easy to make. Another big plus -it is allergy friendly so we could all share it. Great recipe! A keeper, for sure.
Kid just decided she doesn’t want lemon for her birthday cake (been planning on this recipe for weeks! She loves lemon!). What can I use, liquid-wise, in place of the lemon juice and keep all the other ingredients? More blended coconut milk? Water? More vanilla extract? A combination of two or more of those? Other?
Thank you!
Hi, haha kids are always full of surprises! Yes, just replace the lemon with fresh orange juice. You don’t want to add more milk because that’s adding a lot more fat, that is not needed. The citrus is the same texture and helps with reacting to the baking powder. And it’s a small enough amount that it will not taste like orange, it’ll just give a little extra sweetness.
Sounds amazing! Can you freeze this? Minus the icing of course.
Thank you! I have never tried freezing it personally, but suspect it should be fine wrapped really tightly.
I have never used coconut milk in baking before. I’m completely sold now. I used up a whole can to make two cakes. I doubled the recipe. While I admire your exact measurements, I was a bit slap-dash and it still came out wonderful. Moist, sweet, and delicious. My whole family loved it. Glad I made two so I could share with Vegan friends and my parents who thought it was a perfect cake to have with tea. Thanks!
Hi!
Can we use fresh coconut milk? If yes,the same quantity?
Also,can we use gluten free flour like whole wheat?
I’ve never used fresh coconut milk so that’s really hard to day because if it’s not the same thickness as canned, it will completely throw off the texture. And whole wheat is not gluten-free, so I’m not sure what you mean. If you need gluten-free, click the link in in the post for the gluten-free lemon cake!
Thanks for the great simple recipe! It solved all the problems for the non vegan crowd,,, moist, fluffy, just like a cake, lol.
I actually turned it into a three layer birthday cake and the glaze I made thicker with blend of Kite Hill cream cheese and their yogurt, delish!! Decorated with candied lemon wheels.
Sidenote: the baking time is 10 to 15 minutes longer with a springform pan.
So glad I stumbled across your recipe, thanks again!!
Wow! So awesome! Thank you so much for sharing all of this!
Best vegan lemon cake ever!
Hi there, I’ve read others’ comments about making this into a layer cake. I’d like to use my 6-inch round pan to bake 3 layers. I’m wondering if I should multiply the batch by 1.5 or 2 or keep it as is. What would you suggest? I’m making a cake for a friend who haS requested a lemon-raspberry birthday cake. I’m thinking of adding either a layer of raspberry puree, jam, or maybe fresh raspberries. Any thoughts? Thanks for any advice you can offer!
Hi Carrie! I’m so sorry I’m just seeing this comment. I think I’d suggest doing 1 1/2 of the recipe, as 3 6 inch cakes might be too short with the existing recipe. Just please make sure with all that extra batter that you use a scale following my gram weights and bring very careful not to over mixing the batter! The batter is quite thick, so it’s easy to overmix. I think raspberry jam sounds delicious! Let me know after you try it!
Can I make this a layered birthday cake? Is the structure strong enough?
I was thinking about doubling the recipe and putting it in two 9″round cake pans.
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
Please see the comment above, I just answered this same question, haha! But yes, should work!
Ha! I just saw it after I asked the question. I think I will bake two cakes separately. Not doubling the recipe. It is for a special friend, who is quite the baker so I want it to be perfect. I use coconut milk in my cinnamon rolls and they are so moist and have a wonderful texture. That is why I think this will be great. Thank you for the recipe.
Is this cake strong enough for me to make two and stack on top of each other? I need to make a cake for 40 adults 12 kids and I was thinking I would double this recipe or even triple it but I don’t want to ruin it. Any suggestions? I’ve got plenty of big cake tins so I could do a larger size and then stacked? I might do a set of cupcakes for the kids… I don’t know!
Yes, it should be. The cake is soft and tender, but holds its structure. It can be quite tricky to double or triple a cake recipe, as you really have to be very careful about such large batters and not overmixing, so it doesn’t become tough. Most definitely make sure to use a scale for accuracy, that will make a huge difference. Hitting zero in between each addition. If you are sticking with the 8×8 size square pan, which would work best, then that should be easy to do, just bake the 2 cake pans at the same time. The recipe is excellent, as long as it’s followed and you use the correct milk and brand, etc. and weigh. I’d suggest doing a trial run though of at least the regular recipe, so you are comfortable with how the batter is and all of that, since you are have a big party to make it for. I always recommend a trial run first, so you know what to expect before an event.
This was so good. I used two ramekins instead of an 8×8 and ended up cooking these an additional 10 min. Definitely a texture I’ve never had before and was dense, but good! I think next time I’ll make it into a poke cake. I had a hole in the center of it from testing the temp and ended up pouring frosting all over inside of it and over the top. It tasted really good the next day after sitting on the counter and soaking up the frosting. I think it would be less dense this way and I just really enjoy moist poke cake goodness.
Hi Hannah, so glad you enjoyed it! The reason your cake turned out dense though is because you cooked the cake in two ramekins instead of the specified size of dish. An 8×8 is shallow and wide, so the cake bakes up evenly and is actually extremely light, soft and fluffy, not dense at all. But when you put a lot of batter into small sizes, they will take much longer to cook and end up way more dense that way. Not sure what size your ramekins were, but the cake definitely shouldn’t be dense. There are other reasons that can cause a cake to be dense…overmixing, changing ingredients or the brand of coconut milk used. What brand did you use?
Hi 🙂 after the 25 minutes/dry toothpick, you turn off the oven and keep the cake in the oven, or you take it immediately from the oven and leave it to room temperature?
Hi! Definitely remove the cake once the toothpick is clean. That means it’s baked enough. If you leave it in, it’ll over bake. Let it cool before glazing.
Thank you! One more question, I accidentally broke my 8×8 dish while taking it out of the counter 🙁 can I divide the batter into 6.5” x 4.75” glass containers, or a 10′ rounded metal dish (with our without the hole in the middle) and for how long should I keep them in the oven?
Sorry I missed this! I would not divide the batter into those small dishes, that will make the cake too dense. You can try the 10 inch, but to be honest, not sure if that will be too large though and make the cake quite short! I can’t give a time because I’ve never baked it in that size of a dish but my guess is it will be too big. I think I might wait to get the correct size pan or maybe try a 9 inch if you have it. Several readers have tried that. You always want to just make sure the toothpick is clean, that is how you know it’s done.
This was AMAZING! This is a great recipe, I’ve made it so many times and I love it! It is also pretty easy I made it and I’m only 12.
Aww this was so wonderful to read, thank you so much for sharing and way to go for baking so early!!
Love this recipe, super easy and tasty!
Hi! Thank you for your recipes. My cake is in the oven! I have two questions. I think we’d like something less sweet. Can I just leave out some of the sugar, or is it a whole sciency-thing and that would mess it all up? The other question is, would I need to adjust anything to make this as cupcakes? Again, thank you!
Hi Kay! Keep in mind that raw batter is always much sweeter than the finished product, so the cake itself is not overly sweet. You could just do a drizzle of icing instead of the whole thing, which will make it less sweet as well. But yes, changing the sugar amount too much will affect the science of baking. If you still want it less sweet after tasting, you could try reducing 3 tablespoons, but I wouldn’t go much less as the sugar binds with water/moisture which helps to soften the gluten, resulting in a soft, tender cake. Additionally, the sugar combined with the fat causes air bubbles to form, which expand during baking, so the cake is light and fluffy. You will change the structure and texture by reducing the sugar too much. Yes, these work as cupcakes beautifully. I believe when I tested it, it makes 12 cupcakes and they were perfect at 19 minutes, just check for a clean toothpick. No other adjustments needed.
This cake is unbelievable… made this cake for my moms birthday who is hard core “anti vegan” and even she said it was delicious. Next time (as in this week cause I can’t get enough) I will double the recipe!! Also that frosting.. wow. Thank you!!!
This makes me so happy to hear, thank you so much Ana!!
Can this cake recipe be used as a base for an upside down Orange cake? I’ve made this exact recipe before and the cake was amazing.. so I wanted to repeat the same recipe on an upside down cake. Let me know!
So I’m making this right now (for the second time, the first was a huuuuge success) but I doubled the recipe. Any idea on cook time this go around? Using a 12 by 9 glass dish. So far have cooked it the original time called for and it was half baked at that point, but the top started to get golden. Just worried about too much of a “tan” on my lovely little cake.. thanks so much!
Hi Brittney! Yeah, a 12×9 is a bit smaller than double the size of an 8×8, so you may need 5-10 more minutes until it’s cooked through, I’m not sure. I’ve never baked it in anything larger than the 8×8. Just cook until a toothpick is clean and put a loose piece of foil on top if it’s getting too golden. That is my best guess.
Thank you so much for the genius recipe!!! At first I was worried since I used the Trader Joes Organic cane sugar and likely measured the flour incorrectly using the measuring cup (the dough was very very thick like a bread/pizza dough) but once baked, cooled, and glazed it was delicious. I especially love how budget friendly this recipe is and the lack of oil! My roommates loved it!!!!
Yay, so very happy to hear that Courtney! Yes, the batter is very thick! So glad everybody loved it!
Hi Brandi, this lemon cake looks fantastic and I want to make it soon. I’m not sure what to use for fine granulated sugar, though. I am in the UK now and I haven’t seen fine granulated sugar but there is caster sugar which I believe is the same thing but I’m not positive. Do you know if they are the same? I don’t want to mess the recipe up. Thank you in advance.
Mary
Thank you Mary! I think caster sugar is similarly ground like regular white sugar. As long as it looks like regular sugar and NOT the powdered type of sugar, then I think it should be fine. Just standard regular white sugar!
Oh, I thought “fine” granulated sugar was ground finer than regular granulated sugar. Anyway, I used regular granulated sugar and made this cake. It was really lemony and delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Oh my gosh, I made these as cupcakes and they were flipping AMAZING. My kids all agree, and are begging me to make a double batch next time. The Vegan 8 never fails to impress!
Wow that is so awesome, Renee! So glad you and your kids loved these!! I’ve made them as cupcakes as well and they are so good!