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
Don’t Lose This Recipe
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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.
Waiting for the cake to come out of the oven 🤤 I will report back , I was very excited about the cake it looks so healthy and yummy . I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup and added 1/4 cup of maple syrup . I only had Granny Smith I like those because they aren’t overly sweet , reduce the oil by half and replaced it with unsweetened apple sauce , I did two tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp pumpkin spice also I grated some nutmeg . I did not add the sugar I always try to cut back if I sprinkle the powder sugar to make it festive I don’t want the extra sugar . I like to serve my apple cake with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle of yummy maple syrup . If the recipe turns out amazing I will use this base cake for pears , peach even blueberries why not . Thank you 😊 can’t wait
Hey! I made this and it’s the first cake I have had success with and my husband is happy. I did add fresh cranberries and 6 apples.
Yay, that’s great 💪
How wonderful that your husband enjoyed the cake too 🙂
Thank you for the tip on fresh cranberries, it sounds delicious in the apple cake.
All the best,
Louise
Hola Chef,
It’s been a while since I’ve made this DELICIOUS cake! Ricetta proprio all’Italiana come la faceva la Sig.ra Bruna 😉 I can’t remember which apples I used. What do you recommend?
Grazie,
Sara
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your message. For this cake, you can use any apple varieties.
If you like your apple cake to be on the sweet side, then the best apples for baking are Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty, and Gala apples.
If you like a tarter cake, try Granny Smith apples, Winesap, or Cortland apples.
I hope this helps. Thank you for your kind words and support!
All the best,
Louise
This recipe was not good. I don’t know what it was missing but definitely wouldn’t make it again.
I’m so sorry to hear!!
If you give us a little more context, we are happy to help troubleshoot as to what is missing.
Wish you a great week ahead. Kindest,
Louise
Does this cake freeze well?
Hi Nancy,
Yes, you can freeze the apple cake for up to 3 months (without custard). To do so, let it cool down completely and wrap it in 3 layers of plastic wrap.
Thaw: defrost the cake in the refrigerator over several hours or overnight. Do not thaw at room temperature.
I hope this helps! All the best,
Louise
I used 1 cup white whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose flour. I can’t have oil, so I used soy yogurt. My cake didn’t rise like yours BUT…it tastes delicious! Not too sweet just bursting with apple cinnamon flavor! Well done!!!
Hi Merlinda,
Wonderful idea with the soy yogurt – I’m delighted you enjoyed the cake, YAY!!
Thank you for your kind feedback.
All the best,
Louise
Could I add cocoa powder and chocolate chips? Trying to recreate a childhood recipe vegan and this seems like a great cake!
Hi Mimi,
Yes, definitely. I’d say 1/4 to 1/3 cup chocolate chips. For the cocoa powder, you can go from 2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup – if you put a lot of it you might want to add a couple of tablespoons of extra liquid.
Hope this helps 🙂
Nico
I’m hoping to make this cake for my dads birthday. Curious do you measure the flour before or after sifting to get the correct amount? I’m in the US so measure in cups and I don’t have a scale unfortunately.
Hi Kelly,
thanks for your question 🙂
We also use cups to make this cake.
We don’t sift the flour before measuring it.
We spoon the flour from its package right into the measuring cup.
We fill the cup right to the edge, we level it flat with a knife, without making a dome.
I hope this helps 🙂
Happy baking!
Impeccable. I have too many apples for even the deer to eat. This will be where they go! I think I will try the custard version next. I don’t suppose you know if I can use Bird’s Custard mix?
Thanks for this recipe!
Hi Franziska,
I am so happy you liked the cake 🙂
I had a look at Bird’s Custard Mix ingredients and they should work in the cake (I’ve never used it though so not sure 100%).
My only concern is that the mix is not as thick as our custard, and if the custard is too thin, it won’t cook properly in the cake.
What I would advise is, have a look at our custard video (https://theplantbasedschool.com/vegan-custard/#recipe) to see if the consistency of your custard is right.
If Bird’s is too thin, I would add in a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a teaspoon of water and stir until it all thickens.
Hope this helps,
Nico
Lacked flavor and texture was off.
Tried this vegan apple cake. It was delicious. Made it for some guests, they all loved it as it is lightly sweetened and apples were crispy inside. Will make it again! Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi Roma, we’re so happy you liked the cake – thank you for your kind message.
Have a great week ahead. Best, Louise
What temperature for a fan oven?
Hi Christine,
For a fan oven it’s the same temperature (360°F or 180°C) and make sure the oven is preheated 🙂
Happy baking!