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 tbsp corn starch
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup vegan butter
- pinch of salt
- ⅛ tsp lemon extract
- *for the lemon cake*
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup soy-free vegan butter, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup nondairy yogurt {I used Silk almond}
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp lemon extract
- ⅓ cup unsweetened nondairy milk
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
- *for the frosting*
- *for the frosting*
- ½ cup shortening
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon extract
- 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 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. 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.
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