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Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Author: Alison Andrews
The best vegan lemon poppy seed cake is light, fluffy, and moist with loads of lemon flavor and poppy seeds. Topped with vegan lemon buttercream frosting.
It’s no secret that I LOVE a lemon dessert. So of course this vegan lemon poppy seed cake is my new favorite.
The recipe is based on our fabulous vegan lemon cake, with the addition of poppy seeds for flavor and crunch. And they look gorgeous too.
It’s frosted with vegan lemon buttercream frosting for the perfect layer cake.
It’s also versatile and can be made as a two or three-layer cake.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Cake:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
White vinegar – distilled white vinegar reacts with the baking soda and creates the gorgeous rise for this cake. You can also use apple cider vinegar.
Lemon zest – is added to the cake batter and adds a lovely subtle lemon flavor. We love using a zester for ease of use.
Canola oil – can be switched to vegetable oil.
Lemon extract – adds heaps of lemon flavor. You can use lemon juice instead if you can’t get hold of lemon extract, but the flavor will be much more subtle.
Soy milk – can be switched to a different non-dairy milk.
Ingredients For The Frosting:
Frosting Notes
Lemon extract – adds heaps of lemon flavor but if you can’t get hold of it then just use extra lemon juice.
Lemon juice – should ideally be freshly squeezed.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
Sift all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl. Add white granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds and mix together.
Add soy milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest and mix into a batter. Only mix until the ingredients are combined, don’t overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper along the bottoms).
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Baker’s Tips
Weigh the flour. For the best results weigh your flour out on a food scale. If you don’t have a food scale then spoon and level. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
Don’t overmix the batter. Mix until just mixed.
Baking pan sizes. This cake can be baked in two 8-inch cake pans OR two 9-inch cake pans for a two-layer cake. Or it can be baked in three 8-inch cake pans as a three-layer cake. For a two-layer 9-inch cake or a three-layer 8-inch cake, the baking time can be reduced by 5 minutes (from 30 minutes to 25 minutes).
Gluten-free. We have not tested this cake as gluten-free but our best guess is that a gluten-free all-purpose baking blend should work well.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your vegan lemon poppy seed cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
It’s freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Lemon Desserts
Vegan Lemon Bars
Vegan Lemon Curd
Vegan Lemon Pie
Vegan Lemon Cookies
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Vegan Lemon Pound Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
The best vegan lemon poppy seed cake is light, fluffy, and moist with loads of lemon flavor and poppy seeds. Topped with vegan lemon buttercream frosting.
Course: Cakes, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan
Prep Time: 15minutes
Cook Time: 30minutes
Total Time: 45minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 517kcal
Ingredients
Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and spray two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Sift all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl. Add white granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds and mix them together.
Add soy milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest and mix into a batter. Only mix until the ingredients are combined, don’t overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper along the bottoms).
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
Add vegan butter to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat it until smooth.
Add powdered sugar, lemon extract, and lemon juice and beat it in until fluffy and smooth.
When the cakes are completely cool, frost with the lemon frosting and let them set in the fridge for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Weigh the flour. For the best results weigh your flour out on a food scale. If you don’t have a food scale then spoon and level. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.
Lemon extract – adds heaps of lemon flavor. You can use lemon juice instead if you can’t get hold of lemon extract, but the flavor will be much more subtle.
Baking pan sizes. This cake can be baked in two 8-inch cake pans OR two 9-inch cake pans for a two-layer cake. Or it can be baked in three 8-inch cake pans as a three-layer cake. For a two-layer 9-inch cake or a three-layer 8-inch cake, the baking time can be reduced by 5 minutes (from 30 minutes to 25 minutes).
Gluten-free. We have not tested this cake as gluten-free but our best guess is that a gluten-free all-purpose baking blend should work well.
Frosting. If you’re using a tub-style vegan butter then you can just add all your ingredients to the stand mixer at once, no need to beat the butter first before adding the other ingredients. In this case, you may only need 2 tablespoons of lemon juice as well. If you’re using a very firm stick-style vegan butter then beat it first in the stand mixer and then add the rest of the ingredients as per the recipe instructions. In this case, you will likely need the full 3 tablespoons of lemon juice as stick-style vegan butter have lower water content.
Storing and freezing: Keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving. It’s freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
