Make mom a special treat for Mother's Day with this beautiful Vegan Lemon Curd Layer Cake! Lemon cake layers are stuffed with homemade lemon curd and decorated with a perfectly lemony yellow frosting for the finishing touch.
Hi friends and happy Wednesday! To be honest with y'all, I'm having a hard time believing it's only mid-week. I feel like this has been the longest week of all time (and I'm currently typing this up on a Tuesday night so...what?!??). Mother's Day is THIS SUNDAY which means it's time to start planning for something special! My mom absolutely loves fruit desserts, so I whipped up this Vegan Lemon Curd Layer Cake in her honor! And in typical mom fashion, she made fun of me for making so much vegan food... and then she said this cake was one of the best she's ever had. SO. I'll just let the cake do the talking. 😉
Not to brag (and knock on wood!) but I usually don't have a lot of cake fails!! Generally, even if it comes out a little funky it can either be saved by some creative food styling, or it's still good enough for my family to eat and I just skip out the blog feature. This lemon curd layer cake however, threw me for a loop! I started with some vegan lemon curd which was so super easy and delicious. I think this may have made me overconfident because it came out so great. Next was the cake. I tried a really simple recipe from a very popular and successful vegan blogger that I love and y'all - EPIC FAIL. My cakes literally just poured and poured over the sides of the pans, and despite over AN HOUR AND A HALF IN THE OVEN... they stayed basically liquid the whole time. I don't know what happened but I knew I had to go back to the drawing board.
So my plan became to veganize my all-time favorite white cake recipe! I did something similar with my baked vegan donuts, but there was something about the batter that made them just a little too sticky and soft to work as a layer cake. An adjustment here, another there, and ta-da! We have this beautiful lemon curd layer cake! Honestly I could have cried when I saw my picture-perfect cakes the second time around.
This vegan lemon curd layer cake is NOT hard to make, I promise! You may not believe me but it's true. You have 3 main components - lemon curd (which you make on the stove in just a few minutes), lemon cakes, and lemon frosting (which takes you like 3 seconds to whip up). I do have to confess that the white drip is NOT vegan. I also have to confess that it's an old bottle of white almond bark ganache I used on my last drip cake. SORRY NOT SORRY. We don't waste nothin round here. And then the magical touch... fresh flowers on top! I am so obsessed with all things flowers as you may have noticed in my last few posts. So pretty! So fun!
I hope this lovely vegan lemon curd layer cake will make an appearance in your household soon! Make it for your mom, make it for someone else special in your life... or make it just because. It's so pretty and delicious that you'll want any excuse to make it! Happy baking!
Looking for more cute lil layer cakes? Check out my PB&J Layer Cake, Vegan Dark Chocolate Fig Cake, Ombre Chocolate Layer Cake with Pomegranate Frosting, Layered Confetti Drip Cake, and my Gender Reveal Piñata Cake (totally random BUT ITS ONE OF MY FAVORITES).
{Vegan Lemon Curd recipe from Healthy Happy Life}
- *for the lemon curd*
- ½ cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 6 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup vegan butter
- pinch of salt
- ⅛ teaspoon lemon extract
- *for the lemon cake*
- 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 6 tablespoon water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup soy-free vegan butter, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup nondairy yogurt {I used Silk almond}
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- ⅓ cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- *for the frosting*
- ½ cup shortening
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract
- juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
- pinch of salt
- few drops of yellow food coloring (optional)
- *for the white ganache*
- ¼ cup chopped vegan white chocolate
- ¼ cup nondairy milk
- First, prepare the lemon curd. In a small pot, whisk together the nondairy milk, water, and cornstarch.
- Place over medium-high heat and add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and vegan butter, continuing to whisk. Mixture should start bubbling and thickening. Whisk for 1-2 minutes as it boils, then remove from heat and mix in the lemon extract. Set lemon curd aside to cool until needed. It has to be COLD before it can be used in the cake.
- Next, make the cake. Preheat oven to 350F and spray two 6" round cake pans with nonstick baking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flaxseed with the water and set aside to thicken.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Add in the vegan butter, and beat on low until it's incorporated and has a sandy texture.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, flaxseed mixture, nondairy yogurt, lemon zest and and lemon extract, and add them to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Finally, pour in the unsweetened nondairy milk and lemon juice, and beat on medium-low until smooth and creamy.
- Divide batter evenly among the 2 pans, and bake for 45 minutes until cake is set in the center and a toothpick comes out clean.
- When lemon curd and cakes are completely cooled, you can make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the shortening, vegan butter, and lemon juice together until completely smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until a thick frosting forms. You may need more or less sugar to get the right consistency. Add in the salt and some food coloring if desired.
- To assemble the cake, divide the 2 cake layers in half to create 4 thin layers. Place one cake piece on your cake stand or platter, and pipe a circle of frosting around the edge. Gently spoon some lemon curd in the center, and spread it to create a thin layer. Repeat with all. Keep in mind you will have some lemon curd left over! Frost the outside of the cake as desired and decorate with ganache if you want. Top with fresh flowers.
Ellen says
What a gorgeous cake! I love lemon!
Meegan says
Do you have a break down of the carlories, protein, sugar etc?
valentina says
Hi Meegan, I do not because I don't track calories. If you want a breakdown, the easiest way would be to enter all the ingredients in a website like My Fitness Pal and have them calculate it for you!
Mayra says
Hey quick question under frosting (the ingredient list) you don't have the lemon juice but it's under the instructions but you do have the lemon juice under cake (the ingredient list) but not on the instructions. Could you check that? Which way is it supposed to be? I think I did add the lemon juice once but every time I try to make this cake (which by the way is delicious) I keep getting thrown off on those to sections and ingredients. Thanks a bunch!!
valentina says
Hi Mayra! Thank you for pointing it out to me! Unfortunately it's just me writing and proof-reading these recipes so sometimes things get missed. You will use lemon juice both in the cake and frosting. I have edited the ingredients and instructions to better reflect that. Hope it helps!
Amaris Garcia says
Is this an 8” cake? Looks more like a 6” but I may be wrong 🙂
Amaris Garcia says
Whoops! Read a little bit more and saw that it’s a 6” recipe. If I’m making an 8” could I just double the recipe?
valentina says
Hey Amaris! No need to double the recipe. The cakes bake up really well as 8”! I would just reduce the baking time. Start checking at the 30 minute mark, and they are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You can see I recently made this cake as an 8” on my Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/p/CB82nyHJeV4/
Nikita Tiwari says
Hi, This looks so delicious. Quick Q - My only constraint is that I cannot have eggs but I am OK with dairy. If I have to replace the non-dairy options, such as, non-dairy milk or yogurt or vegan butter etc, with dairy, how should I adjust this recipe? Thanks a ton for your help. Can't wait to try the recipe but I don't get non-dairy ingredients in the area I stay. 🙂
valentina says
Hi Nikita! So, good news! This recipe was adapted directly from my non-vegan lemon cake that I used to make, so you can substitute the non-dairy products with dairy products in equal amounts. I would recommend using sour cream in place of yogurt if you can, but otherwise no adjustments needed 🙂
Magdalena says
Hi, I spent long hours searching for the best recipe for my mom's 60th birthday and I've decided to make this one. I'm just afraid that it's going to be too small for 10 or 11 people. Maybe I could add 50 % of all the ingredients and bake it in a bigger mould? Thanks for advice!
valentina says
Hi Magdalena! Honestly I am always surprised by how many people a 6" cake can feed - I do agree that it might be too small for 10-11 people. You can definitely make the recipe at 1.5x and bake in 8" pans. You should get three layers of cake which should work nicely! The curd makes quite a bit so I wouldn't increase that portion. Hope that helps!
Magdalena says
Thank you so much!
Magdalena says
Any recommendation what how can I use the lemon curd left from the cake? And how long can I store it in the fridge? Thanks!
Chelsea says
Hi!
This cake looks so amazing, I think I am going to try it for my birthday next week.
I saw the comment above about making it egg-free but not dairy-free and you mentioned that all the ingredients can be swapped for their diary countparts.
My question is basically the opposite: I have a dairy allergy but can eat eggs. I looked up your white cake recipe and that calls for 4 eggs. Would that work in this recipe instead of the flax egg? I don't have a problem with flax, I just find that as a rule, eggs work better. Just wondering. Thanks for this recipe! It is beautiful and I am so excited to give it a go. 🙂
valentina says
Hey Chelsea! You can make the cake in this post and just replace the flax with actual eggs! For replacing purposes, 1 tbsp of flaxseed with water is replacing 1 whole egg. So i would recommend making this recipe as written and just replacing the flax with two eggs. Hope that helps!
Britt says
Hi there, you don’t give instructions on how to make the ganache. Is it simply melting the vegan white chocolate and non-diary milk, then spending it on top of the cake?
Thanks!
valentina says
Hi Britt - yep, you got it! I just combine the white chocolate and milk in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second increments until smooth and creamy. You do sometimes have to adjust the amount of milk to get it the right consistency so don't be afraid to experiment and see what works best!
Cassidy Ferrari says
I just made this as a birthday loaf cake for my partner, but adapted it slightly to be a lemon almond blend by swapping most of the flour for ground almonds. I also added almond extract to the buttercream instead of lemon juice. It's gorgeous and they absolutely loved it - thanks so much. The curd is particularly moreish and we'll probably have the rest on crumpets 🙂
My only criticism is that I had to convert everything into grams to get accurate measurements but I know this will always be a US vs. UK and Europe feud!
valentina says
Hi Cassidy! Thank you so much for your sweet comment! The lemon-almond flavor sounds lovely. I am glad it worked out as grams! I do keep meaning to (someday) offer conversions for all my recipes so thank you for being patient 🙂
Tamara says
My cake did not rise as much as I would have liked. It still tastes good and is moist so I am using it.
valentina says
Hi Tamara! I am glad that the cake was still good! If it didn't rise much, it may have needed a little extra time in the oven. The height of the cake can also depend on the pan size! Let me know if I can help for next time!
Sarah says
Hi! This cake is a spring favorite in our household! I was going to try to use it for cupcakes this year, with the curd as a cupcake filling. Any thoughts on how many cupcakes this recipe would yield and how long to bake them for?
valentina says
Hi Sarah! You can actually find the cupcake version of this recipe here 🙂 Just skip the poppyseeds!
https://www.thebakingfairy.net/2020/06/vegan-lemon-poppyseed-cupcakes/
Maria says
Hey Mayra! Just wanted to let you know that I made this for Mother’s Day yesterday, as my sister is vegan and I’m vegetarian, aspiring to become fully vegan as well. And this cake was OUT OF THIS WORLD! My sister is not a “sweets” person, and yet she loved this cake! She kept eating it and asked if she could keep the rest of it when I left! I took one piece home with me and ate it today and it tasted EVEN BETTER than it did yesterday!
It rose very nicely like a normal, regular homemade cake. It was satisfyingly lemony - which I love! I will most definitely be making this again. Even my mom said to me, “You need to save that recipe and give me a copy! That was so good. Let’s make it again.”
M. Loza says
Hands down the BEST cake recipe I have ever made! So delicious, so satisfying and perfectly flavored and textured!
Sue says
Made this for a party and was a big hit!!
Thank you for the recipe. Grapefruit and Hummingbird cake were also delicious.
I didn’t thicken the curd enough but still great.