The fluffiest Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake, with a light lemon sponge with homemade lemon curd, topped with a whipped lemon buttercream and mini buttercream chicks for Easter. This sheet cake is perfect for Easter, Spring, Summer and 100% vegan!
This recipe has been made in collaboration with Tilda. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. (For more information along with affiliated links, check out my disclosure policy.)
Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake
Spring is here and that means one thing…LEMONS! This is a very basic lemon sponge, with an easy homemade vegan lemon curd. The curd is zingy, creamy and packed full of lemony goodness! The frosting is a buttercream with a subtle hint of lemon, which pairs beautifully with all of the zesty, citrus flavours. As it’s coming up to Easter, I decoded to decorate the top of the cake with some mini buttercream chicks, how cute do they look! A super simple, fun yet effective way to decorate a sheet cake for Easter!
Why you’ll love this cake
- The cake is light, zesty and delicious
- 100% vegan friendly
- Homemade lemon curd is AMAZING
- Full of citrus flavour
- Easy to make
- Fun to decorate
- The hidden lemon curd is a scrumptious surprise
- Great for parties / Easter gatherings
- Perfect cake for summer
- Easy to slice and serve
- A great ‘make ahead’ cake
- Great for storing
- Can be made the day before
What you’ll need for this recipe:
Note: the full ingredients list, including written method and measurements, is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.)
- For the lemon curd: lemon juice, coconut milk, caster sugar, corn flour, turmeric.
- For the cake: dairy-free milk, vinegar, self raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, lemon zest, sunflower oil.
- For the buttercream: dairy-free butter, dairy-free milk, icing sugar, lemons, yellow, black and orange food gel.
The BEST Vegan Lemon Curd
Did you know, you can make your own vegan lemon curd from the comfort of your own kitchen. I’m extremely biased when it comes to my homemade lemon curd, it’s honestly ‘simply the best’, with it’s silky smooth texture and tangy lemon flavour. You only need 1 saucepan and a whisk and you’re set! Simply whisk everything together until it thickens, allow it to chill and use in your bakes! I used this curd in my Vegan Lemon Drizzle Muffins and Mini Vegan Lemon Tartlets.
Ingredient spotlight : Tilda Rice Milk
I am SO excited to partner with Tilda to bring you this delicious cake! I’ve used and loved Tilda for years. I absolutely ADORE their packet rices, especially the pilau rice. It’s so good alongside a spicy vegan curry- yum!
I wanted to showcase their amazing ‘Tilda Rice Milk‘! If you’re on the look out for a delicious dairy-free milk alternative, you gotta try this. This milk is delicious, vegan, gluten-free and organic. It has a gorgeous, natural sweetness to it, which makes it perfect for baking with and adding extra flavours to your recipes / bakes! It also tastes delicious in smoothies and on breakfast cereals.
I used this milk in the cake, for the buttermilk, and in the whipped lemon buttercream. It pairs beautifully with the zesty flavours of fresh lemon.
Tilda Rice Milk is available in Waitrose supermarkets. Make sure to pick on up when you’re next on your grocery shop! You can also pick it up from the Tilda website, linked here.
How to make a Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake
- Lemon curd
Add all of the lemon curd ingredients into a saucepan, heat over the hob. Stir continuously until it begins to thicken. Once thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool before using.
- Cake
Mix the dairy-free milk and vinegar together to create a vegan buttermilk. Add all the dry ingredients into a bowl, pour in the buttermilk and oil. Stir to combine then pour into a lined square tin. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted down the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool fully before filling and decorating.
- Lemon curd filling
Poke little holes in the cake, and spoon / pipe in some of the curd to create hidden pools of lemon curd.
- Buttercream
In a stand mixer whip together the dairy-free butter, lemon and icing sugar until smooth. Remove a few tablespoons of buttercream 1 2 bowls. Add black, yellow and orange food gel to the buttercream. Spread the white buttercream over the cake. Pipe mini chicks over the cake using the yellow, black and orange buttercream.
- Serve
Top the cake off with some fresh lemon zest. Use a sharp knife to cut the cake into squares, serve and enjoy!
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8–12 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The BEST EVER Vegan Lemon Sheet Cake with a zesty lemon sponge, homemade lemon curd and a light lemon buttercream. Simple, delicious and easy to make!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the lemon curd
- 80g of lemon juice
- 125g of coconut milk (cream only)
- 125g of caster sugar
- 3 tablespoons of cornflour / cornstarch
- Pinch of turmeric (or yellow food gel)
Ingredients for the cake
- 250ml of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 100g of caster sugar
- 250g of self raising flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- Zest of 2 medium lemons
- 70ml of sunflower oil
Ingredients for the buttercream
- 130g of dairy-free butter
- 250g of icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon of lemon flavour
- Splash of dairy-free milk if needed
- Yellow food gel
- Black food gel
- Orange food gel
Instructions
Method (lemon curd)
- Drain the clear liquid from a can of coconut milk, as you only want to use the thick white cream. Add all of the lemon curd ingredients into a medium sized saucepan. Stir to combine.
- Heat over a medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens (this will take around 5 minutes). Stirring with a heat proof spatula or whisk will prevent any sticking and burning, and will remove any clumps.
- Once the mixture is thick and glossy, remove from the heat. Once cool, give it a rigorous stir and transfer into a piping bag.
Method (cake)
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC fan and line an 8 x 8 inch square cake tin with greaseproof paper. Allow the paper to hang over the tin slightly, this makes it easier to remove the cake when baked.
- In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the sugar, flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine. Add the oil and lemon zest into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the lined tin. Level it out with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
- Place the cake into the middle of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know it is done when you put a knife or skewer down the middle of the cake and it comes out clean and it’s springy to the touch. If batter comes off on the skewer, it needs more time to bake. To prevent burning, top the cake with some greaseproof paper then return back into the oven.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully transfer onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool fully before frosting. You can even place the cake in a sealed container once cool then frost the day after. It’s a very light sponge so be careful with it when removing from the tin.
- Once the cake is fully cool to the touch, use the end of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the cake and fill with the lemon curd. Don’t add too much or it may the cake, but just enough so each slice of cake has a generous amount of hidden lemon curd.
Method (buttercream)
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
- Sift in the icing sugar and lemon flavour. Whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it. Add a splash of dairy-free milk to get it to a smooth consistency.
- Remove a few tablespoons of buttercream and spoon into 3 separate bowls. Colour with yellow, black and orange food gel for the chick decoration. Transfer into separate piping bags.
- Spoon the white buttercream on-top of the cake. Using a pallet knife, carefully spread and swirl the buttercream over the entire cake.
- Use the yellow buttercream to pipe bulbs over the top of the cake (watch the video tutorial here for reference).
- Use the orange buttercream to pipe on the chicks feet and beak, and use the black for the eyes (see photos for reference).
- Decorate with some fresh lemon zest (optional).
Notes
To store: Keep the cake fresh in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Where to find coconut cream? Use the thick white cream from a can of coconut milk (don’t use the clear liquid).
What dairy-free butter to use? My favourites are Naturli Vegan Block and Flora Plant Based Block Butter. All work amazingly in vegan buttercream!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Cakes and layer cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
