This vegan apple cake is soft, moist, and packed with fresh apple chunks. It’s an easy one-bowl recipe made with just seven simple ingredients—no fancy vegan substitutes needed!
For more easy and delicious vegan cakes, check out our vegan carrot cake, vegan lemon cake, easy vanilla cake, and lemon blueberry cake.
Why you’ll love this recipe…
Inspired by Italian apple cake, this family recipe is perfect for breakfast, a snack, or dessert with ice cream or vegan custard.
We think you’ll love it because it’s:
- Quick to prepare in just 10 minutes and in one bowl.
- Packed with apples to give it flavor and keep it moist.
- Made with pantry staples.
- Affordable. Did you see the price of eggs these days?
- The layer of apple slices on top keeps it extra moist and adds a beautiful finish.
Louise and I love it so much we also turned it into a healthy apple bread, made vegan apple muffins, and filled one with vegan custard for extra richness 🤤.
Ingredients
Full ingredients and substitutions are in the recipe box below.
- Apples: You can make this cake with any apple variety. We recommend sweeter varieties such as fuji, golden delicious, and pink ladies for a sweeter cake.
- All-purpose flour: Substitute whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or mix half all-purpose and half whole-wheat. Use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour mix for cakes to make it without gluten.
- Sugar: You can use white or brown sugar.
- Almond milk: Substitute another non-dairy milk like oat or soy milk.
- Olive oil: Substitute another vegetable oil such as avocado, canola, and sunflower oil. For oil-free use apple sauce in the same amount.
- Cinnamon
- Baking powder: essential to help the cake rise in the oven.
- Vanilla extract & lemon zest: optional for more aroma.
Notes on Baking Pans
You can use different cake pans to make this cake. Here are some ideas:
- 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan for a tall cake (it takes a few minutes longer to bake)
- 8.5-inch (21 cm) cake pan. That’s what we usually use.
- 9-inch pan (23 cm) for a shorter cake (it takes a few minutes less to bake)
You can also make apple muffins with the same batter by using a 12-muffin tin and baking for 25 -27 minutes.
Variations
- ADD YOGURT: For a moister cake, swap some plant milk for yogurt. Use 2/3 cup (160g) plant yogurt and 1/2 cup (120g) plant milk.
- ADD CUSTARD: Have you ever tried apple cake with custard inside? Make vegan custard, then pour ¾ of it over the batter in the pan. Swirl gently with a knife. Top with thin apple slices in a circular pattern, sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar, and bake at 360°F (180°C) for 55–60 minutes. It’s so good!
- SWAP PEARS: You can substitute slices of pears for the apples.
How to make vegan apple cake
Line cake pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 360°F or 180°C.
To a mixing bowl, add almond milk, olive oil, sugar, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk until well combined.
With a fine-mesh sieve, sift in the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
Whisk or mix with a hand mixer for a few seconds till you have a smooth and thick cake batter. Do not over-mix, or the cake will turn out gummy.
Cinnamon note: You can add 1 – 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter, but it will color your cake brown. We prefer adding vanilla and lemon zest to the batter and cinnamon on top.
Add small pieces from 2.5 apples. The apples should be cored and the seeds removed, but you can keep the peel on.
Fold them with a spatula until then pour batter into the cake tin.
Cover the top with thin apple slices arranged in a circular pattern, overlapping the slices a bit.
Finally, sprinkle the apples with 2 tbsp of sugar mixed with a teaspoon of cinnamon.
Bake on the center rack of the oven at 360°F (180°C) for 55 minutes to 1 hour.
A skewer inserted in the center should come out mostly dry. If it doesn’t, keep baking in 5-minute increments.
Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan and cooling it for at least 1 hour.
Tips
- Cinnamon: for more cinnamon flavor, add 2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter. Keep in mind that the cake will have a brown color if you do so.
- Don’t overmix to avoid a dense, gummy texture. Stop once the ingredients are combined.
- Work quickly after adding baking powder, as it starts activating immediately.
- Sift the flour to remove lumps and add air for a lighter cake.
- Don’t open the oven for the first 30 minutes to prevent deflation.
- When baking, place the cake pan on a baking rack, not a baking tray, because the tray will get too hot and will overcook the base of the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baking time varies by oven, milk, and flour type. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center—if it comes out clean, the cake is ready. If wet, bake a few more minutes and recheck.
All plant-based milks work well. We use almond because we like the flavor. Soy milk gives and excellent structure and has a more neutral flavor. Oat milk and rice milk work well too.
Absolutely! Keep in mind that the cake will be denser and brown. Not everyone likes that! Our advice would be to use half whole-wheat and half all-purpose flour for a more balanced cake.
You can substitute water or apple sauce for olive oil. Same quantities.
Room temp: 4 days under a cake dome or in a plastic bag.
Refrigerator: up to one week.
Freezer: up to three months. Let it cool down completely before freezing.
Reheat: if it gets dry after storage, reheat for 1 minute in the microwave to make moist again
More easy apple recipes
Breakfast
Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Desserts
Baked apples
Desserts
Apple Crumble
Breakfast
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
If you tried this Vegan Apple Cake recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!
Vegan Apple Cake
Video
Equipment
- cake pan We use 8.5 inch /21 cm in the video. 8 or 9 inches also works.
Ingredients
- 4 apples divided, 2½ for the filling and 1½ on top.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar plus 2 tbsp to sprinkle on top
- 1 cup almond milk
- ¼ cup olive oil or another vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extra
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ lemon the grated zest (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Line cake pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 360°F (180°C).To a mixing bowl, add 1 cup almond milk, ¼ cup olive oil, ¾ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extra and the grated zest of ½ lemon. Whisk until well combined.With a fine-mesh sieve, sift in 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.Whisk or mix with a hand mixer for a few seconds until you have a smooth and thick cake batter. Don't over-mix.
- Add small pieces from 2½ apples. The apples should be cored and the seeds removed, but you can keep the peel on.Fold them with a spatula, then pour batter into the cake pan.
- Cover the top with thin apple slices from the remaining apples, arranged in a circular pattern, overlapping the slices a bit.Finally, sprinkle the apples with 2 tbsp of sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven at 360°F (180°C) for 55 minutes to 1 hour.A skewer inserted in the center should come out mostly dry. If it doesn’t, keep baking in 5-minute increments.Take it out of the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan and cooling it for at least 1 hour.
Notes
- Apples: You can use any apple variety. We recommend sweet varieties like fuji, pink ladies, and golden delicious.
- Almond milk: Substitute another plant-based milk.
- Olive oil: Substitute another vegetable oil like canola or sunflower oil.
- All-purpose flour: You can also use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose. Substitute gluten-free flour to make the cake GF.
- Cinnamon: for more cinnamon flavor, add 2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter. Keep in mind that the cake will have a brown color if you do so
- Don’t overmix to avoid a dense, gummy texture. Stop once the ingredients are combined.
- Work quickly after adding baking powder, as it starts activating immediately.
- Sift the flour to remove lumps and add air for a lighter cake.
- Don’t open the oven for the first 30 minutes to prevent deflation.
- When baking, place the cake pan on a baking rack, not a baking tray, because the tray will get too hot and will overcook the base of the cake.
- Room temp: 4 days under a cake dome or in a plastic bag.
- Refrigerator: up to one week.
- Freezer: up to three months. Let it cool down completely before freezing.
- Reheat: if it gets dry after storage, reheat for 1 minute in the microwave to make moist again
Nutrition
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Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We're here to share easy, healthy, and delicious recipes 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
was the cake in the photo made with all plant milk or with partial soy yogurt as suggested in the substitutions?
Hi Marsha, thank you for your message. The photos of the apple cake is with partial soy yogurt. Although, the last couple of times, I’ve made the cake without yogurt, but with oat milk, it looks exactly the same. I hope you’ll like it! Cheers, Nico
It was delicious, but I added less sugar. Regarding leaving the cake in the oven for an hour, mine was ready in 50 minutes. So keep an eye out just in case. It was browner than your picture, but was still moist.
Hi Anne, thanks so much for letting me know! I’m delighted that you like the cake – also with less sugar. Cheers, and have a great day. Nico
Brilliant. Easy and moreish.
A beautiful cake that’s so delicious and easy to make! (I made the version with plant-based yogurt). Will definitely make this again.
Thank you May, we’re so happy you liked the apple cake. Your version of it looked just beautiful on Instagram! Cheers, Nico
A beautiful dessert! A co worker crowd pleaser! Easy to follow,this is a flavorful and delicious dessert and i will be making this over and over! It handles add ins well without affecting the density of the cake (I added shredded carrot). Love love love this new staple:)
Hi Vatana, I’m so delighted you (and your colleagues) like it – nothing better than a crowd-pleasing cake 🙂
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, it means a lot to us! Have a great rest of your week. Cheers, Nico
Hello Nico
This cake is so AWESOME!! I made it so many times already and always meant to but forgot to comment 🙁
I think it is the simplest, easiest and most delicious apple cake I ever made :)). It is my go-to recipe now 🙂
Thank you for the other simple and great recipes and keep up the great work!!
Hi Sue! That is amazing, I am so happy you liked the cake. And especially, that it’s a recipe you feel like re-making.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
Cheers,
Sue
Just made it for dinner tonight!
My cakes fail more often than not but this one turned out wonderfully! Thank you so much!
Yana, I am delighted to hear that!! Thanks for sharing with us 🥰
Thanks for this recipe. It’s very similar to a family apple cake recipe made with a lot of eggs that we hadn’t found a good plant based replacement for, until now!
Made this twice now as muffins using parchment liners. I like to mix the cinnamon and sprinkling sugar with the apples and use the vanilla in the batter as well. Used soy milk with no additives and US all purpose flour flour. Can also brush top after baking when warm with strained apricot jam or other syrup.
Even made them gluten free today with Bobs Red Mill 1-to-1 flour (sifted before measuring) and they turned out great! The batter was able to sit in the tins (and absorb) for a bit while I prepared and arranged the sliced apples on top. Baked 28 minutes. Perfect little GF cakes – not gritty and not gooey.
Hi Dawn,
Thanks so much for leaving such a helpful comment here – those apple muffins sound amazing!! We’re gonna try them, for sure.
The apricot jam brushing is a great tip 🙂 Thanks again for sharing this valuable information. I wish you a wonderful day.
Cheers, Nico
Thanks so much for letting us know Yana, so happy your cake turned out wonderfully!
Have you tried with gluten free flour? Curious if it would work out…
Hi Sarah, thanks for your message. I haven’t tried with gluten-free flour yet, but I’ve heard from 2 followers on our YouTube channel that made it gluten-free and liked it. I hope that helps a little. Cheers, Nico
Made this over the weekend it looked beautiful but not very flavorful, I am not vegan but both my daughters are and they felt like it was missing something; needs more flavor any suggestions?
Hi Ellen, it might be that the apples were not the sweetest? I’d say you can add more sugar if you want to boost flavour. We usually don’t use a lot of sugar and the taste might suffer a bit. Other than that, you could use a vegan butter that tastes more like regular butter instead of the vegetable oil, and add more aromas, like vanilla extract. Hope this helps 🙂
We are vegans for the animals and planet and I am so happy I found your website… I wanted to whip up something quick for my husband’s birthday and made this apple cake in our tiny 4 inch springform pan… the idea of scaling numbers is brilliant and made it super easy for even a super lazy occasional baker like me. The recipe was perfect and we simply loved the flavor… I am gonna be making this more often now.
Thank you so much!
Wow Priynka, I am delighted you made our apple cake for such a special occasion – even better: you liked it, YAY! Thanks so much for your feedback, glad to know the scaling table is helpful!
Kindest, Nico
Ciao da NYC 🙂 Appena fatta e mangiata: e’ venuta molto bene ma….1) The batter was super dense. It didn’t look like yours. How much almond milk should I add next time? 2) On which oven rack do you place the pan? Grazie mille!
Ciao Sara, grazie per il feedback. Allora, I just made it again with the exact same recipe both in US cups and Grams, using Italian whole wheat flour and oat milk and the consistency was perfect. So, I’d say there could be two reasons why yours turned out denser than the one you see in the video:
1) your flour is different than mine – it’s possible that flours milled in the US or other parts of the world require more liquid than Italian flour. If this is the case, just add 2 to 4 US tablespoons (30 to 60 ml) of milk extra, until you reach the right consistency.
2) you whisked the dough too much. It really just needs to be mixed for like 30 seconds, or else the gluten will develop and the batter will be more like a dough.
For baking, use the central rack of the oven with this kind of cake.
Hope this helps 🙂
Nico
This was a lovely simple recipe! Tasted delicious!
I’m delighted to hear, Stephanie! Thank you for commenting 🙏
Hi Nico,
I followed your recipe exactly.
Your mixture was a thick liquid after mixing in the flour.
Mine was a thick dough.
Any suggestions please as to why mine was different? I used half all-purpose flour and half wholewheat flour.
Hi Cheryl, thanks for your feedback 🙂 I just made it again with the exact same recipe both in US cups and Grams, using Italian whole wheat flour and oat milk and the consistency was like in the video. So, I’d say there could be two reasons why yours turned out denser than the one you see in the video:
1) your flour is different than mine – it’s possible that flours milled in the US or other parts of the world require a little more liquid than Italian flour. If this is the case, just add 2 to 4 US tablespoons (30 to 60 ml) of milk extra, until you reach the right consistency.
2) you whisked the dough too much. It really just needs to be mixed for like 30 seconds, or else the gluten will develop and the batter will be more like a dough.
One last thing, if you use US cups as I do, make sure to level off the flour in the cup with a knife.
Hope this helps,
Nico
Just made this cake. It turned out great and was delicious. Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi Brian, I’m happy to hear it turned out well. It’s my pleasure!
Absolutely delicious! I made it with white whole wheat flour and water (actually,, half water and half apple brandy.) This recipe is a keeper!
Wonderful, Patricia! I am very happy to hear that you liked the cake. Thanks for commenting 🙂
Did you sub the water and brandy for milk or the oil? Thank you!
Fab recipe, turned out lovely!
So happy to hear you liked it. Thanks.
Absolutely yummy and easy 🤩
You’re great !! With all the tips about conversion / ingredients and substitutes.
Your page is A1 ❤️
Thanks, Rudy! Ahaha, I’m glad you like the recipe measurements (and our blog). Cheers, Nico
Can you sub applesauce instead of oil?
Hi Meg! Yes you can substitute applesauce! Just follow our recipe and replace the oil with the same amount of water or applesauce. It will work wonderfully.Cheers, Nico