This vegan lemon cake is perfectly fluffy, light, and moist. It’s topped with an ultra creamy lemon cream cheese frosting that’s so good it’ll be hard not to eat it by the spoon.
After 4 tests, I present to you the *best* vegan lemon cake. I am being quite ambitious calling it the “best” vegan lemon cake, but in my opinion a lemon cake can’t get better than this. It is so soft, light, fluffy, and moist. The best part? It contains zero egg or dairy.
It was quite difficult developing this recipe, because cakes with a fluffy and light crumb rely heavily on eggs. However, with a few tweaks and multiple tests I developed the ideal texture.
I highly recommend making this cake with a vegan cream cheese frosting and not substituting with anything else. The frosting is extremely flavorful and oh so creamy.
Keep reading to create this magic yourself.
Why You’ll Love This Fluffy Vegan Lemon Cake:
It’s fluffy, light, and moist. The not-so-secret secret to this fluffy cake is aquafaba. Aquafaba is the brine that is in canned chickpeas. When you whip it for several minutes the texture is comparable to whipped egg whites. Similarly to egg whites, aquafaba adds a light texture to baked goods. Additionally, full-fat coconut milk adds moisture to this recipe due to its higher fat content. This cake calls for cake flour, which I highly recommend using over any other flour. Cake flour has low gluten content, which makes this cake tender and soft.
It’s zesty and fresh. This cake has the perfect amount of lemon flavor –it isn’t too overpowering or subtle. This recipe uses lemon extract and zest, which both enhance the lemon flavor.
It’s 100% dairy and egg-free. You’d never be able to guess this cake is 100% vegan by the taste and looks of it. Instead of egg, this recipe uses aquafaba. Instead of dairy, non-dairy milk is used.
*note* I STRONGLY encourage you to not substitute any ingredients in this recipe. I’ve tested this several times and every ingredient matters.
How to Make Fluffy Vegan Lemon Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line two 8″ cake pans with parchment paper.
- Whisk together non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Drain chickpeas and reserve brine. Use a handheld mixer to whip the chickpea brine for 3-4 minutes until texture is smooth, glossy, and takes on soft peaks. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 2 minutes until fluffy. Add milk and vinegar mixture, coconut milk, and extracts. Whisk to combine. Measure out 1/2 cup aquafaba and fold into the wet mixture.
- Add flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold until a smooth batter forms. Avoid over mixing. Divide evenly between two 8″ cake pans. Bake for 20-22 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Carefully invert the pans and transfer cake to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- While cakes are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Use a handheld mixer to cream together vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Slowly add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, while beating with a handheld mixer, until frosting is smooth and creamy. Whisk in a pinch of salt.
- Frost cakes, as desired, once completely cooled.
This Fluffy Vegan Lemon Cake is…
- Fluffy, light, and moist.
- Zesty and fresh.
- 100% dairy and egg-free.
- Oh so delicious!
This vegan lemon cake is perfectly fluffy, light, and moist. It's topped with an ultra creamy lemon cream cheese frosting that's so good it'll be hard not to eat it by the spoon.
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas
- ¾ cup (161g) room temperature, vegan butter
- 1 ¼ cup (312g) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (4g or zest from one medium lemon)
- ¼ cup full-fat coconut milk, canned (stir the can well before measuring)
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cup (354g) cake flour
- 2 ½ tsp (13g) baking powder
- ½ tsp (4g) baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 oz. vegan cream cheese
- ¾ cup (161g) room temperature, vegan butter
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
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Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper.
-
Whisk together non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes.
-
Drain chickpeas and reserve brine. Use a handheld mixer to whip the chickpea brine for 3-4 minutes until texture is smooth, glossy, and takes on soft peaks. Set aside.
-
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, sugar, and lemon zest for 2 minutes until fluffy. Add milk and vinegar mixture, coconut milk, and extracts. Whisk to combine. Measure out 1/2 cup aquafaba and fold into the wet mixture.
-
Add flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold until a smooth batter forms. Avoid over mixing. Divide evenly between two 8" cake pans. Bake for 20-22 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans. Carefully invert the pans and transfer cake to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
-
While cakes are cooling, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Use a handheld mixer to cream together vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Slowly add 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, while beating with a handheld mixer, until frosting is smooth and creamy. Whisk in a pinch of salt.
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Frost cakes, as desired, once completely cooled.
