Step 1 - Prepare
Preheat to the correct temperature for your oven type. Line both 8-inch cake pans with parchment circles and grease the sides.
Step 2 - Sift Dry Ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside. Sifting eliminates lumps and ensures the leavening agents distribute evenly.
Step 3 - Make Vegan Buttermilk
Combine the soy milk and lemon juice in a jug. Stir briefly and set aside for 10 minutes the mixture curdles slightly and thickens marginally. This is the vegan buttermilk.
Step 4 - Flavor the Sugar with Lemon Zest
Add the granulated sugar and 4 tablespoons of lemon zest to the stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar vigorously until the sugar crystals feel noticeably "wet" this indicates the essential oils have transferred from the zest into the sugar. The mixture will smell intensely lemony and the sugar will be pale yellow.
This step takes approximately 60–90 seconds and is the single technique that most distinguishes this lemon cake vegan recipe from basic versions.
Step 5 -Cream the Butter and Sugar
Add the softened vegan butter to the lemon sugar. Beat using the electric mixer or stand mixer paddle attachment for 1–2 minutes until combined and starting to look slightly lighter and fluffier. This creaming stage incorporates air that contributes to the cake's texture.
Step 6 - Add Yogurt and Vanilla
Add the vanilla extract and vegan Greek yogurt to the butter mixture in 2–3 additions while mixing. The mixture may look slightly curdled or split at this stage this is normal and resolves when the flour is added. Don't panic.
Step 7 - Alternate Dry and Wet Additions
This is the technique that produces a well-mixed, properly textured batter without over-developing the gluten:
Add approximately ⅓ of the dry flour mixture and ⅓ of the vegan buttermilk to the batter. Mix until just combined. Repeat for the next third of each. Repeat for the final third.
Stop mixing as soon as no visible flour pockets remain. Overmixing after the flour addition develops gluten that makes the cake tough. The alternating addition method specifically prevents overmixing by distributing the flour incorporation across multiple small stages.
Step 8 - Bake
Divide the batter evenly between both prepared pans. Bake for 30–35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs.
Doneness check- The recipe specifies "almost clean with a few crumbs" rather than completely clean a slightly moist toothpick indicates a properly moist cake. A completely clean toothpick can mean the cake is slightly over-baked.
Step 9 -Cool
Allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully turn out onto wire cooling racks. Peel away the parchment paper stuck to the bases. Cool completely before frosting.
Step 10 - Make and Apply the Frosting
Beat the softened vegan butter until smooth. Add the room temperature vegan cream cheese and beat until well incorporated do not over-beat the cream cheese as it can become thin.
Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the room temperature lemon curd (½ batch) and fold or beat gently until evenly distributed through the frosting. The curd should swirl through rather than being completely uniform small pockets of concentrated curd are excellent.
