Vegan Strawberry Lemon Cake is bright, fresh, and sweet. It’s the perfect cake to make during summer and spring, the two layers of fluffy, light lemon cake perfectly complement freshly chopped strawberries.
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I love strawberry lemonade, so of course I had to take those same flavors and make it into a cake!
Once I tried this recipe for the first time, I knew my go-to chocolate cake was going to have a run for its money.
This strawberry lemon cake brings together all the flavors I love and is perfect for so many occasions, whether it's someone’s birthday, Mother’s Day, graduation, or just a casual spring day!
Ingredients
You will need these simple ingredients to make vegan lemon cake with strawberries:
Of special note:
- Lemon - Fresh lemons are what make this cake extra lemony. You will need the juice and zest of Meyer lemons. This recipe also includes lemon extract for a final touch of lemony goodness.
- Strawberries - Fresh strawberries are the second component to making a delicious strawberry lemon cake. Obviously, this cake will taste best when it’s peak strawberry season and the strawberries are extra juicy and sweet.
Please refer to the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and detailed instructions.
Prepaing the Cake Pans
Smear vegan butter or oil on the inside of two 9" cake tins.
Then cut out two pieces of parchment paper into a circle to fit perfectly at the bottom of the pan.
Press the parchment down, allowing it to seal to the cake pan with the butter.
How to Make Strawberry Lemon Cake
Here’s a step-by-step guide to making the best lemon strawberry cake:
- Step 1: Measure the sugar and place it in a large mixign bowl. Zest two lemons into the sugar.
- Step 2: Use a spoon or spatula to mix the lemon zest and sugar. The mixture should be very fragrant and the sugar will look slightly yellow.
- Step 3: Squeeze the zested lemons and add to a glass to measure the juice. Make sure to save the juice of the second lemon to make the frosting.
- Step 4: Combine the lemon and milk in a separate bowl. Allow the mixture to curdle.
- Step 5: Add the remaining dry ingredients to the lemon sugar mixture. Mix to combine.
- Step 6: Combine the wet and dry ingredients, folding them together until there are no streaks of flour.
- Step 7: Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans, each pan will weigh about 740 grams (without the weight of the pan).
- Step 8: Bake the cakes at 350°F for 25 to 28 minutes.
Allow the cake the cool for about 30 minutes in the pan before moving it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
While the cake cools, make the lemon buttercream frosting and chop the strawberries.
How to Assemble the Cake
- Step 1: Place one cake on a cake stand.
- Step 2: Add half of the lemon buttercream on top and smooth it into a flat, even layer.
- Step 3: Add chopped strawberries on top in an even layer.
- Step 4: Repeat with the second cake layer, placing it directly on top of the strawberry layer. Add the remaining buttercream, followed by strawberries.
I like to leave the frosting as it is to have an open layered cake. But, you can also leave a little extra buttercream to frost along the sides of the cake so that it is just very minimally frosted (or you can leave a lot to completely frost it!)
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Strawberry Lemon Cake
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Equipment
- Two 9" cake pans
Ingredients
- 3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ cup plant-based milk soy milk, etc
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice about 1 medium-sized lemon juiced
- ⅔ cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- zest of 2 lemons
Lemon Frosting
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
For Topping
- 16 ounces strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Prepare two 9” cake tins. Cut out parchment to fit on the bottom of the pan. I like to do this by cutting out a square piece of parchment and folding it about 4 times into a triangle. Align the point to the center of your pan and cut the parchment that overhangs. Once you unfold the parchment, it should fit perfectly in the bottom of your pan. If it doesn’t, just fold it again and trim it until it does.
- Butter the pan and place the parchment on top. Use your fingers to flatten the parchment; the butter will help it stick and stay flat. Set aside the prepared cake pans.
Make the Lemon Cake
- Measure out the granulated sugar and place it into a large mixing bowl.
- Zest two lemons directly into the bowl with the granulated sugar.
- Use a spoon to mix the lemon zest into the sugar until the sugar and zest are fully combined. It will very very fragrant and the sugar will look more yellow. Be sure not to skip this step; take your time to thoroughly combine the sugar and zest. This will ensure the zest's lemon flavor and oils are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients to the lemon sugar. Mix to combine.
- In a measuring cup, combine the milk and lemon juice (about 1 lemon). Allow it to sit for a few minutes to curdle.
- Add the milk mixture and remaining wet ingredients to the bowl of the dry ingredients.
- Gently fold together all the ingredients. Don’t overmix; just combine until there are no streaks of flour or large lumps remaining.
- Pour the batter between the two pans. I used two scales and placed the prepared cake tins on top, then set each one on the scale and reset it to zero. Each pan had approximately 740 grams of batter, totaling 1,480 grams of batter. I scraped the bowl clean with a rubber spatula to make sure I got all the batter.
- Place the cakes in the oven, preheated to 350°F, on the middle rack for 25 to 30 minutes.
Make the Lemon Buttercream
- Add the vegan butter to a bowl and use hand beaters to whip the butter. The more air you can whip into it at this stage, the better.
- Add the lemon extract, lemon juice, and 1 cup of powdered sugar to the butter and continue mixing.
- Add a cup more of powdered sugar at a time until the frosting is thick, smooth, and airy.
Assemble the Cake
- Wash and dry the strawberries, ensuring they are as dry as possible. Chop the strawberries into small chunks, between ¼” and ½” in size.
- Place one cake on a cake platter and add half the lemon frosting on top. Smooth it with a knife to make a flat, even layer.
- Add half of the chopped strawberries on top of the frosting to make an even layer.
- Place the second cake on top of the strawberries.
- Add the second half of the frosting to the top of the cake and smooth it into an even layer with a knife.
- Add the remaining strawberries on top of the cake. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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