Vegan Apple Cake

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. 

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

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. 

Keep leftover cake covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to 5 days. 

More delicious vegan cakes!

1. Vegan Pumpkin Cake
2. Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake
3. Vegan Coffee Cake
4. The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
5. Vegan Banana Cake
6. 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!

Sign up to our email list before you go, you’ll receive a fabulous (and free) vegan recipe ebook containing 10 delicious dinner recipes and you’ll be the first to know when new recipes are posted to the blog. 

Vegan Apple Cake

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★★★★★

4.8 from 16 reviews

• Author: Alison Andrews
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 12

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Description

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.

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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:

• Vegan Whipped Cream

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Spray a 9×13 dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.
3. 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.
4. Add the vegan buttermilk, oil, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and applesauce to the mixing bowl and mix in properly. The batter will be thick.
5. Add in the chopped apple pieces and fold in.
6. Transfer to your prepared baking dish and smooth down.
7. 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.
8. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
10. Serve warm with vegan whipped cream.

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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, Baking
• 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