This homemade vegan lemon raspberry cake is not only easy to make, but has also been praised as ‘the best cake I’ve ever eaten!’ by our taste testers. The cake features a moist lemon sponge, layered with zesty lemon buttercream, tangy raspberry jam, and fresh raspberries. It is a wonderfully sweet and fresh summer bake that contains no eggs or dairy.
This vegan lemon raspberry cake recipe has been tested to perfection and made many (MANY!) times since it’s original publication in 2020. Popular with our audience for good reason, we’ve perfected the vegan lemon sponge to give a beautifully moist and well-risen finish, without the need for dairy or eggs.
The perfect bake for summer, this light and fresh lemon sponge with its creamy lemon buttercream and tangy raspberry filling not only tastes delicious but looks as pretty as a picture too.
We’re walking you through the process of creating a perfectly risen, easy vegan lemon cake, from start to finish. We use self raising flour with added baking powder for extra rise in this egg free lemon cake, along with coconut oil for a moist, melt-in-the-mouth crumb.
Quick Links:
- The written recipe
- The video recipe
- Why you’ll love this recipe
- Success tips
- Step by step instructions
- FAQs
- Other tasty vegan cakes like this one
Why you’ll love this Vegan Lemon Raspberry Cake
A fresh and fruity cake. This light and fluffy vegan sponge cake is flavoured with fresh lemon zest and natural lemon extract for a fruity, zingy flavour in both the sponge and the buttercream. Tangy raspberry jam and fresh raspberries line the centre of the cake for a pop of colour and freshness.
Simple method. There is no need to make vegan buttermilk with this recipe (like there is with many vegan cakes), there are just two key steps to make the cake batter- 1. Mix the dry ingredients and 2. Add in the wet ingredients and briefly stir together until combined.
An impossibly moist sponge. We’ve cracked the secret to a perfect vegan sponge; coconut oil helps to keep this cake especially moist and melt-in-the-mouth. This easy recipe makes the best lemon cake!
A beautifully summery bake. Dust with a little icing sugar and this vegan lemon raspberry cake makes a pretty addition to any summer gathering.
You can make it the day before. If you’re pushed for time, you can make the sponge the day before and it’ll be just as moist and delicious the next day. Once it is fully cooled, wrap it in tin foil and leave it at room temperature overnight, ready to decorate and fill the next day.
Success Tips
- Use a digital scale. A digital scale is a must for baking, to ensure that the ingredients are measured accurately and therefore achieve the most consistent results. We don’t recommend using cup measurements for baking.
- Mix the batter gently. Mix the cake batter until the ingredients are just combined, don’t beat the mixture. If you over-mix cake batter it can cause the gluten in the flour to develop too much, which can result in a dense cake rather than the desired light and fluffy finish.
- Line your pans. To prevent your cake from sticking to the baking pans whilst cooking, lightly grease the sides of the baking tins and then line them with parchment paper.
- Use the skewer test. Home ovens can vary, running hotter or colder than they say on the dial, which can affect the baking time of your cake. Ideally use an oven thermometer and rely on the skewer test to tell you when your cake is baked. Once the cakes have been baked for 40 minutes, insert a skewer into the centre of each of the cakes – if it comes out with wet batter on it, then give them a few more minutes in the oven before testing again. If it comes out clean (or with a couple of dry crumbs on it) then your cakes should be ready.
- Refrigerate your cake before decorating. This cake has a light and tender texture, which is a joy to eat but can make it difficult to spread buttercream on to! We recommend refrigerating the cake for 30 minutes before spreading on room temperature buttercream.
- Be creative with the decorations. Keep it simple with just a dusting of icing sugar, or go all out with piped buttercream spirals, fresh raspberries and candied lemon slices for a special occasion. You could even double the batch of buttercream and ice the whole cake with a thin layer of naked-style buttercream (just be sure to refrigerate the cake first to make it easier to smooth on the buttercream).
How to make this vegan Lemon Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this vegan raspberry lemon cake:
Self raising flour. We use self-raising flour plus additional baking powder for the extra rise needed for vegan baking. The recipe calls for 400g self-raising flour plus 1 tsp baking powder. If you only have plain flour (all purpose flour) then you can use 400g plain flour plus 5 tsp baking powder instead.
Baking powder.
Caster sugar.
Coconut oil. You’ll need this to be melted to a clear liquid and then cooled to room temperature. Coconut oil is one of the keys to making this lemon raspberry cake vegan – we use it to add structure and moisture to the cake in the place of eggs and butter.
Dairy free milk. We tend to use almond milk in our baking, but soya milk also tends to work well in baking.
Lemon extract. We use natural lemon extract in both the sponge and the buttercream for a zesty, lemon flavour. Fresh lemon juice doesn’t add enough zing to cake in our opinion, hence opting for extract.
Lemon zest. For added lemon flavor (optional)
Vanilla extract.
Vegan margarine. We use the spreadable kind but if you’ve got vegan block butter instead, use 140g butter to 400g icing sugar (plus the lemon extract and lemon zest in the quantities directed in the recipe).
Icing sugar. Also known as powdered sugar.
Fresh raspberries. We don’t recommend frozen raspberries in this recipe.
Raspberry jam.
Equipment
You’ll need mixing bowls, a large whisk and two 7” (18cm) sandwich cake tins (round cake pans) to make this recipe for vegan raspberry lemon cake. You can use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to make the buttercream, but it’s not essential.
Steps
Make sure to head to the recipe card below for the full recipe and instructions for making this vegan lemon and raspberry cake!
To make the cake
1. Melt the coconut oil and then leave it to cool to room temperature. Take the milk out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature.
Note: It’s important to use room temperature ingredients rather than cold milk, otherwise the cold milk will solidify the coconut oil when you mix the two together, causing hard pieces of coconut oil in your batter.
2. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional / 350°F / gas mark 4) and line two 18cm (7″) sandwich cake tins with parchment paper.
3. Sift together the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar and then mix the dry ingredients together.
4. Add in the wet ingredients (the room temperature oil and milk, lemon extract and vanilla) along with the lemon zest.
5. Mix everything together using a large whisk for a few seconds until the mixture is combined. Don’t over-mix or beat the mixture.
6. Transfer the mixture to the sandwich tins. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tins.
To make the lemon buttercream
1. Add the margarine and icing sugar to a bowl and stir together (you can use a stand mixer or hand mixer if you prefer). The buttercream will go through a stage of looking like breadcrumbs – keep stirring and it’ll transform into a soft buttercream within a couple of minutes.
2. Add the lemon extract a tbsp at a time and beat until combined. Stir in the lemon zest.
To decorate this vegan lemon and raspberry cake
1. Once the sponge cakes are cool, remove them from the tins.
2. Smooth raspberry jam on the inside of one sponge cake and buttercream on the other sponge cake. Add fresh raspberries onto the jam side and then sandwich the two cakes together.
3. Dust with icing sugar or decorate with more lemon icing, slices of fresh lemons and fresh berries.
FAQs
Can I use a different type of milk in the cake?
Absolutely! You can use any non-dairy milk, such as almond drink, oat milk, coconut milk or soy milk, to suit your preference. We have only tested this cake with almond milk so we cannot guarantee the results of using a different plant milk, however, soya milk usually works just as well in baking.
Can I freeze the cake for later?
Yes, you can freeze the uniced cake layers. Wrap them tightly in foil or eco cling film and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before icing.
Should I serve this cake at room temperature or refrigerated?
We recommend serving this cake at room temperature. Because of the coconut oil in the sponge, refrigerating the cake will cause it to ‘firm up’ quickly when cold. This is helpful for when you plan to decorate it but it’s a much lovelier texture for eating if you bring it back to room temperature first!
Loved this vegan Lemon Raspberry Cake? Here are some more delicious vegan cakes to try:
I hope you LOVE this recipe for vegan lemon raspberry cake! Please share this recipe with someone you think will enjoy it because it’s our goal to encourage as many people as possible to try plant based eating.
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The Video Recipe:
The Written Recipe:
Vegan Lemon Raspberry Cake With Lemon Buttercream
Ingredients
For the sponge:
- 400 g self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 220 g caster sugar
- 150 g coconut oil (melted and cooled to room temperature)
- 320 ml dairy free milk (at room temperature)
- 1 tbsp lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla
- zest of 1 lemon (optional)
For the buttercream:
- 100 g vegan margarine (spreadable variety (*see note for conversion if you want to use vegan butter))
- 500 g icing sugar
- 3 tbsp lemon extract
- zest of 1/2 a lemon (optional)
Extras:
- 125 g fresh raspberries
- 150 g raspberry jam
- 25 g icing sugar (for dusting)
Instructions
To make the sponge cake:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan (180°C conventional / 350°F / gas mark 4) and line two 18cm (7") sandwich cake tins (**see note for tips).
- Melt the coconut oil and then leave it to cool to room temperature. Take the milk out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature.150 g coconut oil, 320 ml dairy free milk
- In a large bowl, sift in your flour and baking powder.400 g self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder
- Add the sugar and mix the dry ingredients together.220 g caster sugar
- Add the room temperature oil, milk, lemon extract, vanilla and lemon zest (if you're using it).1 tbsp lemon extract, 1 tsp vanilla, zest of 1 lemon
- Mix with a large whisk until combined. Don't over-mix, just whisk for a few seconds until smooth and no pockets of dry flour remain.
- Transfer the mixture to the two sandwich tins in roughly equal amounts.
- Bake for 40 minutes until a skewer (or sharp knife) inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.Note: You want the skewer to be clean when it is removed from the cake, i.e. no wet batter on it. If the skewer comes out with a couple of dry crumbs on it (or clean), this is fine and the cakes should be ready to come out of the oven. Test both cakes in a couple of spots to be sure.
- Cool your cakes completely in the tins (for at least 2 hours).
To make the buttercream:
- Add the margarine and icing sugar to a bowl and stir until creamy.Note: The buttercream will go through a stage of looking like breadcrumbs, this is completely normal - keep stirring and it’ll transform into a lovely soft buttercream in a couple of minutes. If you prefer, you can use a stand mixer or handheld mixer for this step.100 g vegan margarine, 500 g icing sugar
- Add the lemon extract a tbsp at a time and beat until combined. Stir through the lemon zest (if you're using it).3 tbsp lemon extract, zest of 1/2 a lemon
Put your cake together:
- Once your cakes are completely cold remove them from the tins.
- Smooth raspberry jam on one sponge cake and lemon buttercream on the other.150 g raspberry jam
- Add your fresh raspberries onto the jam side and then sandwich your cakes together.125 g fresh raspberries
- Dust with icing sugar and then serve.25 g icing sugar
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I’m Tara! I’m taking you on a trip around the world in vegan cuisine and bringing the world’s most delicious dishes to your kitchen.
