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
Find complete ingredient list, quantities, and substitutions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- 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
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.
Video
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
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We’re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
I’m currently waiting to take my first attempt out of the oven. It smells incredible!
Our mother is in her final hours, we’re in such limbo, and I have kept myself busy this afternoon by foraging in her garden for all the veggies and fruit. The apples are so beautiful and I wanted to make something lovely with them – thank you so much for such a brain-friendly recipe to occupy an addled mind.
I think it’s about ready…thanks again!
Dear Emma,
Thank your for taking precious time to leave a comment here. I hope that they cake turned out as you hoped, and provided a comforting treat for you and your family.
I wish you and your loved ones the very best. Kindest,
Louise
Had lots of apples from tree in my garden. Used some in this recipe. I was amazed how light this cake was and how pretty it looked with the apple slices on top.
Very easy to make, although I did use normal milk rather than plant milk and reduced volume of cinnamon as 16g seemed an awful lot.
Thanks, easy and delicious.
I made it upside down, first sugar and apple slices, then the dough and inverted it once cooked. The apple slices caramelized beautifully.
Wonderful, Clara. I’m so delighted that you enjoyed the cake, great idea to make it upside down 🎉
Kindest, Louise
This apple cake is absolutely yummylicious! I baked it today and it turned out absolutely picture perfect! I had to bake mine at 360F for about 1 1/2 hours in an 8 1/2″ springform pan before it was completely cooked through in the middle. I baked this cake for vegan guests and even though it was made for them, my husband and myself (who are not vegan) loved it with slices of old cheddar cheese. I want to try it with your vegan custard next time. Does the custard have to be cooled first before adding it to the apple cake mixture? Also want to comment that your recipes pictures are stunning and your recipe tips for alternate ingredients are very useful and far exceeds those of other sites. Well done and thank you for sharing this terrific recipe.
Fantastic, Missy!! I’m so delighted you enjoyed this cake as a family 🎉
So, for adding the custard, you would not need to cool it down, you can pour it after its cooked and it has reached its “custard-texture” 🙂
Thank you for your kind comment, feedback, and support. We’re so happy to have you here 🥰
Wooo Hoooo. What a great recipe, simple to make and simply delicious. I doubled up the recipe (what a great tool) as we had a large family gathering and the vegans and non vegans loved it. Thank you 😀
Hi Louise 🙂
That’s wonderful news, so happy that everyone enjoyed this cake – sounds like a success! 🎉
Thanks so much for sharing, and all the best. Louise
Hi ! I’m gonna to do this soon for my 1 year old son. Can I replace the sugar with compote or just recuce it to 75 g without modify the texture ? (Sorry, I’m not an english speaker)
Hi Elodie,
Yes, you can use half the sugar (75 g). It should work without a problem.
I am not sure about using apple compote. It should work fine, but I am not 100% sure.
I hope this helps,
Have a wonderful day.
Nico
Can you use almond flour?
Hi Rebecca,
We haven’t tried this with almond flour. I don’t think it would work with the ratios in the recipe as they are for a regular flour.
Sorry I can’t help further.
Nico
Can this be frozen please?
Hi Jazz,
Yes, you can freeze the cake for up to 3 months. Let it cool down completely, then place it in a freezer-friendly bag and freeze.
Thaw at room temp, in the microwave, or overnight in the fridge.
I hope this helps!
Best,
Nico
Hi! I was wondering which kind of apples you recommend to use. Thanks! I’ll try to make it tonight:)
Hi Mireia,
we tested this recipe with at least 7 varieties of apples and all worked perfectly. It’s really down to your personal preference.
If you prefer a sweeter cake (like us) then use golden delicious, pink ladies, or fuji apples. If you prefer a tarter, less sweet flavor, then use granny smith.
I hope this helps 🙂
Enjoy!
nico
I made it with coconut oil and it came out great – even my kids loved it.
Thank you for this nice recipe.
That is such wonderful news – I love that the whole family enjoyed this cake 🎊
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment here, and have a great rest of your day.
Kindest, Louise
Great recipe! I followed as recommended except swapped out half of the apple for some rhubarb I had on hand. Perfect for spring!
Hi,
I made this cake yesterday and while it turned out tasting really really tasty, I’d like it to be a bit less dense. I felt it was a bit gummy, or too moist. I mixed quite shortly (to avoid overmixing) and followed the metric amounts. Do you have any advice?
Thank you in advance 🙂
Vera
Hi Vera,
Thanks for your message. What kind of flour did you use?
It could be that your flour has a high protein content. Try looking at the label and make sure it has below 11.5% protein for cakes.
However, this is is a moist cake (although it shouldn’t be gummy).
You could try reducing the liquid by 20-30 grams and adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda to make it lighter and more airy.
I hope this helps 🙂
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Cheers,
Nico
Delicious and moist. We are eating the other half this evening.