Delicious vegan lemon cupcakes, filled with lemon curd and topped with lemon buttercream! These cupcakes are a lemon lover's dream! They're dairy-free, egg-free, and are easily made gluten-free too.
Sweet, tart, and packed with lemony goodness, these cupcakes will satisfy your craving for lemon dessert!
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour - white flour or a white gluten-free flour mix works the best and will give you the whitest cake, but you could use half whole wheat flour if desired. (Add a tsp of xanthan gum if using gluten-free flour mix).
- Sugar - for sweetness. I use organic cane sugar. I don't recommend using liquid sweeteners.
- Baking Soda - to make the cake rise.
- Salt - for flavor.
- Water - for the correct moister level.
- Oil - for a moist cake. Canola oil works best since it has a very neutral flavor, but you can use any neutral-flavored oil. (You can reduce it slightly or replace it with apple sauce if you need it to be oil-free, but the oil is important for a truly moist cake).
- Lemon Juice - to interact with the baking soda and make the cake rise and give you more of a lemon flavor.
- Vanilla Extract - for flavor. You can also use lemon extract.
- Butter Cream Frosting - to frost the cupcakes. I like to use my lemon-flavored vegan buttercream recipe. For a super light, silky, and creamy option, use my vegan whipped cream frosting recipe!
- Vegan Lemon Curd - is delicious in the center of these cupcakes or drizzled on top of the frosting. Use my easy vegan lemon curd recipe for this. I also love the flavor of raspberry jam with lemon cake. You could use it instead of the lemon curd.
🥄 Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Place cupcake liners into muffin tins and spray the inside of the liners with a little oil. (This will allow you to easily take the paper off the cupcake.)
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt) in a large mixing bowl.
- Measure out the wet ingredients (plant milk, lemon juice, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla extract) in a separate container.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a whisk.
- Stir until the wet and dry ingredients have combined, but don't over-mix.
- Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the cake batter at a time and fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 22 minutes at 375° F (190° C) until the tops of the cupcakes appear dry and spring back up when touched.
- Allow it to cool completely before filling or frosting.
🧁 How to decorate the cupcakes
I love to cut a little hole in the center of my lemon cupcakes and fill them with vegan lemon curd and then top them with lemon-flavored vegan buttercream. I add a little drizzle of additional lemon curd and a lemon wedge to the top.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Make sure your cake is completely cooled before frosting it or your buttercream will melt. (You can put the cakes in the refrigerator to help them cool faster if you need to).
🍞 Gluten-free instructions
Since my son had to be gluten-free for many years, I have made these cupcakes gluten-free numerous times. The only thing that you need to do is swap out the flour for an all-purpose grain-based gluten-free flour mix. (Don't use almond flour or other nut flours, they will not work.) I have tried many different brands and they have all worked well. Just be sure to add 1 tsp of xanthan gum.
🥡 Storage
Refrigerate: These vegan lemon cupcakes will keep well in the fridge for 3 days in a sealed container. (They keep longer if they are not filled with lemon curd.)
Freeze: You can freeze the cupcakes for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plant milk
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (the zest from 2 lemons)
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup buttercream frosting
- 1/2 cup vegan lemon curd
- 1 spray oil (on the inside of the cupcake liners)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Place cupcake liners into muffin tins and spray the inside of the liners with a little oil. (This will allow you to easily take the paper off the cupcake.)
- Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt) in a large mixing bowl.
- Measure out the wet ingredients (plant milk, lemon juice, oil, lemon zest, and vanilla extract) in a separate container.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a whisk.
- Stir until the wet and dry ingredients have combined, but don't over-mix.
- Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the cake batter at a time and fill the cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake for 22 minutes at 375° F (190° C) until the tops of the cupcakes appear dry and spring back up when touched.
- Allow it to cool completely before filling or frosting.
Notes
- Make sure your cake is completely cooled before frosting it or your buttercream will melt. (You can put the cakes in the refrigerator to help them cool faster if you need to).
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave a comment and starred review! I would love to hear from you!
These were incredible! I made them with gluten free flour for my Grandmother’s birthday and we were all impressed. I also tried the vegan whipped cream frosting and thought they paired well together. Thank you!!!
I'm so happy that you liked them, Eva!
I followed the recipe exactly and added the lemon curd in the middle. They were delicious! That lemon curd was amazing!
I'm happy that you liked the recipe, Sara. I love them with the lemon curd in them too!
I do t find the recipe includes the filling or the frosting. Am I just being stupid?
Hi Kim, If you want to use the lemon curd filling or the vegan buttercream, just click on the red word that says "Lemon Curd" or "Buttercream." This will take you directly to those recipes. I didn't include them in the recipe card, since they are optional.