Initially, I was going to make these zingy and delicious cupcakes as an Easter recipe, but these yummy and zingy vegan lemon cupcakes are so utterly scrumptious, I want everyone to enjoy them for way longer than that!
Lemon and citrus is especially in season in Spring, which is probably why I thought that the lovely bright lemon flavours would be perfect for Easter. You can see I decorated them with pretty edible flowers and yummy vegan chocolate eggs (from Doisy & Dam- so yummy). But make these all Spring and Summer long. Take on picnics and potlucks or serve as an easy treat for an afternoon tea!
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🥄The Glace Icing
The key to the zingyness of these yummy little vegan lemon cupcakes is that we have forgone the usual buttercream frosting, and instead gone for a fresh and lovely white glace icing. This easy to make and naturally vegan topping for the cupcakes really reminds me of my childhood! It is nothing more than icing sugar mixed with lemon juice, a bit like the drizzle used on a lemon drizzle cake, but with a thicker consistency.
🍰The Cake
The vegan cake part is based on my simple fruit cake batter (it's this yummy rhubarb one and is delicious) It doesn't have a lot of fat in it, so be careful not to overbeat it, or over bake it, or it will be dry. That said, when the balance is right, it's a lovely light sponge that combined with the fragrant and zingy lemon icing, makes for a lovely cupcake mouthful! It utilizes aquafaba (the juice from a tin of chickpeas) to help bind the cake and keep it light and fluffy.
🍋The Lemon
This whole vegan cupcake recipe hangs on the lemon used! Make sure to select a lovely juicy organic specimen with a non waxed rind. The zest is used in the cupcake batter while the juice is used for the icing. I also add a teaspoon of lemon oil (we like this one from Steenbergs) for an extra lemony flavour.
👩🍳Handy How To Instructions
1. Ingredients for the lemon cupcakes: Flour, Chickpea Water (aquafaba) Sugar, lemon, lemon oil, vanilla and plant mylk. 2. Put all liquids and the sugar into a mixing bowl and mix very well until the sugar is dissolved & the liquid is all combined. 3. Add the lemon zest. 
4. And add the flour & baking powder. Whisk to combine, but do not over mix or the batter will be tough. 5. Line a cupcake tray with cases. I find double casing the best for a pretty outcome. Spoon out 1 tablespoon of batter into each. 6. Give the tray a little tap to ensure no big bubbles. Put in the oven. 7. Remove from oven after 10 minutes or so. Leave to cool completely. 8. To make the icing, Whisk the lemon juice into the icing sugar. 9. Add more sugar if it is not thick enough. It should coat the whisk/spoon and be smooth. 10. Ice each cupcake and decorate with edible flowers or chocolate eggs (or whatever you like!)
❓FAQ
12 little cakes. Perfect for a mouthful!
I used homegrown pansies & violas. You could also use rose petals, borage, carnations or cornflowers. Make sure only to use edible flowers and leaves. You don't want to accidentally poison your friends or family!
These little candy covered eggs are from Doisy & Dam and are 100% vegan. They also do chocolate covered buttons which I link to here as they are available all year round! (affilaite link)
I use a white inner liner and an outer 'pretty' case. I find this ensures that the case stays intact and the outer handily catches any icing drips.
🍥Other Recipes you might love..
We love making fruity based cakes for afternoon teas and treats. Here are some other of our favourite cakes with a zing of yummy fresh fruit flavour!
Vegan Lemon & Blood Orange Upside Down Cake
Vegan Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake
Strawberry and White Chocolate Banana Bread
We hope you love making and eating these lovely zingy vegan lemon cupcakes! We certainly love to make them (and decorate them!)
If you love this recipe as much as we do, please share the recipe with your friends and leave a comment & star rating below xx
📖 Recipe
Zingy Vegan Lemon Cupcakes
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 85 g granulated sugar ((about ⅔ Cup))
- 55 ml sunflower oil (or other neutral oil) ((3 tablespoon ))
- 55 ml aquafaba ((3 tablespoon ))
- 35 ml oat mylk (or other non dairy milk) ((2 Tbsp))
- 1 teaspoon lemon oil
- 2 teaspoon zest of lemon (about 1 lemon zested)
- 10 ml vanilla extract ((1 tsp))
- 150 g plain flour ((1 cup + 2 Tablespoon))
- 4 g Baking Powder ((1 teaspoon) )
For the lemon icing
- 250 g icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar. Make sure not to get royal icing which has egg in it!)
- 30 ml lemon juice (about 1 lemon (¼ cup) )
Instructions
For the Lemon Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 180c/Gas Mark 5
- Line your 12 hole cupcake tin with cupcake liners. I like to use a thin inner liner and a pretty outer liner for the best effect.
- In a bowl, whisk together the aquafaba, sugar, oil, lemon oil, plant mylk and vanilla until frothy and the sugar is dissolved
- Mix in the lemon zest
- Sift in the flour & baking powder and gently fold until fully combined
- Spoon a tablespoon of batter into each cupcake tin. You will have just enough batter for 12 tins!
- Give the tin a sharp tap to remove any big air pockets. This ensures a lovely domed cupcake.
- Put in the oven & bake for around 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when you poke it. Be careful not to over bake or they will be dry.
- Leave to cool.
For the Lemon Glace Icing
- Sift the icing sugar, then whisk in the lemon juice drop by drop.
- It will very quickly become liquid. If it is too liquid, add more sugar.
- Drop teaspoons of the icing mixture onto the cooled cupcakes, smoothing out a bit.
- Decorate the cupcakes while the glace icing is still wet with little edible flowers or sweets.
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