Dairy Free / Vegan Lemon Cake Recipe

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This beautiful dairy free / vegan lemon cake is light, moist and CRAZY delicious! Just like these vegan chocolate chip cookies, you’d never know it was free from anything. Teamed up with an incredible dairy free lemon curd, this vegan lemon cake will convince your friends and family that you’re a total pro when we know it was actually very easy to create! Shhhh, it’ll be our little secret…

Do I need any expensive or crazy ingredients to make a dairy free / vegan lemon cake?

Nope! The only items someone who doesn’t follow a dairy free/vegan diet may not already have is the soy milk and the dairy free spread. Both are very cheap and readily available from most supermarkets. Other than that, I’d be very surprised if you didn’t already have everything you need to make this fabulous cake right now!

Is it easy to make a dairy free / vegan lemon cake?

Absolutely! There’s no silly new techniques, lengthy waiting times or unique/expensive equipment you need to be able to make it. We’re simply switching out dairy ingredients for dairy free and using a traditional cake making method. I promise, anyone can do it!

If you’re new to baking however, you might like to read baking for beginners to improve your skills and confidence first.

So what makes this dairy free / vegan lemon cake better than all the others?

Wowsers, where do I start??

• It’s very light in texture – not dense or heavy at all.
• It’s SUPER moist! No spitting feathers here…
• The lemon curd more than makes up for the missing dairy.
• If you didn’t know it was dairy free, you’d never guess it was!
• The frosting is really light and airy.
• It’s cheap to make

I could honestly go on but I feel that at least sums up the main positives. This is genuinely one of the best cakes I’ve EVER made. Forget the fact that it’s dairy free!

Helpful tips for making dairy free / vegan lemon cake

• Bake your cakes on the bottom shelf of your oven to prevent doming in the middle.
• Make sure the soy milk and dairy free spread are at room temperature before you begin baking. It will make a HUGE difference!
• When zesting the lemons, be careful to only zest the yellow skin. The white pith underneath is very bitter and doesn’t taste nice.
• Don’t skip the lemon curd! It’s the star of the show and brings this cake to life.
• Get your cakes in the oven as soon as you’ve mixed the wet ingredients into the dry to get the best possible rise.
• Remember that all ovens vary so keep an eye on your cakes for the last 10 minutes of baking!
• Use Tomor dairy free sunflower spread. It’s the best butter substitute I’ve come across.

The BEST dairy free / vegan lemon cake – Step by Step Picture Recipe

Here is what you will need to serve 10-12.

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Ingredients

For the cake

• 300ml (1 Cup + 3 tbsp) Unsweetened Soy Milk, Room Temp
• 1 tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 150g (2/3 Cup) Dairy Free Spread
• 275g (2 + 1/4 Cups) Self Raising Flour
• 220g (1 + 1/8 Cup) Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• Zest of 2 Lemons

For the frosting/topping

• 160g (2/3 Cup + 1 tbsp) Dairy Free Spread, Room Temp
• 420g (3 + 1/3 Cups)Icing Sugar
• 2 tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 150g (1/2 Cup) Dairy Free Lemon Curd *

Essential equipment

• 2 x 20 cm (8″) Loose Bottomed Round Cake Tins
• Electric Stand Mixer or Large Bowl With Electric Hand Whisk

*I used this AMAZING vegan lemon curd recipe and it is absolutely perfect for this cake! Quick and easy to make and tastes wonderful. For a tasty variation, you could also use this pear vanilla jam instead.

Cake instructions

Firstly, preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 170°C and lightly grease & line your cake tins.

Now let’s prepare those ingredients! Measure out the milk (300ml | 1 Cup + 3 tbsp) in a jug, stir in the lemon juice (1 tbsp) and leave aside for later.

Melt the butter in a small bowl in 10 second intervals in the microwave.

Now sieve the flour (275g | 2 + 1/4 Cups), sugar (220g | 1 + 1/8 Cup), baking powder (1 tsp), bicarbonate of soda (1 tsp) together into a large bowl.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk, melted dairy free spread and lemon zest. Mix it all together with a spatula until it’s nice and smooth but don’t over do it!

Now divide that mixture between the two prepared cake tins.

Bake them on the lower shelf in your oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Once cool enough to handle, remove them from the tins, peel off the baking paper and cool completely on a rack. Set aside while we make the frosting.

Frosting instructions

Either in an electric stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric hand whisk, beat together the dairy free spread (160g | 2/3 Cup + 1 tbsp), the icing sugar (420g | 3 + 1/3 Cups) and the lemon juice (2 tbsp).

Start out on a slow speed then, once the icing sugar has almost dissolved into the spread, increase to a higher speed and continue for 2-3 minutes. You want it to be light, airy and smooth.

Assembly/decoration instructions

Take one layer of cake and place it on a cake stand or plate.

You can either just spread on about half of the frosting with a spatula or you can load a piping bag with a nozzle (I used a 2M open star nozzle) and pipe ‘blobs’ around the edge. Continue for one more row just inside that then pipe a ‘snail’ to fill out the middle.

Now spread the lemon curd (150g | 1/2 Cup) on top of the other cake layer. Take it almost to the edge but not quite. (It will squash out a little when you sandwich the two layers together.)

Carefully turn this layer over and place straight on top of the frosted bottom. Then spread a layer of frosting over the top of the whole cake and pipe pretty ‘blobs’ (technical term) around the edge for decorative effect.

And that’s it! All that’s left for you to do is serve your dairy free / vegan lemon cake to your friends/family and wait for the praise. Also – don’t tell them it’s dairy free/vegan before they try a slice and I bet they won’t believe it when you tell them!

What’s the best way to store a dairy free / vegan lemon cake?

My personal preference is at room temperature covered by a food net/umbrella. This should keep it delicious for around 4-5 days. I never store it cake in the fridge as it draws out the moisture which renders your cake dry very quickly. I also don’t like to store cake in plastic tubs as sugar sweats in plastic – it never ends well!

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Dairy Free / Vegan Lemon Cake - Printable Recipe

Yield: 12 Servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

This beautifully light, moist & delicious vegan lemon cake knocks all the others right out the park! The secret is that beautiful lemon curd and a clever ratio of ingredients...

Print

Ingredients

For the Sponge

• 1 tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 300 ml Unsweetened Soy Milk, (Room Temp)
• 150 g Dairy Free Spread
• 275 g Self Raising Flour, (Sieved)
• 220 g Golden Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 Lemons, (Zest Only)

For the Filling/Topping

• 160 g Dairy Free Spread, (Room Temp)
• 420 g Icing Sugar
• 2 tbsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 150 g Dairy Free Lemon Curd *

Essential Equipment

• 2 20 cm (8″) Loose Bottomed Round Cake Tins
• Electric Stand Mixer or Large Bowl With Electric Hand Whisk

Instructions

For the Sponge

1. Line the base of both cake tins and preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 170°C.
2. Mix the lemon juice into the milk. Melt the dairy free spread in a bowl in the microwave in 10 second blasts.
3. Mix together the flour, caster sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.  Then pour in the milk, melted spread and lemon zest. Mix until smooth.
4. Divide between the two lined tins and bake in the lower half of the oven for 15-20 mins. Leave in the tins for 10 mins then remove and cool completely on a rack.

For the Filing/Topping

1. Beat together the dairy free spread, icing sugar and lemon juice until light, fluffy and smooth. (About 3 minutes)

To Assemble

1. Place a cake layer on a cake stand/serving plate. Load a piping bag with a star nozzle, pipe dots round the edge of the cake then fill the middle. (No one will see that bit so don't worry if it's not neat!)
2. Spread the vegan lemon curd onto the bottom of the other cake layer then place it on top.
3. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top then decorate the edge with more piped dots to finish.

Notes

*I used this wonderful vegan lemon curd recipe which works great for this cake!

Store at room temperature under a food umbrella/net. Consume within 4-5 days.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

• 
  Alan Silverwood 8" x 1.5" Loose Based Sandwich pan
• 
  JEM Medium Open Star Savoy Piping Nozzle no. 2M

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 363Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 355mgCarbohydrates: 81gFiber: 1gSugar: 61gProtein: 4g

Nutritional information on kitchenmason.com should only be used as a general guideline, I am not a certified nutritionist. Please always check labels for allergens where applicable.

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