Vegan lemon curd layer cake - easy, fluffy vegan lemon cake layered with vegan lemon curd and vegan lemon buttercream, perfect for any occasion!
I've been meaning to do some dabbling in vegan baking for a while now; veganism is becoming increasingly popular and while I myself am not vegan (I've been vegetarian my whole life), I do know several vegans and am attempting to cut down on dairy myself so it only seems fair to have a few vegan versions of bakes up my sleeve.
This vegan lemon curd layer cake is not only incredibly tasty, but incredibly easy to make too. I made my own vegan lemon curd and it is even quicker and easier to make than the original egg and butter laden kind and is addictively good too!
It is best to make it the day before you plan to serve the cake so that it has time to firm up in the fridge (it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.), and you can also bake the cakes the day before assembling them too.
The cakes are very fluffy and moist; a little delicate to handle so be careful when trimming and stacking them, but very tasty.
They contain a bit of golden syrup which helps to bind them in place of the egg; you can taste it in the baked cake which I really like (I love golden syrup), but if you are less keen then I think that you could use maple or corn syrup (or honey if you aren't making this cake for vegans) in it's place.
I baked my cakes in three 15cm/6in tins as I like tall cakes, but you can also use two 20cm/8in ones instead.
The cakes are layered up with the lemon curd and a vegan lemon buttercream. I used a vegan spread in all three elements of the cake - the cake, curd and buttercream. The one I used was Flora Freedom (post not sponsored - just letting you know what I used), but Vitalite is good too.
If you want to adapt this vegan lemon curd layer cake to make a vanilla rather than lemon one then you can simply omit the lemon zest from the cake and add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla extract to the cake and to the buttercream in place of the lemon extract. Leave off the lemon curd and replace it with jam if you would like to make a victoria sponge.
Of course this cake isn't just for vegans, it is delicious enough for any occasion and is also perfect for anyone with an egg or dairy allergy.
More Vegan Cake Recipes:
- Vegan vanilla cake with berries and jam
- Vegan chocolate fudge cake
- Vegan ginger bundt cake
- Vegan banana cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting
- Vegan orange and almond cake with chocolate buttercream
- Vegan chocolate sheet cake
- Vegan chocolate chip banana bread
- Vegan lemon almond cake with coconut whipped cream and strawberries
Update: The buttercream can be a little soft and prone to splitting; to avoid this you can use half vegan spread and half vegetable shortening instead (so 75g of each). Make sure that you whisk the vegetable shortening really well before adding the other ingredients; it should be lump free as any lumps that you don't whisk out are likely to remain in the finished buttercream.
Vegan Lemon Curd Layer Cake Recipe:
Vegan Lemon Curd Layer Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Lemon Curd:
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon optional
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
- juice of 2 large lemons (about 100ml)
- 50 ml (scant ¼ cup) water
- pinch salt
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon almond milk unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter/margarine
Vegan Lemon Cakes:
- 300 ml (1 + ¼ cups) almond milk unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 150 g (5.3oz) vegan butter/margarine
- 3 tablespoon golden syrup
- 275 g (2 + ¼ cups) self-raising flour
- 45 g (4 Tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 175 g (¾ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
- finely grated zest of 3 large lemons
- couple drops lemon extract or oil optional
Vegan Lemon Buttercream
- 150 g (5.3 oz) vegan butter/margarine* (for the best results use a block margarine, see notes)
- 225 g (2 + ¼ cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
- couple drops lemon extract or oil
Instructions
Vegan Lemon Curd:
- Make the lemon curd at least the day before you assemble the cake. Place the lemon zest (if using) and cornflour into a small non-reactive pan (such as stainless steel). Gradually whisk in the lemon juice then whisk in the water, salt and sugar.
- Stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved then continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it comes up to a gentle simmer and becomes very thick; cook for a further minute.
- Whisk in the almond milk and vegan butter and continue to stir over a low heat until melted and smooth then remove from the heat. If you like you can pass the curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove the lemon zest (I leave it in). Transfer to a bowl or jar, cover and place in the fridge overnight. It will thicken as it cools and will keep in the fridge for about 3 weeks.
Vegan Lemon Cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease three 15cm/6in round tins (or two 20cm/8in ones) and line the bases with baking parchment.
- Stir the lemon juice into the almond milk and set aside to curdle. Place the vegan butter and the golden syrup in a small pan and heat until the butter has melted, set aside to cool slightly.
- Sift the flour, cornflour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir in the sugar and lemon zest. Whisk in the milk mixture then the melted butter and lemon extract (if using) until smooth.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the tins (I use a scale) and bake for about 25 minutes (a little longer if using 20cm/8in tins) until golden, pulling away from the sides of the tin and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the tins for 20 minutes then carefully (they are delicate) turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Vegan Lemon Buttercream:
- Place the vegan butter in a bowl and gradually stir in the icing sugar. Add the lemon extract then whisk until smooth.
Assembly:
- Very carefully trim the tops of two of the cake layers (one if you used the larger tins to make two layers rather than three). Place one of the trimmed layers on a serving plate and spread over half of the buttercream then spread over a generous layer of lemon curd.
- Place the second trimmed layer on top and repeat the buttercream and curd. Top with the un-trimmed layer and serve.
Notes
- *The buttercream can be a little soft and prone to splitting; to avoid this you can either use a block margarine rather than the spreadable kind, or use half vegan spread and half vegetable shortening instead (so 75g of each).
- For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
Karen
Can you substitute cake flour for this recipe?
hannahhossack
Hi Karen, I think that should be fine but I would also swap the cornflour (cornstarch) for cake flour as well. Also, if the cake flour is not self raising then you will also need to add some baking powder - I think that about 2 1/2 tsp should do it.
Karen
Thank you , I’ll give it a try.
Andrea Turner
I made this cake for my vegan daughter for her 25th Birthday cake, a trial run 2 weeks before was so successful, and the lemon curd was delicious. The only adjustment I made was to reduce the sugar in the cake by 50g as I always find cakes too sweet for my taste. The buttercream did not have a strong flavour, but the cake was so lemony it did not matter.
Everyone loved the cake, it is one the most successful, delicious vegan cakes I have ever made and cannot praise it highly enough, Just follow the recipe. You will not be disappointed. I intended to post a picture, but its all gone!
Holly
The curd is delicious and the cake is even better. Probably one of the best cakes I've made - so moist and lemony. Thanks so much for sharing!
Katie
Hey! I just tried this cake and the taste was really great, but my batter was watery and my cake did not rise very much. It also seems that the batter did not make enough for two cakes. Is there something I could have possibly done wrong? I did not have self-rising flour so I added another teaspoon of baking soda but other than that I tried to follow the recipe exactly. Everything else came out phenomenal though!
hannahhossack
Hi Katie, sorry to hear that, it sounds like maybe one of your measurements was off as the recipe definitely makes enough batter for two tins. If you usually bake using cup measures then I highly recommend investing in a digital scale instead as it is far more accurate. Also, if you don't have self-raising flour then it would be better to add 2 tsp of baking powder rather than more baking soda; that might explain the lack of rise. I'm glad that you enjoyed it regardless however!
Maddy Archer
I’ve made the lemon curd cake a few times now and it’s just incredible!! My husband loves it as it’s so moist, zingy and not too sweet even with buttercream and lemon curd. Can’t believe I made lemon curd too, I never realised its so easy. I’ve finally mastered vegan baking thanks to you!! Next stop vegan carrot cake and ginger cake!
Phabya
Hi, your recipe sounds great and I want to try it soon! Just a question: I need to replace the golden syrup, what do you suggest?
Tkssss
Hannah
Hi Phabya, you could try maple syrup, agave or corn syrup instead.
Adele April Mackie
Made this for my sister's birthday - pretty much followed the recipe exactly and it worked out great. I did double the lemon curd though as it didn't feel like enough to me (it's delicious!!). I used half vegetable shortening and half butter for the icing. Mine didn't rise very well but my self-raising flour and bi carb soda is old so it would have been that - I just made an extra layer to get the height and it really didn't matter, still tasted great!
Ellie
Commenting because I really love the lemon curd. So easy and the flavour is on point!!
Liz
I made this cake last week for our wedding anniversary, but used a jam filling and covered it with marzipan and a thick lemon glace icing. It was lovely and I can't wait to bake it again. I love the subtle taste of golden syrup in the cake. Next time I'll do a lemon curd filling, and maybe add some crystallised ginger as well, as I am a bit of a lemon and ginger addict.
Bex
Hi, this cake looks amazing but I just wondered if it was possible to use oat milk instead of almond milk due to nut allergies? Many thanks
Hannah
Hi Bex, yes absolutely that will work 🙂
Archana Ambily
Hi, will this cake work with regular butter? I ask only because the people I'm baking for only need it to be eggless.
Hannah
Hi Archana, yes that will work.
Jessie
I cannot get the lemon curd to thicken in the pan. It's been at a simmer for about 5 minutes and still like water...
Sara Gois
I baked this cake for a friends birthday and everybody loved it, thanks for such a wonderful recipe.
I'm trying to find a vegan lime cake so I can use your lime curd. Would it work if I use this recipe but replacing the lemon for lime juice and zest?
Hannah
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes that will work.