Vegan apple cake - this simple, rustic cake is easy to make in just one bowl and is utterly delicious. Moist, lightly spiced and packed full of juicy apples it is the perfect cake for snacking; or try it warm with custard for pudding!
I had been craving apple cake since as soon as the weather started to turn colder, and this vegan apple cake recipe has been a little while in the making.
I always thoroughly test my recipes before I am happy to post them and I must have tried about ten different variations of apple cake before I was finally happy this time!
The good news is that my apple cake cravings have been fully satisfied after all that testing and this vegan apple cake is The One!
It is a soft, moist, lightly spiced cake with a crunchy sugar topping and plenty of juicy apples. It is the kind of simple, rustic cake that it is impossible to just have one slice of!
Some vegan yogurt and ground almonds in the batter keep the texture of the cake wonderfully soft, moist and tender. I went pretty heavy on the apples, this is an apple cake after all, and the cake itself is not overly sweet; meaning that you could even eat it for breakfast...
In addition to breakfast, afternoon tea or snacking on, this vegan apple cake is also amazing served warm for pudding, with a scoopful of ice cream or plenty of custard.
How To Make Vegan Apple Cake:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Start by greasing a deep 20cm/8 inch round cake tin and line it with baking parchment. It needs to be at least 8cm / 3 inches deep to avoid overflow.
Peel and core your apples and chop them into 1-1.5cm dice. Set aside while you make the batter.
In a large bowl whisk together plain flour, light brown soft sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground almonds, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt until no lumps remain.
Add unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best for baking), non-dairy yogurt (I used plain soy), sunflower oil (another neutral oil is fine) and lemon juice and whisk gently until no dry lumps remain.
Add the diced apples and fold them through.
Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level. Scatter some demarera sugar over the top to create a nice crunchy topping and bake the cake for about 1 hour 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then very carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. It is very delicate when it is warm so be careful with it. Once the cake is cool store it in an airtight container for up to five days.
What Kind Of Apples Should I Use?:
In short, use whatever kind you like! I prefer a sharper tasting apple so that more flavour comes through but it doesn't really matter too much. I used half Granny Smith and half Braeburn apples for this cake.
Top Tips:
As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
The tin you use should be at least 8 cm / 3 inches deep to avoid the cake overflowing.
Some ground almonds in the batter give this cake a lovely texture, but if you want to make it nut free then you can swap them for an equal weight of plain flour instead.
Don't overmix the batter as that can activate the gluten in the flour and make the cake tough. Only mix until no dry lumps remain. I recommend mixing by hand with a balloon whisk rather than using an electric mixer.
This is a delicate cake, especially when it is warm. All those juicy chunks of apple make it quite fragile so I really recommend using a springform or loose bottomed cake tin so that you can remove the cake from the tin without having to flip it out and risk it breaking.
Don't turn the cake out of the tin too early or you risk it breaking. Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes before you turn it out to give it a chance to settle.
Use the toothpick test to check when the cake is ready - if a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean then the cake is done. You may need to try it in a few spots to avoid apple chunks.
Ways To Adapt This Vegan Apple Cake:
Try adding a couple of handfuls of raisins along with the apple.
Chuck in a couple of handfuls of roughly chopped nuts.
Add a streusel topping instead of the demarera sugar.
Add some chopped crystallised or stem ginger and up the ground ginger to 1 ½ tsp.
More Autumnal Vegan Cakes:
Pumpkin chocolate chip cake bars
Vegan beetroot chocolate cake with chocolate avocado frosting
Vegan pumpkin cake with cinnamon buttercream and maple pecans
Sweet potato bread with pecan streusel
Orange and almond cake with chocolate buttercream
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Vegan Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 4 medium eating apples (about 450g unprepared weight) (I used a mix of braeburn and granny smith)
- 250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 100 g (½ cup + 1 Tbsp) light brown soft sugar
- 80 g (⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp) caster sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 60 g (½ cup) ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 80 g (⅓ cup) non-dairy yogurt (I use soy)
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) sunflower oil (or another neutral oil)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 heaped Tbsp demarera sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a deep 20cm/8 inch round cake tin and line it with baking parchment.
- Peel and core the apples and chop into 1-1.5cm dice. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, light brown soft sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground almonds, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt until no lumps remain.
- Add the milk, yogurt, oil and lemon juice and whisk gently until no dry lumps remain. Add the apples and fold through.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level. Scatter the demarera sugar over the top and bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then very carefully turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. It is very delicate when it is warm so be careful with it. Once the cake is cool store in an airtight container.
Notes
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- The tin you use should be at least 8 cm / 3 inches deep to avoid the cake overflowing.
- The yogurt can be swapped for unsweetened applesauce.
- The ground almonds in the batter give this cake a lovely texture, but if you want to make it nut free then you can swap them for an equal weight of plain flour instead.
- Don’t overmix the batter as that can activate the gluten in the flour and make the cake tough. Only mix until no dry lumps remain. I recommend mixing by hand with a balloon whisk rather than using an electric mixer.
- This is a delicate cake, especially when it is warm. All those juicy chunks of apple make it quite fragile so I really recommend using a springform or loose bottomed cake tin so that you can remove the cake from the tin without having to flip it out and risk it breaking.
- Don’t turn the cake out of the tin too early or you risk it breaking. Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes before you turn it out to give it a chance to settle.
- Use the toothpick test to check when the cake is ready – if a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean then the cake is done. You may need to try it in a few spots to avoid apple chunks.
leslie
omg! this cake is amazing!!!
maybe I would remove a tad of the sugar but I guess that depends on the apples you use?
I loved it!
Janet
I used wheat free flour and it was delicious. We will have more tomorrow with custard. Thank you
Nina
Hi, what if I dont have yogurt? Can I replace with coconut cream?
Hannah
Hi Nina, if you have unsweetened applesauce then I would use that in place of the yogurt. Otherwise yes, I think that coconut cream would work, though I haven't tested it.
Kate
I made this cake today and half of it has already been eaten! Soooo good! I think next time I make it I would add some pecans as well, for a bit of added texture. Thank you for another brilliant recipe.
Heather
Can I confirm, is it allspice or mixed spice?
Hannah
Hi Heather, it's allspice (also known as pimento), but you could certainly use mixed spice instead if you don't have any.
Sarah
This cake is absolutely delicious; light, fragrant and sweetly reminiscent of Autumn. Served with custard it is decadent enough to serve as dessert. This will become a favourite in our home, thank you.
Jo
I didn’t think I’d find a vegan cake that I loved more than your Courgette Cake... it’s a close one. This apple cake is incredible. Such an easy recipe to follow and loved by everyone.
Camille Coad
Looks tasty. Just a question about the non-dairy yogurt. It’s listed as 80g and 160g, but I only see one addition of the yogurt. Where and how much of the yogurt should be in the recipe?
Hannah
Hi Camille, the yogurt is only listed once as 80g. It's 160ml of milk, not yogurt.
Eleanor Bates
Family verdict - “You’d never know it was vegan…”
Rachel
My family loves this cake! Even my very hard to please
5yo daughter.
M
Oh my lordy Hannah you truly are a goddess of food this cake was amazing It is sooo light and I agree with others would be fantastic warm with custard, unfortunately mine didn’t last that long, so will have to make again to confirm this, not that that will be a hardship as it was so easy and quick to make Thank you for sharing the recipe lovely lady
Janet McLoone
Update. I added xanthan gum because I used gluten free flour , I also added sultanas. It was great with the oaty custard. It also froze well, and ate well afterwards - I froze slices. I thought I would never find a replacement recipe now I can’t eat dairy, eggs or wheat. So thankful.
Dawn
Thank you for this amazing recipe. We picked apples to use and I uses oat milk and oat yoghurt and it turned out amazing. One of the best vegan cake recipes I have tried thanks again.
Brigitte
I baked this cake using apple sauce instead of yoghurt, I only used a mix of 1/2 cup cane and coconut palm sugar , I didn’t use the other sugar and table spoons , i don’t like overly sweet I love to taste the fresh ingredients in a recipe so this one had many apples that’s why I picked it . I doubled the cinnamon and left everything else the same . When I mixed the batter 2/3 cup of liquid for 2 1/2 cups of dry ingredients is not much . My batter was so dried I had to use 1/2 cup more of milk . I grounded my own almonds and added some raisins . I think apple cake needs a lot of spices not from sugar from spices so if you like to taste spices in your apple cake , double all the spices and triple the cinnamon. , the texture is very good almost like a bread pudding , I could imagine how good this would be with a homemade caramel or butterscotch sauce , drizzle of maple syrup with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream . It’s a wonderful recipe that you can adjust to your own taste ..this is very very good but bland !
Chris
I just made this and I’ll admit I was a bit nervous. I couldn’t see any of the usual vegan egg-substitutes and was worried it would be a bit puddingy or just disintegrate. No need - it’s soft and crumbly as described, and tastes gorgeous. I didn’t notice the vegan yoghurt in the recipe until I was home from the shops so crossed my fingers and substituted with Oatly creme fraiche I had in the fridge, which seems to have worked out ok. Great recipe!
Kirsty
This cake is incredible! I didn’t have yoghurt so used Oatly Creme Fraiche and didn’t have lemon juice so chucked in some apple cider vinegar instead. It’s such a lovely texture, and so moist! Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
CG
Great taste and texture. I swapped some of the apple for 50g of chopped walnuts.
Jackie
Lovely moist cake but also light. Work colleagues love it even though not vegan.
Left out the cloves as not a fan and added more Demerara on top for added crunch.
Made with soy and oat milk, oat milk resulted in a slightly lighter cake.
Jenn
Love this recipe. It's super tasty. I added some sultanas and used apple sauce to top up my lack of soya yoghurt. Just wondered if this freezes well?
Hannah
Hi Jenn, so glad you enjoyed it! Yes it freezes well 🙂
Sian
Hi! I just tried this recipe and it turned out great 🙂
I was thinking of using the same recipe for apple muffins - how long do you reckon they would take in the oven? Maybe half an hour?
Mark W
This cake is great. It is the first thing I make after picking the apples here in the UK each autumn, which on this occasion was today! I agree with many others, the addition of custard makes this a perfect pudd.
Rachael Foster
I make a non-vegan spiced apple cake and had a few requests to veganise it so I was ecstatic to see what you had a recipe! Of course, it worked out fantastically as all your recipes do! I just used 2tsp of mixed spice, added 100g sultanas, lemon zest and increased the Demerara to 50g so it was more like my non-vegan recipe and it turned out a treat. Thanks so much!
Sher
Dear Hannah,
I would like to add some cardamom to the spice mix, would that work according to you? If so, how much would you add?
All you recipes are superb!
Best,
Hannah
Hi Sher, Thank you so much! Yes cardamom sounds lovely. I would try 1/4 teaspoon but it really depends on how strong you want it.
Ash
This looks great.
However, I don’t have lemon juice to hand, can this be substituted?
Thanks
Hannah
Hi Ash, you can use vinegar instead.
Courtney
This was a very yummy, rustic, easy to make cake from start to finish! I made it for a girls book club and it was devoured! Great recipe, thank you so very much.