Lemon Layer Cake (Vegan)
A simple 6-inch layer cake with a soft, moist crumb packed with bright, fresh lemon flavor. This dairy- and egg-free treat is perfect for summer or for anyone who loves all things lemon.
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2¼ cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (200 grams) cane sugar
- 4 tbsp (56 grams) plant based butter with salt - room temperature
- 4 tbsp light olive oil
- 10 tbsp (150 ml) plant based milk - room temperature
- ½ cup (120 grams) plant based yogurt - room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2½ tbsp lemon zest
- 2½ tbsp lemon juice
Lemon Buttercream
- 4 cups (480 grams) powdered sugar
- 12 tbsp (168 grams) plant based butter with salt - room temperature
- 3 tbsp dairy free heavy cream - cold
- 3½ tbsp lemon curd
Assembly
- 1 tsp lemon zest - decoration
- ⅓ cup lemon curd
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Zest and juice the lemons - 2 medium lemons were enough to give me all the zest and juice needed for the recipe - set the juice and zest aside for later.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare 2 6-inch round cake pans by greasing them and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
- To a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine and set the bowl aside.
- To a 2-cup measuring cup, add the milk, yogurt, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- To a medium bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until all of the sugar is coated in zest. Add the butter and oil to the bowl. With a handheld mixer, blend at medium-high speed for about 2 minutes.
- Add half of the liquid mixture to the butter mixture and blend at medium speed for 15 seconds. Add half of the flour mixture to the bowl and blend at medium speed for 15 seconds.
- Add the rest of the liquid mixture to the bowl and blend at medium speed for 15 seconds, add the rest of the flour mixture and blend at medium speed until no more flour can be seen.
- Give the batter a few good stirs with a spatula and then divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
- Bake the cakes for 40 minutes or until set – edges are pulling away from the pan and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the cakes rest in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a cooling rack and remove the parchment paper. Make sure the cakes have cooled to room temperature before frosting them.
Lemon Buttercream
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter. With a balloon whisk attachment, whip the butter for 2 minutes at high speed, scrape the sides and whip for 1 more minute.
- Add the powdered sugar and blend at medium-to-medium high speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until it all comes together.
- Add the heavy cream and lemon curd and blend at high speed for 3 minutes.
Assembly
- Set the first cake layer on a plate or serving dish and generously frost the top, spreading it evenly. Add the lemon curd to the top of the buttercream layer, evenly spreading it out.
- Place the second cake layer over the top of the curd layer. Cover the top with another thick layer of buttercream, spreading it across the top and down the sides. Add more frosting as needed to ensure the entire cake is fully coated.
- Smooth the buttercream out on the top and sides of the cake with a cake scraper or off set spatula. Place some of the buttercream in a piping bag, fitted with the piping tip of your choice and decoratively pipe buttercream on top of the cake.
- Decorate the top of the cake with some lemon zest.The cake is ready to slice and serve.
- Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.