Vegan Lemon Cake (soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free options)

This is an absolutely delicious, moist and citrusy vegan lemon cake. A lot of the lemon flavor comes from this amazing, velvety lemon cream that you spread between the layers and all over the cake.

You guys know that I don’t really like overly sugary cakes or overly sugary frosting. So For this lemon cake, the frosting is based on my no-cook lemon pudding. It uses cashews and coconut cream and then just a bit of sugar for the sweetness and loads of lemon to give it that zingy flavor. This mousse like lemon cream frosting takes this cake to heavenly moist zesty state!

We make this simple lemon cake batter that has mild lemon flavor. Then layer it with the exquisitely lemony cream, to make this perfectly zesty Spring cake! This can easily be a birthday or event cake. Decorate with fresh lemon and zest or edible flowers!

You can bake one cake or two cakes. If you make one cake, just slice it in half, then assemble the cake with the lemon frosting and let it set. Then, you just even out the edges of the frosting and top it however you like, and then your cake is ready to serve. The lemon juice in the cake can tend to brown the cake edges , so if you’d like less browning, omit the juice and add more zest.

The lemon cake itself is moist and fluffy, and I even offer a gluten-free option, in case you need it. It’s a very simple batter that’s easy to make.

The cake batter comes together in one bowl, and you make the lemony cream in the blender, so there’s not a ton of cleanup.

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Lemon Cake

• moist, fluffy cake with lovely lemon flavor
• fluffy, lemony mouse-like frosting
• 1 bowl batter
• you make the frosting in the blender!
• easily made nut-free, soy-free, or gluten-free

Recipe Card

Ingredients and Substitutions

• flour – You can use all-purpose flour or my gluten-free flour mix. To make the gluten-free flour, combine ¾ cup almond flour, ¾ cup oat flour, and ½ cup potato starch. Mix well, pressing to break up any almond flour lumps, and use 1 ¾ cup of this mixture instead of the all-purpose flour. Replace ¼ cup of non dairy milk with club soda.
• sugar – While this has a lot less sugar than a conventional lemon cake, you do still need a little bit to sweeten the cake and frosting.
• cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – These help condition the cake batter. Salt also brings out the lemon flavor in the cake and the frosting.
• non-dairy yogurt – For moisture. You can use applesauce instead, if you prefer. Make sure your yogurt is nut- and/or soy-free, if needed.
• lemon juice – You’ll use a little lemon juice in the cake batter and a lot in the frosting! Lemon juice will cause the cake to brown, so if you don’t want that, you can omit the lemon juice from the cake itself and just put it in the frosting.
• vinegar – A little apple cider or white vinegar add acidity to the cake to help it rise.
• oil – For moisture.
• lemon zest – Adds lemony flavor to the cake and frosting.
• vanilla – Adds flavor to both the cake batter and the frosting.
• almond extract – Adds flavor to the cake. Omit for nut-free.

• raw cashews – Soaked, raw cashews are half of the base for the frosting. You can omit and use extra coconut cream if you need a nut-free option.
• coconut cream – This is the white part that separates out of a can of coconut milk when you chill the can.
• turmeric – For color.

How to Make Lemon Layer Cake

First, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350° F (177° C). Line the cake pan or pans with parchment.

In a bowl, add all of the dry ingredients, and mix really well. 

Then, add the wet ingredients and mix to make a batter. If the batter is too thin and flowy, add another 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour and mix in. You don’t want the batter to be too thin, because this is a vegan cake. There’s no egg to support the extra moisture in the batter, so you want to keep it slightly thicker than regular cake batter, or somewhat like a pancake batter. 

Once the batter is mixed and ready, line your baking pans. This batter will make 2 6” or one tall 6″ or 8” cake. The 8” cakes will be thinner, but they’ll still work.

Pour the batter into the lined baking pan(s), and then bake. The two 6” cakes will bake in about 20 to 22 minutes. The tall 6″ or 8″ will bake in about 28 to 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick in the center to see if it’s done, otherwise continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the lemon frosting.

Drain your soaked cashews and add to the blender along with the rest of the frosting ingredients, and blend for a minute. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes for the cashews to absorb some more of the moisture, then blend again for 30 seconds. Let it sit for another minute, then blend again for 30 seconds.

Now, open the blender, taste the frosting, and adjust the flavor. If you want it sweeter, add another 1 or 2 tablespoons of sugar, and if you want more tang, add some more lemon zest. The lemon will keep getting stronger as it sits, so you don’t want it to be extra lemony at this point. Then, blend again, and move it to the fridge so that it starts to set up a little bit.

Cool and frost the cakes.

Meanwhile, remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and move them to the fridge to cool down for 15 to 20 more minutes.

Remove the cooled cakes from the fridge, and a sharp, serrated knife to cut the domes off of the cakes. Then line a tall 6” or 8” cake pan with parchment paper, (I use thick parchment strips that hang over the edge to easily remove the cake later) then place one of the cakes into the pan. 

Take your frosting out of the fridge, and scoop or pour some of the frosting on top of this cake and spread it evenly.

Place the other cake on top. If the frosting hasn’t thickened up enough to support the top cake, you can keep the bottom cake with frosting on it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes before using, because if it’s too thin, then the top cake will just sink in. The frosting needs to have a mousse-like texture. So put the second cake layer on top, and then put some more of the frosting layer, reserving some of the frosting to frost the edges later. Put the cake pan back in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours, or you can put it in the freezer for about ½ hour, so that the frosting sets really nicely.

Once the edges of the frosting are pretty set, remove the pan from the fridge or freezer. Add some hot water to a large bowl, and put the cake pan in it so that the cake will release easily from the pan, then use your parchment to remove the cake from the cake pan, and also peel off the parchment from the cake. 

Place the cake in on your cake stand, and use the rest of the frosting to frost the edges. If the frosting is melting too much on the edges, put the cake back in the freezer for 10 minutes, and then continue to frost it.

Frost all of the sides of the cake, as well. If you have any more of the frosting left, you can top the cake with any fancy designs you like, or put some sliced lemons or lemon zest on top to make it pretty. Let the cake sit in the fridge for another ½ hour for the frosting to set nicely, then slice and serve.

For a simpler No layer cake, bake the batter in an 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Let the cake cool for half an hour then pour all the frosting on the cake in the pan. Refrigerate for an hour, slice and serve.