Vegan Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd

This bright and beautiful cake is a lemon lovers dream dessert! Fluffy moist vegan lemon cake layered with citrusy homemade lemon curd and frosted in a lusciously rich and tangy vegan lemon cream cheese frosting.

I love all things lemon, so whenever a recipe calls for it, I’m all in! When my recipe co-developer aka my very talented & tasteful daughter Madison, presented me with this gorgeous cake, it instantly became a new favorite. Bursting with citrusy goodness in every bite, this triple threat of moist lemon cake, tangy homemade curd, and rich vegan cream cheese frosting makes it a winning dessert for most any occasion.

If you like lemony desserts like I do, you will love my recipe for vegan lemon blueberry bread, which makes a perfect breakfast or snack. And for the ultimate lemon lover's dessert - this fabulous vegan lemon meringue pie is as scrumptious as it gets!

🍋What is lemon curd?

Lemon curd is a smooth, creamy, and tangy spread or filling made from lemon juice, sugar, and a thickening agent. Traditional lemon curd is made with eggs and butter - definitely not vegan. In this recipe, we will use dairy-free butter and the popular plant-based egg replacer JUSTEgg to recreate the classic flavor and texture. I think you're going to be amazed by this irresistibly intense and citrusy sweet vegan version!

🍋 Ingredients

See the printable recipe card below for quantities & details.

Cake Batter

• Flour - we use all-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Vegan butter
• Sugar - white granulated
• Egg replacer - we like Bob's Red Mill in this recipe
• Vanilla extract
• Non-dairy milk - we use a creamy milk like almond or cashew milk
• White vinegar
• Lemon zest
• Lemon juice -fresh

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Vegan butter
• Vegan cream cheese
• Powdered sugar
• Lemon zest
• Lemon juice - fresh
• Vanilla extract
• Salt

Lemon Curd

• Sugar - white granulated
• Lemon zest
• Lemon juice - fresh
• JUST Egg brand egg replacer (we love how it works in this recipe)
• Vegan butter

🍋 Instructions

Note: This recipe will make one 9"x13" rectangular cake, two standard 8" round layers, or three thin 8" round layers.

How to Make the Vegan Lemon Cake

2. Preheat oven to 350℉. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt into a bowl. Set aside. In a measuring cup or small bowl, mix the milk and vinegar together and let it sit for a few minutes to allow the milk to sour.

2. Place butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl.

3. Use an electric hand or stand mixer to thoroughly cream the butter and sugar together.

4. Add the pre-mixed egg replacer and vanilla.

5. Begin mixing and slowly add the lemon juice and zest, letting it thoroughly combine without curdling.

6. Gradually mix in the flour to the creamed butter mixture, alternating with a small amount of soured milk until the batter is completely combined and smooth (without lumps). Don't over-mix or it will affect the texture of the cake.

7. Prepare your cake pans by lightly greasing the inside with butter or oil. Dust with a small amount of flour and shake out the excess.

8. Bake on a middle rack at 350℉ for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes on a wire rack before icing.

How to Make the Lemon Curd

See the complete recipe for making vegan lemon curd in the recipe card below

Prepare a batch of vegan lemon curd.

Let it cool completely or it may melt the lemon cream cheese frosting.

🍋 Cake Decorating Tips

There are lots of ways you can finish this bright and tasty cake. Keep it easy, if you prefer, with a simple spread of lemon curd between the layers. Dust the top of the cake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and decorate with a few pinches of lemon zest.

For a more decorative finish, use a flat spatula to spread the vegan lemon curd between layers and on top of the cake. Use a pastry bag with decorative tips to apply the cream cheese frosting.

Fresh berries, thin slices of lemon, lemon zest, edible flowers, sprigs of mint, herbs or lemon leaves are perfect ways to add a lovely natural touch and extra color to your cake.

Here is how we iced and decorated this yummy lemon cake.

Apply a thin amount of frosting on the sides and tops of each layer. This is known as a crumb coat and helps seal the cake, preventing it from drying out. It will also make it easier to add another light layer if you want, without cake crumbs ending up in your frosting.

Next, use a piping bag with a decorative tip or a food safe plastic bag with the corner snipped off. Fill the bag with lemon cream cheese frosting and pipe a ring around the top of each layer. Spread a layer lemon curd inside the rings.

Carefully stack the cake layers. Using a flat spreader, coat the sides of the cake with another light layer of frosting. To achieve the ridged effect on the sides, use a serrated bread knife or cake scraper. A cake turntable is very helpful to get a nice, even pattern.

Use a pastry bag with decorative tip to pipe a pretty edge around the top of the cake.

We added a few fresh raspberries and mint leaves to finish this 3-layer vegan lemon cake with lemon curd and lemon cream cheese frosting.

It slices beautifully and tastes even better than it looks! The cake has a light, fine texture with a subtle lemony flavor. The cream cheese frosting provides the right amount of sweetness to offset the intense citrusy flavor of the lemon curd.