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.
Kavey
This looks so good and neither the cake, curd or buttercream seem to suffer from a lack of dairy at all - a version that's just as good as the non-vegan one. Very handy for the recipe list!
hannahhossack
Thanks Kavey, it was surprisingly easy to convert them all over to vegan versions!
Sus // roughmeasures.com
This looks like a show stopper of a vegan cake! I'd love this!
hannahhossack
Thanks Sus! 🙂
Reggie
I've just made the lemon curd, absolutely delicious.
Many thanks
Lucy
I'd love to try a vegan bake and this might well have to be the first one I attempt now!
hannahhossack
It was much easier and turned out far better than I expected it to, definitely worth a try!
Cathy Holding
Thank you so much for making it vegan, i've been vegan a year. I know you said your happy being veggie and I don't want to preach but the cruelty in Dairy and egg farming is unprecedented. I wont' spoil your lovely post but please speak to your vegan friends and let them explain xxxxx THANK YOU AGAIN WILL BE MAKING THIS TOMORROW.XXXX
Julie Madge
This looks really good! I note you say to be careful when cutting the layers do you think it would be suitable for stacking as a wedding cake and covering in fondant?
hannahhossack
Hi Julie, I'm really not sure I'm afraid. If you do give it a try then I recommend using half vegan spread and half vegetable shortening in the buttercream rather than all vegan spread as that will make for a more stable buttercream.
Karen
Hi Julie
Did you try it? I am thinking of doing the same.
Thanks
Karen
Karen
I was wondering if you can freeze this cake (without icing and curd)
Thanks
Karen
hannahhossack
Hi Karen, yes, the un-iced cakes can be wrapped in clingfilm and frozen. Just let them thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use them.
Karen
Thank you!
Fee
This is my favourite vegan cake I keep coming back to it, I made it for my non-vegan boyfriend and him and his mates loved it! Such a light + moist texture. Thank you!
Lisa
Could this be made into cupcakes?
hannahhossack
Hi Lisa, I haven't tried this recipe as cupcakes myself but I see no reason why it wouldn't work!
Alison B
HI,
This cake is absolutely gorgeous. I have just made it for my husbands birthday but after icing it and leaving in a cool room, i have just returned and it has snapped in half. I did two layers and took some cake off the bottom slice to even the surface. Any other ideas?
(The lemon curd is also delicious by the way)
hannahhossack
Hi Alison, oh no! I'm so sorry to hear that that happened! I am not sure why it would have snapped if the cake was level; it is quite a delicate cake however so perhaps as a two layer one it is just too wide to support itself. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed it regardless!
Haley
Are there any substitutes for golden syrup that would be alright for this recipe? Perhaps maple syrup? I live in America where golden syrup is not a common grocery item and if you do find it in the store it is quite expensive.
hannahhossack
Hi Haley, yes, maple syrup should be fine as a substitute.
Rebecca
Hi, thanks for the recipe. Sadly my cake didn't rise very much! Any ideas? I may have added more lemon juice than stated.
hannahhossack
Hi Rebecca, sorry to hear that. It could be that your raising agents were beyond their best - self-raising flour and baking soda do go off and your cakes wont rise as well if they are past it. If you added extra lemon juice it could also be that the excess liquid caused the cake to collapse; the lemon juice in the recipe is not there for flavour, but to react with the baking soda to help the cake rise - the zest provides the flavour. Hope that helps!
Amanda
Can I use icing sugar instead of caster sugar?
hannahhossack
Hi Amanda, I don't think that icing sugar will work as well. You can use granulated sugar though if you don't have any caster sugar. You can also blitz granulated sugar in a food processor to make your own caster sugar if you like.
Giovanna bezzina
Hi,
Could I use Soy milk instead of almond milk in the lemon curd? I made this once and it was gorgeous! Want to make it today but only have soy in the fridge.
Thanks for all your great vegan cakes!
hannahhossack
Hi Giovanna, Yes, soy milk would be fine, as would any other plant milk. Thank you! 🙂
Katherine Ostrich
I'm going to try my first foray into vegan baking. Does this keep as well as normal cake?
Katherine Ostrich
The icing came out very soft for me, but the lemon curd and cake were delicious!
hannahhossack
Hi Katherine, yes, I find that it keeps about the same.
MatElsk
I loved this posts! I read your blog fairly often and you're always coming out with some great stuff!
I shared this on my Facebook and my followers loved it!
Keep up the good work!:)
Naj
Hi,
I want to try baking this as my daughter is allergic to eggs. She is also allergic to almonds so can I use any other milk?
hannahhossack
Hi Naj, yes, any kind of milk will work fine.
Nicole
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I foubd the cirn flour overwhelming and the cake tasted like cornbread to me. Love the lemon curd recipe though! I also dusted some fine coconut on top. Made this cake for my birthday. That's right... I made my own birthday cake Happy holidays!
hannahhossack
Hi Nicole, are you sure that you didn't use cornmeal rather than cornflour (cornstarch)? Cornflour (starch) doesn't taste like corn so the cake shouldn't have tasted like cornbread. I'm glad that you enjoyed the lemon curd though and happy birthday!
Nicole
Hahahahahaha!! I totally used cornflour instead of corn starch! I had just bought some super fine cornflour the month before. I didn't read what was in parenthesis 🙂 That explains A LOT! Thanks for letting me know! I'll try this recipe again with better results
Judy Poulton
My (33 year old!) daughter asked me to make a Unicorn cake for herself and other vegan friends. I was worried it wouldn't be stable enough to fill and cover with fondant but it was perfect! I used trex and vitalite for buttercream, sandwiched layers with cream and just smidge of lemon curd, crumb coated and chilled until firm. The trimmings were delicious spread with lemon curd 🙂 Thank you for such an amazing recipe - orange almond cake is next on my list!