A light and zesty vegan lemon sponge cake with dairy-free lemon buttercream. Perfect for an Easter celebration.
Spring is finally in the air! And I’ve got the perfect cake to celebrate this time of year.
This Easter Lemon Cake is made up of a light vegan lemon sponge, frosted with lemon buttercream and topped with colourful egg decorations.
Perfect for those avoiding eggs and dairy but still want something indulgent.
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Vegan Mini Eggs
If you’re wondering where on earth I found these vegan-friendly mini eggs – I happened to come across them in Carluccio’s, of all places!
Edit: They no longer appear to stock these but now you can get vegan mini eggs from Doisy & Dam.
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Vegan Lemon Sponge Cake
A soft, light and zesty vegan sponge cake with dairy-free lemon frosting and optional speckled chocolate. Perfect for Easter or as a treat for any time of year!
Ingredients
For the lemon sponge cake (adapted from cakemerchant.com)
- 360 ml / 1 ½ cups unsweetened dairy-free milk
- Juice of half a lemon, save other half for frosting
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 230 g / 8.1 oz caster sugar
- 110 ml / ⅓ cup + 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or extract
- 250 g / 8.8 oz self-raising flour*
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the lemon buttercream frosting
- 300 g / 10.5 oz dairy-free butter
- 1 tsp vanilla paste, or extract
- 450 g / 15.8 oz confectioner's sugar
- Juice of half a lemon
For the decoration
- Dark chocolate, melted
- (Optional) Vegan-friendly mini eggs or chocolates
Instructions
To make the lemon cake
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix the lemon juice and zest with the almond milk and set aside for a few minutes to "curdle".
- Stir in the sugar, oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients a small amount at a time until well combined.
- Transfer the batter to the cake tins, dividing the amount equally. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow the cakes to rest in the pan for a few minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack. Wait until completely cooled before decorating. I like to put the cakes in the freezer for a few hours or overnight so it's easier to decorate.
To make the lemon frosting
- Simply whisk the butter with the vanilla, adding a small amount of icing sugar at a time until fully incorporated. Whisk in the lemon juice. Taste and add more sugar, butter or lemon juice as needed.
To decorate
- You may need to trim your cake slices if domed on top, to create even layers.
- Place one layer on your cake stand or board and add a large dollop of icing on top. Smooth to the edges, using an icing spatula and add more as needed until you have a thick filling.
- Place the next layer on top and repeat.
- Start smoothing the frosting around the sides of the cake to create a thin "crumb layer". At this stage, I like to put the cake in the fridge for about an hour to set slightly and help make the final layer much smoother.
- Apply the rest of the frosting to the cake and work your way around, using a turntable if possible, to create a smooth layer.
- Once frosted, use a pastry brush to dip into the melted chocolate and carefully flick the chocolate onto the cake to create a speckled effect.
- Top the cake with mini eggs or chocolates to finish.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
Notes
*If you can't get hold of self-raising flour, use 2 teaspoons of baking powder + ½ tsp bicarbonate soda, mixed with the flour.
Stephanie says
Aimee! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing vegan recipe! I hope you don’t mind, but I plan to make this with a matcha green tea icing. Can’t wait to try it out. Steph xoxo
Anna says
This recipe is AMAZING, thank you!
Made it for my non-vegan family and they all said it was one of the best cakes they ever tasted.. it came out perfect, people could not believe it is vegan.
FYI – i used oat milk in the recipe and double the amount of lemon, which worked very well.
Aimee says
Yay! So pleased to hear that. Thank you for your comment, Anna.
Radwa says
Such a lovely cake recipe! Perfect cake for Easter, I love it.
MatchaMe says
Love the idea of the chocolate flecks on the cake icing. Probably won’t make a vegan cake, but will definitely use the frosting for my next cake
Jared | Matcha
Tom says
I just made this and the cake layers are firm but very sticky. I’ve had this issue with the last two cakes I’ve nade as well. I cannot figure out why this is happening. I followed the recipe to the letter and even baked them longer than the recipe calls for. They always taste good, they’ve just been coming out a bit sticky and gooey.
Tom says
I just made this and the cake layers are firm but a bit sticky. I followed the directions and even baked the layers longer than the time on the recipe. I’ve had this problem with two other cakes I’ve made recently and I cannot figure out the problem. They always taste good but are a bit on the sticky, gooey side.
Jackie says
I made this for Easter dinner with my non-vegan family, and everyone went nuts for it! Thank you for the lovely recipe. I couldn’t find vegan mini eggs where I live, so I made my own, using this recipe http://www.radiantrachels.com/raw-vegan-mini-eggs/. I used natural food items I had in my pantry to colour my “eggs”, beet crystals for pink, spirulina powder for green, and turmeric for yellow.
Sandra says
Hi, just to let you know that I made this today and it went down a storm with my family. I used gluten-free flour and it was still moist and delicious. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sarah B says
Not sure whether the eggs you used were these (https://www.carluccios.com/shop-online/easter-gift-shop/half-a-dozen-eggs) and looks like you used them in 2016 so they may have changed the recipe…. but they seem to now contain E120 which is cochineal and not vegan :(
Lucy Jones says
I made this today and both halves literally split apart after i took them out of the pans! I followed the recipe to the letter, let them cool before i turned them out, mixed the ingredients together properly etc. Really disappointed :-(
Gemma says
Is that not too much raising agent for self-raising flour? I’ve used a lot of raising agent with self-raising flour before and the cake cracked into pieces. I want to make this this week for a friends birthday, but I’m worried about it cracking again.
Aimee says
Because there are no eggs, I always use a little bit more rising agents. It’s typical for a lot of vegan cakes and have never had a problem with this particular recipe cracking. Hope that helps! And please let me know how you get on :)
Yvonne says
i would like to make this cake but a 10 inch as its for a birthday cake . Would I just half the ingredients again and how much long would I cook it for
Sarah says
Can I use oat milk as I haven’t got enough almond milk? Aaargh!
Aimee says
Sure, that should work just fine! Let me know how you get on :-)
Kel says
Can I use olive oil?
Aimee says
Hi Kel, it might work OK as long as you use a very mild one. Let me know how you get on!
Kelly Taylor says
I attempted this last night and a couple of requests for help.
1. the sponges didn’t rise very much – is there something I could have done wrong to cause this?
2. the buttercream separated – again any tips to avoid this happening?
Thank you!
Aimee says
Hi Kelly, sorry to hear that!
1) The only reasons I can think that might cause this is not mixing the batter well enough OR leaving the batter sit too long before baking. Also, did you definitely use self-raising flour and not plain flour?
2) I would be tempted to blame the brand of spread you used because I’ve not had this problem before, although it might be too much lemon juice. Perhaps you could try using the zest or lemon extract instead?
Hope this helps and let me know how you get on!
Trish says
I’ve never used caster sugar. Can regular cane sugar or coconut sugar be substituted?
Aimee says
Yes, regular cane sugar is fine! Caster sugar is just slightly finer, usually used in baking :-) Let me know if you try it!
Shiran @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
This is one of the most beautiful vegan cakes I’ve seen :) Your photos are gorgeous, Aimee!
Aimee says
Thank you, Shiran! Coming from you, that’s so nice to hear!
Donna says
What a pretty cake – looks like absolute perfection! I am also super intrigued about those mini-eggs – will have to check them out :)
Aimee says
Thanks Donna! Yes, I was so excited when I found them :-)
Gin says
OMG this is SO gorgeous! I love your pics, and I could eat this cake all day long!
Aimee says
Thank you Gin! Happy Easter x
Tish says
This looks so light a fluffy. Beautiful recipe.
Aimee says
Thanks Tish :-)
Uma says
Looks soft and delicious. Perfect cake for Easter !
Aimee says
Thanks Uma! Happy Easter :-)
Vicky says
Just look at that wonderful texture you’ve managed to achieve. Awesome cake Aimee.
Aimee says
Thank you, Vicky! Have a wonderful Easter :-) xxx
Linda @ Veganosity says
I can tell from the pictures that this cake has a beautiful texture, Aimee. Lemon cake is one of my favorites, I can’t wait to try this.
Aimee says
My favourite too! Thanks Linda, have a great Easter :-) x
Hedi says
Aimee this looks absolutely amazing, like from a Michelin star restaurant! Beautiful pictures! xxxx
Aimee says
Aw you’re just so lovely, Hedi! Have a wonderful Easter my dear xxx
Amy J says
This looks delicious and I love the tablecloth! :-)
Aimee says
Thanks Amy! Me too, it makes my kitchen look “ready for Spring!” Have a great Easter :-)
Erin says
This cake is a winner. It is simply stunning <3
Aimee says
Thank you Erin! Have a wonderful Easter xxx
Natalie Tamara says
This looks gorgeous! I’m excited to see you found vegan mini eggs too, I’m going to be looking for an excuse to go to Carluccio’s now ;)
Aimee says
I nearly squealed with excitement when I saw them in the restaurant! Apparently they’ve run out online so check your local restaurant ASAP to see if they have any left :D
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
That cake looks absolutely perfect! So moist and soft!
Aimee says
Thanks Rebecca :-) I was so pleased with the texture – just like sponge cake!