No equipment version:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease three 6″ cake pans with olive or coconut oil and line with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, melt the vegan butter or coconut oil and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Set aside. Mix together the dairy free milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, add vegan buttermilk, vegan butter or coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest together. Mix until thoroughly combined.
5. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until there are no more clumps of batter. If your cake batter looks a little dry, you can add in by the tablespoon a little more dairy free milk.
6. Divide the batter evenly into the cake pans.
7. Place cake pans into the oven and bake for 23-26 minutes (for 6″) or until the toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a drying rack to cool completely before frosting.

Stand mixer or hand mixer version:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease three 6″ or 8″ cake pans with olive or coconut oil.
2. Mix together the dairy free milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside.
3. Whisk together just the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
4. Next, you’ll cream together the softened vegan butter and sugar until the sugar dissolves into the butter about 3 minutes. I used the flat beater paddle. Scrape down the sides as needed.
5. Then add in the unsweetened applesauce, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and continue to beat again on medium-low speed, then increasing it to medium speed until combine, scraping down the bowl as needed.
6. Gradually add in half of the flour mixture, followed by half of the vegan buttermilk, and continue beating until the entire flour mixture and the buttermilk are in the batter. Beat until the dry ingredients are just incorporated, being careful not to over mix. Scrape down the sides as needed.
7. Divide the batter evenly into the cake pans.
8. Place cake pans into the oven and bake for 23-26 minutes (for 6″) or until the toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a drying rack to cool completely before frosting.

Vegan Vanilla Raspberry Buttercream:

1. When ready to frost the cakes, add vegan butter to a large bowl or stand mixer and cream for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time, continuing the beat the mixture until it’s a thick buttercream.
3. Add in vanilla and 2-4 tablespoons of dairy free milk and continue to beat until desired texture.
4. In between each layer, add 1/4 cup raspberry jam. It will begin to drip onto the sides of the cake. When frosting the sides of the cake, the raspberry jam will blend into the frosting. Additionally, you can cream any remaining jam into the leftover buttercream and frost the sides of the cake. Frost the rest of the cake and top with lemon slices. Slice and enjoy!