Vegan Apple Cake
This vegan apple cake is moist and fluffy and is topped with a pecan cinnamon streusel topping! It comes together in just 1 bowl with less than 10 ingredients. This cake can easily be made gluten-free, refined sugar-free and nut-free.
Simple ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Apple, grated coarsely or chopped finely. Similar to carrot cake, grated apple imparts more flavor than apple chunks. I recommend using a sweeter variety such as fuji, gala or honeycrisp. If you prefer a tart cake, use Granny Smith apples. The apples can be peeled or left unpeeled, depending on what texture you prefer!
Light brown sugar provides moisture and depth of flavor to this vegan apple cake. You can use coconut sugar for a less sweet cake. Granulated sugar will work but your cake will have less flavor.
Dairy-free milk. I recommend using a higher-protein milk such as soy milk as it makes this cake more tender. However, any milk such as oat milk or almond milk will work!
Apple cider vinegar (optional). Acidic ingredients make cakes more tender and fluffy. Alternatively, you can use white vinegar or lemon juice.
Even though this apple crumb cake has no eggs, you don’t need any special egg replacers!
Tips for preparing the cake batter
The vegan apple cake comes together in one large bowl! All you need to do is:
- Whisk all the dry ingredients until combined.
- Add all the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. The batter should be pourable but thick and hold its shape.
- Keep the same bowl for the crumb topping because it saves you from washing extra dishes ;).
The cake batter is quite thick but don’t worry, your final cake will not be dry! During baking, the moisture from the apples leaks into the cake and helps create a very moist cake.
How to prepare the crumb topping
Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl until there are no chunks of flour or butter. I like using my fingertips as the butter melts slightly which helps bind all the ingredients.
I also included a healthier crumb topping that is refined sugar-free and oil-free (see the notes in the recipe card). The healthier version is crunchy and slightly chewy due to the liquid sweetener.
Decoration recommendations
I also topped my vegan apple crumb cake with thinly sliced apples, inspired by the design of German Apfelkuchen. It’s a quick and easy way to make a cake presentable! However, you can also top your cake with:
- Cubed apples. This makes the cake easier to slice!
- Shredded coconut
- Pecans or other nuts by themselves
The baked cake is beautiful as is. But for something special, you can dust the cake with powdered sugar or drizzle a simple icing on top. It will make your morning or afternoon coffee even more special!
Top tips to make a FLUFFY apple cake
First, make sure your apple is NOT grated too finely otherwise can make your cake too moist! If your apple is very juicy, you may need to add more flour to your cake batter (details are in the notes of the recipe card below).
Second, I recommend using grams or the spoon and level method when measuring your ingredients!
Finally, make sure your oven is at the right temperature. If your oven is too hot, the top of your cake will burn quickly, and leave the middle uncooked. If your oven is too cold, your cake will be dense. I always recommend using an oven thermometer because many ovens (even new ones) don’t operate at the right temperature!
Can I make this cake gluten-free?
I’ve tested this vegan apple cake with a few combinations of gluten-free flour and it works well with:
- 50% almond flour and 50% gluten-free all-purpose flour (my top recommendation), OR
- King Arthur’s measure for measure flour. The batter will be thicker than pictured, and I recommend baking it for 63-68 minutes.
- 50% almond flour and 50% fine white rice flour
Expert Tips
I recommend using my vegan apple muffins recipe instead. The ingredients are similar to this recipe but the recipe is designed for a 12-cup muffin pan.
Some delicious additions to the cake itself are:
– chopped walnuts or pecans
– ground ginger, cardamon, nutmeg or other warm spices
– a cinnamon sugar layer, for example from my pumpkin coffee cake recipe
Feel free to substitute half of the oil with melted vegan butter. Butter solidifies at room temperature so can often make a cake feel dry so, for the best results, I suggest using only half melted butter.
Feel free to use spelt or whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. Your cake will be denser than the original but still delicious! Coconut sugar is the best 1:1 replacement for brown sugar.
A few readers have successfully replaced the oil with unsweetened applesauce and dairy-free plain greek yogurt. However, I haven’t tested them myself so can’t vouch for results.
More vegan apple desserts
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Vegan Apple Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients for the cake
- 2 ½ cups (315g) all-purpose plain flour, (spooned and leveled, see note 1 for gluten-free option)
- 1 cup (190g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar or regular sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, optional
Wet ingredients for the cake
- 1 cup (240g) dairy-free milk
- 1 x (180g) medium-sized apple, grated very coarsely or chopped finely (note 2)
- ½ cup (120g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Crumb topping (note 3)
- ⅓ cup (35g) pecans, chopped
- ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose plain flour, or gluten-free all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (30g) vegan butter, spreadable butter or coconut oil, softened
- 2 tablespoons (25g) packed brown sugar, coconut sugar or regular sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 x (180g) medium-size apple, sliced thinly
To serve (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease or line an 8-inch (20 cm) springform or loose-bottom cake pan with parchment paper.
Make the vegan apple cake:
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until everything is well combined.
- Add all of the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until just combined. The batter should be thick. Scoop or pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula.
Prepare the crumb topping:
- Using the same bowl (or a smaller clean bowl), add all the ingredients for the topping. Mix with a spoon or your fingertips until combined. There shouldn't be any chunks of butter or flour.
Assemble and bake the cake:
- Arrange the thinly sliced apple on the top of the cake in 'fan' shapes or as desired. Sprinkle the crumble in the gaps on top of the cake.
- Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes or until done. If the crumble topping is browning too quickly, tent the cake pan with aluminum foil or cover the pan with an oven-safe plate. The cake is ready when you insert a toothpick in the middle and there is no batter on it, though a few crumbs are fine. If you gently press the middle of the cake, it should feel firm. (note 4)
- Rest the cake in the cake pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and allow it cool entirely on a cooling rack.
- If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar or drizzle with a simple glaze (note 5). Enjoy with dairy-free yogurt, vegan ice cream or/and a cup of coffee.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
- Please measure the flour accurately, otherwise your cake will be dry and dense. If you’re using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method where you fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Please son’t use the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container, as it will pack in too much flour. Alternatively, use the grams measurements.
To make a gluten-free vegan apple cake, use 1 1/2 cups (150g) almond flour and 1 cup (160g) gluten-free all-purpose flour. Alternatively, this cake works well with using only King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour. The batter will be thicker and the cake will be slightly denser than the almond flour version. I recommend baking the latter one for a few extra minutes. - This cake will be too moist if you grate the apples too finely. Ideally, the grated apple shouldn’t leak any juice. If your apple is extra juicy, use an extra 3 tablespoons (25g) of flour in the recipe.
- For a healthier crumble, use the same amount of pecans, flour and cinnamon but combine it with 1 tbsp of maple syrup (instead of the sugar and butter). Mix all ingredients until there are no pockets of flour or syrup then crumble the mixture on the cake.
- This is a tall cake with a lot of fruit, so please don’t be alarmed if your cake takes longer than 60 minutes to bake. Some ovens run cool, and some apples are extra juicy and these will affect the bake time.
- To make a simple glaze, mix 1 cup (100g) of powdered/icing sugar with 2-4 tablespoons of dairy-free milk until smooth. Add more sugar for a thicker glaze or more milk for a thinner glaze. Wait until the cake cools then drizzle the glaze on top.
This post and recipe was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2021 with a video, more detailed pictures and an easier crumb topping. The original healthier crumble is in the notes!
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Just tried this cake it delicious. I definitely make it again . My husband and I loved it.
Hi Patricia, I’m so glad to hear and glad that it’ll be a keeper for you! Thanks so much 🙂
The flavor was good. It took too long to cook about 95 minutes
And it was still doughy it seemed like it was not cooked.
I squeezed the grated apples to get rid off any access liquid.
But then I had to add more milk since the mix was so dry. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Sophia, thanks for your feedback. It sounds like you accidentally added too much milk. Next time, I wouldn’t squeeze the grated apple but just leave any excess juice on the chopping board. For this cake, a slightly thicker batter is better as the apple leaks more juice during baking. Hope that helps!
Hi Anthea,
Thank you for this recipe.
I made the cake and it turned out delicious. However, it was way too dense and a bit too moist as well. It cooked well at 55 minutes.
I grated the apples using a food processor and put everything in the batter (including the juice of the apple produced when grating). Do you think that could be why the cake was so dense? I did use all purpose flour and measured everything in grams using a kitchen scale.
Hi Amy, glad that you enjoyed the flavor of this cake! It’s great that you measured in grams but I’m sorry that it turned out dense. It’s fine for the cake to have a small amount of juice from the grated apples. From experience, this cake can turn out denser and moister if your baking powder is a tad old, or if your oven temperature runs a little low (I use an oven thermometer for accuracy). These will affect how much moisture evaporates from the cake, and how well it rises. I’ve baked this cake in a cooler oven before and a similar thing happened to me. I hope that helps!
I made this cake last week again using spelt flour. I added 10 grams of extra milk and it cooked well at 52 minutes. I was very careful not to over-mix the batter. The cake turned out perfect. Thank you for this easy recipe.
That’s great to hear, Amy! Thanks for coming back to let me know 🙂