Vegan Apple Cake

About this Cake

This fluffy vegan apple cake is moist and tender yet completely oil-free! It’s also easy to make in one bowl and ready to enjoy in just 1 hour.

It goes well with coffee and tea or served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a special treat. It has a soft, spongy texture and is nice and moist thanks to the diced apples and applesauce.

Enjoy this lovely cake with friends and family, bring it along to a brunch get-together or serve it as part of a holiday meal. It’s an easy-to-make cake that’s sure to be a new go-to for any occasion and especially during apple season.

Apple lover? Don’t miss these baked apple slices, apple crumble bars or stuffed apples.

Ingredient Notes

This section covers a few notes on the ingredients and possible substitutions. Scroll down to find the printable recipe card with amounts and instructions.

• Light Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar works best in this cake for flavour and moisture though you could substitute white sugar if needed. You’ll also need brown sugar to make the caramel glaze.
• Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce is recommended since there’s already quite a lot of sugar in the cake.
• Milk: Any non-dairy milk is suitable. Unsweetened almond milk is recommended.
• Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract or artificial vanilla both work.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour. You should be able to substitute a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour though it has not been tested.
• Spices: The recipe calls for cinnamon and ground cloves. You could substitute 2 tsp apple pie spice if you like.
• Leavening: You’ll need both baking powder and baking soda for this cake.
• Apples: You can use any variety of apple. I like envy, Fuji, Honey crisp, ambrosia, Braeburn or gala. You can use Granny Smith apple if you like. The apples will soften in the cake once cooked so it doesn’t matter if it’s a soft or crunchy variety.
• Coconut Cream: This is used to make the optional caramel glaze for the cake. Good quality thick coconut milk would also work.

Step-by-Step Photos

Prepare for making your cake by preheating the oven to 350 F and rubbing an 8×8-inch baking dish with oil.

Coconut oil, avocado oil or olive oil works or you can use a light coating of non-stick cooking spray.

Mix Sugar and Applesauce

Start by combining the applesauce and light brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until you have a smooth homogenous mixture.

You can use a wooden spoon, spatula or mix briefly with a handheld electric mixer.

Add Dry Ingredients

Add the flour to the bowl with the wet ingredients, then add the cinnamon, cloves, baking powder and baking soda.

While they’re sitting on top of the wet ingredients, carefully mix the dry ingredients up a bit to help distribute the baking powder and baking soda before mixing everything together.

Once you’ve lightly mixed the dry ingredients, fold them into the wet ingredients until just combined.

Add the Apple

Add the diced apple to the batter and gently fold to combine.

You can use diced apple or grated apple, peeled or unpeeled. I did not peel the apple for this recipe.

If you’d like to add something like crushed walnuts or raisins, add them now as well.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and shake or gently spread until it’s more or less in an even layer in the dish.

Glaze the Cake

Pour the glaze over the cake. You can create a number of holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick if you’d like some of the glaze to seep into the cake.

Tips for Success

1. Don’t over mix. Because the cake contains gluten, over mixing the batter will result in a dense, gummy cake. For a light and fluffy cake, stop mixing as soon as the flour is incorporated, no more.
2. Be prepared. Be sure to preheat your oven and prepare the pans before you start. It’s important to get the cake into the oven as quickly after mixing the batter as you can to take advantage of the leavening power of the baking powder and baking soda.
3. Measuring. Baking is a science so I always recommend using a digital scale to measure your ingredients for baking. This is the best way to ensure accuracy and therefore, success!
4. Substitutions. It’s best to follow the recipe and not make substitutions unless you’re an experienced and confident baker. If you have specific questions about substitutions, please ask in the comment section and I’ll try to help the best I can.
5. Use active leavening ingredients. Always store your baking powder and baking soda in a cool, dry place with their lids properly closed and make sure they’re not expired. We need them to be active to help the cake rise properly.

Variations & Serving

• Skip the glaze and serve with a smear of apple butter, chia seed jam or coconut butter.
• Date paste (just dates) or date caramel (dates, almond butter and a bit of milk) would make a good option for a sugar-free “frosting”.
• Try this cashew cream cheese frosting or vegan cream cheese frosting instead of caramel.
• For apple walnut cake, add up to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts when you add the apples. Pecans or raisins would also work nicely.
• For another alternative to the glaze, sprinkle the cake with granulated sugar like demarera sugar, turbinado sugar or coconut sugar before baking. You could add some cinnamon to the sugar for a yummy cinnamon sugar topping.
• A dusting of powdered sugar would also work as an alternative to the caramel glaze.
• For a more Italian-inspired apple cake, omit the cinnamon and cloves.
• Serve warm with or without the caramel glaze with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Storing

• Let the cake cool before storing.
• The cake will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
• Store in the fridge covered for up to 6 days. Just note the glaze will harden if stored in the fridge.
• Freeze in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the fridge before serving.