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 (update: vegan apple pie is here!), 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.
And if you love everything apple then check out our vegan apple muffins too.
How To Make Vegan Apple Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
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, 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 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 The 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 vegan custard. Alternatively some vegan ice cream would be divine too.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftover cake covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to 5 days.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
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
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Apple Cake
Ingredients
For the Apple Cake:
- 2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour (312g)
- 1 ½ cups Light Brown Sugar (300g)
- 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice + Soy Milk up to the 1 cup line
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Oil (80ml) or Canola Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Applesauce
- 1 ½ cups Granny Smith Apples (188g) Peeled and Chopped
For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
- 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 or vegan ice cream.
Video
Notes
- Granny Smith Apples. These are the best apples to use in this recipe, but you can also use whatever you have on hand.
- Storing. Keep leftover cake stored in the fridge (covered) where it will stay good for up to 5 days. It can be reheated in the microwave.
- Nutritional information is for cake only and does not include vegan whipped cream.
Gitti says
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!
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear it worked out great Gitti! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Tess says
Hi Gitti,
I’m gluten free as well. What flour mixture did you use?
Thanks,
Tess
Susan says
Fantastic cake — moist, sweet, and super flavorful. Thank you! My daughter is allergic to eggs, so we’re always looking for good vegan desserts.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Susan! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
Michelle says
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)!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Michelle! So happy to hear you loved it! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
Karen Anderson says
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
Alison Andrews says
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! 🙂
Karen Anderson says
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!!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Renee says
I wondered if you can freeze this and it will be just as delicious as serving out of the oven?
Alison Andrews says
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.
Reshma says
Hi Alison,cant wait to try this.Is there anything I can substitute the apple sauce with..they not easily available here?
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, sure, you can just use extra oil (same quantity as the applesauce) to replace it. 🙂
Christine says
Is there a way to make without the oil ?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Christine, yes I think so, if you replace the oil with applesauce it should also work great. 🙂
Alisar says
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.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
Mandy says
Made this today and it’s so delicious! Turned out exactly like the picture and tastes divine.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome rating Mandy. 🙂
Elaine says
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!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Elaine, in this case it’s more for moisture, you could rather replace it with 2 Tbsp extra oil. 🙂
Elaine says
That’s great! Thank you for getting back to me so quickly, Alison. ????
Lady Chapel Notpear says
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.
Tyas says
Hi Alison, I’m a tad confused how 2.5 cups of flour weigh 312g and 1.5 cups of sugar weigh 300g. I used your metric measurement and ended up with a very sweet cake where the only thing I could taste is the brown sugar. 🙁
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tyas, these measurements are totally accurate. A cup of feathers weighs less than a cup of stones, yet they are both still 1 cup in volume. Sugar is more dense than flour so it is heavier. If you found the cake a bit sweet you can try and reduce the sugar to tweak it to your preference. All the best!
Lucy says
I had the same thought when making this last night. I took a risk and halved the sugar content and it came out great! I also sprinkled some flaked almonds on top. Yum!
Desiree Rousseau says
Easy and Delicious, my 6 year old made it! However we halved the amount of sugar and it was still too sugary. Or else I would definitely give it 5 stars. We also replaced the apple sauce with half of a banana since we didn’t have any and it worked fine!
Nithya Bala Murugan says
Turned out perfect. Just made it last night. Only change I made was that I cut down the 1 and 1/2 tsp of baking soda to just 1 tsp of baking soda. Came out fine. Cooking time for me was about 60 mins instead of 45 mins.
Alison Andrews says
So glad it came out perfectly! Thanks so much for sharing your adjustments and the awesome review. 🙂
Bobbie says
Nithya – why change the amount of baking soda? I’m a curious feline (Leo)!
Judith says
Sorry forgot to rate this recipe
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Judith! So happy to hear it was a success! 🙂
Judith says
I haven’t had much success with baking vegan cakes but made this and it turned out really well. Moist, light and tasty….and easy to make.