Light and fluffy vegan apple cake with a cinnamon sugar topping. Packed with fresh apple flavor and absolutely divine served warm with vegan whipped cream.
I am totally in love with this vegan apple cake. And so is Jaye, he hasn’t been able to stop eating it to tell you the truth.
I actually started out with the goal of making a vegan apple pie. But at the last minute switched gears and made an apple cake instead (and then I made a vegan apple crisp!).
And it is honestly so good, no one will miss apple pie when you present apple cake, I promise you.
And even though I have yet to make an apple pie, I reckon this apple cake is heaps easier.
The hardest part of making this apple cake is peeling and chopping up a few apples. So basically, not hard at all.
It’s totally divine served warm and topped with some vegan whipped cream.
It has all those gorgeous fall flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg and it’s topped with a cinnamon sugar combination that creates the most delicious caramelized crust on top of this cake.
How to make vegan apple cake
Add your dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg) to a mixing bowl and combine.
Make up some vegan buttermilk by mixing some lemon juice and soy milk together and letting it curdle.
Add the vegan buttermilk and some oil, vanilla and apple cider vinegar to the dry ingredients and mix together. Then you add your chopped apples and mix them in.
Smooth down into a 9×13 dish.
Mix up some cinnamon, sugar and softened vegan butter and sprinkle this on top. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve with vegan cream. Be very very happy!
Tips for making a perfect vegan apple cake
Granny smith apples. They are wonderfully firm and have a great ratio between sweet and tart. They work great for this apple cake.
Vegan Buttermilk creates a wonderfully moist texture to this cake and is so easy to make by simply mixing lemon juice into soy milk and letting it curdle. Almond milk works too, but I prefer soy milk for buttermilk if you don’t have an issue with soy as it is thicker/richer so works extremely well.
Brown sugar goes beautifully with the fall flavors of this cake so is a much better fit than white sugar.
Bake at low heat. This cake bakes for 45 minutes at 325°F (160°C). Most cakes bake at 350°F so I definitely don’t want you to make the mistake of baking this cake at that temperature if you go on automatic pilot when you set the oven (happens to me all the time!).
Weigh your flour. Want to have perfect accuracy with your cakes? Weighing your flour will do that for you.
How to Serve Vegan Apple Cake
Serve warm topped with vegan whipped cream or custard. Custard powder is often vegan so if you’re a custard fan then make it with some non-dairy milk and you have a winner.
You will totally love this vegan apple cake! It is:
- Fall-flavored
- Light and fluffy
- Perfectly sweet
- Topped with cinnamon sugar
- Packed with fresh apple
Keep leftover cake covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to 5 days.
More delicious vegan cakes!
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- Vegan Coffee Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
Also check out our vegan apple muffins that are adapted from this recipe.
Leave a comment below and tell us what you think of this vegan apple cake and please rate the recipe too. Thanks!
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Vegan Apple Cake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Light and fluffy vegan apple cake with a cinnamon sugar topping. Packed with fresh apple flavor and absolutely divine served warm with vegan whipped cream.
Ingredients
For the Apple Cake:
- 2 and 1/2 cups (312g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) Brown Sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 cup (240ml) Vegan Buttermilk (fresh lemon juice mixed with soy milk)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Applesauce
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) Chopped Apple (Peeled)
For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- 1/2 cup (100g) White Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp Vegan Butter (Softened)
For Serving:
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Spray a 9×13 dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.
- Prepare your vegan buttermilk by adding 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Leave it for a minute to allow it to curdle.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and applesauce to the mixing bowl and mix in properly. The batter will be thick.
- Add in the chopped apple pieces and fold in.
- Transfer to your prepared baking dish and smooth down.
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar topping by adding the sugar and cinnamon to a bowl and mixing together. Then add in softened vegan butter and mix it in until properly combined and the mixture is crumbly.
- Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Serve warm with vegan whipped cream.
Notes
*You can use a different oil such as canola oil if you prefer.
*Nutritional information is for cake only and does not include vegan whipped cream.
*Recipe adapted from our Vegan Vanilla Sheet Cake with inspiration from Pinch Of Yum.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice (of 12)
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 34.6g
- Sodium: 289mg
- Fat: 7.3g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2g
- Carbohydrates: 56.3g
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Protein: 3.4g
Keywords: vegan apple cake
I have made this recipe several times and it is delicious. I cut back on the brown sugar (only used 1/2 cup) and added 1 ripe banana, and 1/2 cup raisins. For the topping, I only used 1/4 cup of sugar. The cake came out perfect. Thanks.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your adjustments and the wonderful rating! 🙂
Could I serve this at room temperature? I would need to freeze it first and then defrost it and drop it off at an event the evening before it’s needed.
Hi Frances, yes it’s delicious at room temperature! 🙂
I wondered if you could make the cake and freeze it to serve a week later…
Yes I think this would be fine. Let it cool completely before freezing and then thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through and then serve.
Made it yesterday and I was very pleasantly surprised because tastes delicious. I cut the quantity of the sugar for 100 gr., and double the apples. Next time I’ll put less sugar (50 gr.) for the topping too, and think that it will be great again. Thank you.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing and the wonderful review. 🙂
This apple cake is so delicious. I typically don’t even like them, but had quite a few apples from a school project. I wanted to make an apple pie, but didn’t have pie crust, nor enough ingredients to make it. I’m so glad I made this because it’s so good! Thank you!!!!
★★★★★
So glad to hear Tammy! Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Hi Alison,
This looks delicious! Just wondering if I can use spelt flour instead of all-purpose?
Thank you!
Hi David, I haven’t tried it, but I think it might work!
Excellent but I cut back the sugar by 1/2 cup and replaced the additional sugar and cinnamon with grated walnuts on the top of the cake. – also added walnuts to the cake itself… delicious!
★★★★
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing Deborah! 🙂
Additional comment from my 5 year old grandson who said it’was The best cake he has ever had in his WHOLE LIFE🤣
Yay!!! 🙂
This was excellent and very easy to make! I used 2 9 inch round pans and baked for 33 minutes. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for sharing and the great review! 🙂
Hi there browsing at so many vegan gluten free apple breads , could I make this without the sugar ? Thanks
★★★★
Hi Jo, I’m not sure about leaving out the sugar altogether, you could try reducing it though.
I made this for afternoon tea for my vegan friend. I also used gluten free flour since I am coeliac. It’s hands down the best apple cake I’ve ever made. My other guests were highly impressed even before they knew it was vegan.
I will keep this recipe as a base and adapt it to black forest cake next time. I am highly confident it will succeed.
Thank you!
So happy to hear it worked out great Gitti! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Fantastic cake — moist, sweet, and super flavorful. Thank you! My daughter is allergic to eggs, so we’re always looking for good vegan desserts.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Susan! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
This is the first recipe I’ve tried from your site and if they are all like this, WOW! I wanted to make this for a meeting, but since I’d never made it before, I decided to double the recipe and make two. That way I could taste it first before taking it to the meeting. (I’m the only vegan in the group and so need to make sure that any vegan food I share is the best!) My husband just had his first bite and said, “Be sure to bring home any leftovers!” It is THAT good! My only substitutions were to use oat milk instead of soy milk and coconut sugar instead of the brown sugar. Thank you for sharing this and updating it right in time for apple season here in Eastern Ontario (Canada)!
★★★★★
Awesome Michelle! So happy to hear you loved it! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
Good afternoon 🌞
My son sent me the link to this apple cake recipe. And your chocolate chip cookies 😋 My Son and his daughter are flying down for the weekend. Honestly I’ve never cooked Vegan. I did try a Vegan burger. I liked it because I like healthy foods. Husband says 😝😅
Question now? Could I make this Apple Cake batter ahead of time and keep it cold in the fridge in an air tight container for maybe 3 or 4 days before cooking it? I made Your chocolate chip cookie dough. oh Lord! It’s good before even cooking it 😋
Thank you so much for your time.
Karen
Hi Karen! I don’t think it would be good to make the batter in advance because it can affect the rise if leavening agents (baking soda in this case) sit too long before baking. It’s a quick batter to put together though. Oh yes, that chocolate chip cookie dough is divine! 🙂
Thank you so much for the reply. I googled it after I left my question. I ended up making vegan chocolate chip cookies and the Apple Cake 😋😋 😋 oh lordy this cake is beyond delicious!!!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
I wondered if you can freeze this and it will be just as delicious as serving out of the oven?
Hi Renee, yes I think so! I would thaw in the fridge and then reheat in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until heated through and then serve.
Hi Alison,cant wait to try this.Is there anything I can substitute the apple sauce with..they not easily available here?
Hi there, sure, you can just use extra oil (same quantity as the applesauce) to replace it. 🙂
Is there a way to make without the oil ?
Hi Christine, yes I think so, if you replace the oil with applesauce it should also work great. 🙂
Another amazing cake – think this is my new favourite – didn’t have granny smiths so used golden delicious, but they worked beautifully. Definitely my daughter’s new favourite cake and one I will make again and again.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Made this today and it’s so delicious! Turned out exactly like the picture and tastes divine.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome rating Mandy. 🙂
This recipe sounds so delicious I want to make it as soon as possible. The only ingredient I don’t have on hand is applesauce. Is it necessary for the flavor of the cake or is it just used as an egg substitute? If not using it doesn’t really affect the flavor but is used as an egg substitute would a flaxseed “egg” work and, if so, how many flaxseed eggs would be required for your recipe? Thank you for your advice, Alison!
Hi Elaine, in this case it’s more for moisture, you could rather replace it with 2 Tbsp extra oil. 🙂
That’s great! Thank you for getting back to me so quickly, Alison. 😊
This cake makes us think of: tabby cats, treats, the colour orange, soft jazz, having to scrape ice off the windshield before driving, when you get into bed and your feet are very cold but you wake up 3 hours later expecting them to be warm but they’re still cold, when you spill your hot chocolate all down you and the dish your favourite Aunt would bring to the annual Christmas party. It went down like a treat, thanks Ashley.
★★★★★