Simple Wholemeal Apple Cake (Vegan)

Simple wholemeal apple cake - a moist, vegan wholemeal cake filled with fresh apple and spices; easy to make and the perfect mid-morning or afternoon snack.

As much as I enjoy making a pretty, iced layer cake; the cakes that I most enjoy eating, and crave most often, are generally a far simpler affair.

The kind of cakes that aren't too pretty to look at, but you feel much less guilty about eating a massive wodge of for a mid-morning snack.

I had been craving apple cake for a couple of weeks and when the tree in the garden yielded a few ready-to-pick apples that weren't great for eating fresh, but were good for cooking with, I finally got round to satisfying the craving with this simple wholemeal apple cake.

This is a moist cake filled with chunks of fresh, tangy apple; the wholemeal flour gives it a hearty texture and the demarera sugar on top lends a nice crunch.

It is very easy to make, only uses one bowl and there is no need to use an electric mixer. The butter is rubbed into the dry ingredients, as if you were making pastry, then the rest of the ingredients are simply stirred in with a spatula.

It keeps well in an airtight container (though only lasted two days in our house) and makes a lovely snack, or even breakfast. To make it a little more indulgent it could be served warm with custard or cream, though I like it best as is, with a big mug of tea.

What Do I Need To Make A Simple Wholemeal Apple Cake?:

Apples: You will need three medium sized eating apples. I prefer to use a sharper variety such as Cox rather than a very sweet type, but you do you.

Self-raising wholemeal flour: The wholemeal flour gives this cake a hearty texture and flavour. I prefer to use self-raising (Allinson’s) but if you can’t find any you could try using plain wholemeal flour plus 2 teaspoons baking powder. (Wholemeal flour is called whole wheat flour in the USA).

Vegan butter: Ideally you need to use a block butter rather than the spreadable kind in a tub. I use Naturli vegan block or Flora plant butter.

Sugar: I use light brown soft/muscovado sugar in the cake and sprinkle the top with demarera (turbinado) sugar when it comes out of the oven for a nice crunchy topping. This is optional, but recommended.

I don’t recommend swapping the light brown sugar for another type (except maybe coconut if you really want to), you won’t get as good a flavour or texture.

Milk: Unsweetened soy milk is best but any variety will work. Oat or cashew would be my next choices.

Spices: A bit of cinnamon and mixed spice complement the apple. If you aren’t in the UK then you can use apple pie spice or pumpkin spice instead of the mixed spice.

How To Make Wholemeal Apple Cake:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice in a large bowl; add the butter and rub in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles course sand and no lumps of butter remain.

Stir in the sugar, then the apples.

Mix in the milk to form a batter. The mixture should be quite stiff and may look a bit curdled, that is fine. Pour the mixture into a deep 18cm round tin and spread it level. Bake for about 1 hour.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately sprinkle with demarera sugar. leave to cool in the tin for half an hour or so then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

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!

For the best results follow the recipe closely and make it exactly as written. Changing any of the ingredients could affect the outcome of the cake.

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 20-30 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.

Once the cake has cooled, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

If you want a vegan apple cake that isn’t made with wholemeal flour then check out my ultimate vegan apple cake recipe instead!

Can I Freeze It?:

Yes this vegan wholemeal apple cake freezes well. Make sure that it is well wrapped to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months.

Allow to defrost at room temperature to serve.

More Fruity Vegan Cakes:

• Chocolate, pear and hazelnut cake
• Vegan apple cake
• Vegan cherry almond cake
• Vegan orange cranberry cake
• Vegan pineapple upside-down cake
• Lemon blueberry polenta cake
• Vegan mango bundt cake
• Raspberry, chocolate and almond sheet cake
• Vegan apple bundt cake

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Old (Non-Vegan) Recipe:

I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since updated and veganised it. For anyone who loved the original recipe I have included it below.

Ingredients

• 350 g sharp eating apples such as cox (unprepared weight, 12oz/3 medium)
• 225 g (8oz) self-raising wholemeal flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 115 g butter (1 stick), firm but not fridge cold, cubed
• 115 g (⅔ cup) light brown soft sugar
• 1 large egg beaten
• 110 ml milk (⅓ + ⅛ cup), more if needed
• 1 ½ tbsp demarera sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease an 18cm/7in round deep cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
• Peel, core and dice the apples, set aside. Mix together the flour, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice in a large bowl;add the butter and rub in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles course sand and no chunks of butter remain.
• Stir in the sugar, then the apples. Mix in the egg followed by the milk. The mixture should be quite stiff but if it seems dry add a little more milk until it reaches a reluctant dropping consistency.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level. bake for about 1 hour, but start checking for doneness after 45 minutes; it should be firm and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Cover loosely with foil partway through baking if the top begins to darken too much.
• Remove the cake from the oven and immediately sprinkle with demarera sugar. leave to cool in the tin for half an hour or so then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.