Vegan Applesauce Cake
This vegan applesauce cake is perfectly spiced, packed with apple flavor and so soft and moist. It’s a wonderful crowd-pleasing cake for Fall and so easy to make. No eggs or dairy needed!
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Store-bought applesauce. We’re using 2 whole cups of unsweetened applesauce for the best flavor. Applesauce also makes the cake extra moist! Sweetened applesauce will also work, though your cake will be sweeter.
Granulated sugar to ensure the cake is light and cakey and light brown sugar for depth of flavor! I settled on a ratio of granulated to brown sugar to create a perfectly cozy cake that isn’t too heavy. If you prefer a lighter cake, you can use all granulated sugar. Or if you prefer a more robust cake, use all brown sugar.
Non-dairy milk. I always prefer using unsweetened soy milk in baking as it provides depth of flavor and its higher protein content helps create a more tender cake. However, any milk will work, such as oat milk or a full-bodied almond milk.
Ground cinnamon, ginger and allspice. This recipe uses 4 1/2 teaspoons of warm spices for extra Fall coziness! Feel free to adjust the amount of spices to your tastes, although I thought this combination/amount was perfect for this large cake.
How to make applesauce cake
First, add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. Make sure the ingredients are very well combined, because you don’t want lumps of baking soda in your final cake!
Then add all the wet ingredients including the applesauce to the same bowl.
Gently mix the batter until it’s just combined. Some lumps are fine, as long as they aren’t lumps of dry flour.
Try to avoid overmixing the cake otherwise it’ll activate the raising agents too early and your final cake will be gummy and dense. In a large bowl, it should take only a few turns of your spatula to combine the ingredients.
Finally, bake the cake for around 35 minutes! The baking time will vary on how hot your oven runs.
When the cake is ready, place the sheet pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool completely in the pan. The cake is quite delicate when it’s fresh from the oven so I don’t recommend removing it when it’s warm.
Decoration Tips
I decorated my vegan applesauce cake with a simple vanilla buttercream and extra gooey caramelized apples.
Alternatively, you can top your applesauce cake with
- Cream cheese frosting
- Your favorite frosting
- Dairy-free yogurt or whipped cream. These two won’t support the weight of caramelized apples, so you may want to serve the apples on the side.
- Chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Drizzle of icing. Mix 1 1/2 cups (150g) of powdered sugar and 1/3-1/2 cup of dairy-free milk. Mix in more sugar for a thicker icing or more liquid for a thinner icing. When the cake has cooled, drizzle the icing on top of the cake.
Customizing This Recipe
Yes, this cake works well with King Arthur’s measure-for-measure flour! Other gluten-free flour blends are made with different ingredients so may provide different results.
I’ve only tested the recipe the way it’s written. However, the cake will work with whole wheat flour and spelt flour – you will just need to add extra milk as those flours are more absorbent.
I have not tested this but you’re welcome to experiment. From experience, this will make the cake denser and a little chewy, but it may be to your tastes.
Yes, you can add 1 cup of chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts or 3/4-1 cup of raisins without any other adjustments. Add them at the same time as the wet ingredients.
For extra coziness, feel free to add extra spices such as 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves.
I don’t recommend adding chopped apple to the cake itself. Apple contains a lot of moisture and is quite heavy so it’ll require extra testing.
Yes, the cake will also bake well in:
– 2 x 8-inch cake tins. Bake for around 30-35 minutes. This will make a 2 layer cake similar to my vegan pumpkin cake.
– 10-cup bundt pan. Bake for around 50-60 minutes.
More Vegan Apple Desserts
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Vegan Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups (405g) all-purpose plain flour, spoon and leveled (notes 1 and 2)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice, or ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 2 cups (510g) unsweetened applesauce, room temperature (note 3)
- ¾ cup (170g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ½ cup (110g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon white or apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Buttercream frosting (optional, see note 4 for alternatives)
- 1 cup (225g) vegan block butter, room temperature
- 3-4 cups (300-400g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, to taste or as needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30g) dairy-free milk, or as needed
To decorate (optional)
- 1 batch caramelized apples, (extra gooey version in note 3 of the recipe card)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease or line a 9 x 13 inch (23 x 33 cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
Make the vegan applesauce cake:
- Add all of the dry ingredients and whisk until very well combined and there are no lumps.
- Add all the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Be sure to not overmix. Some lumps in your cake batter are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of dry flour. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula or spoon.
- Bake for 32-38 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the center of the cake and it comes out clean. I usually bake the cake for 35 minutes. This is a moist applesauce cake, so it's okay if your toothpick has a few moist crumbs.
- Place the cake pan on a cooling rack and let the cake cool completely.
Make the buttercream frosting:
- Add the vegan butter to a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until just combined. Add more sugar for a firmer frosting or more milk for a softer frosting.
Decorating the applesauce cake:
- When the cake is completely cooled, spread the frosting on the cake. If desired, swirl the caramel from the caramelized apples into the frosting then dot with the apples. Cut into square slices as desired.
- Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Make sure you 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. I don’t recommend using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as too much flour will result in a dense cake. Alternatively, use digital kitchen scale and the grams measurements.
- This cake works well with King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour. However, I recommend baking it for an extra 5-7 minutes.
- Please ensure your applesauce and milk are at room temperature and your batter won’t emulsify well.
- Alternatively, you can top the cake with the vegan cream cheese frosting from my banana cake recipe. A few other alternatives are listed in the blog post.
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Though quantity wise the cake recipe was too much ,yet I enjoyed baking and sharing the cake with others who cannot bake. It had perfect flavours of spices and such soft moist bites. I skipped the whipping cream part keeping calories in mind. Taste wise best recipe for a vegan person like me. Keep inspiring.
Hi Anita, I’m glad that you and your guests enjoyed this cake, especially its flavors and texture!! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review here and for your ongoing support ❤️
Hi! Do you know if I can sub the flour with almond flour?
Hi Michelle, it won’t work with only almond flour unfortunately. This cake may work with half almond flour, and half gluten-free all-purpose flour but I haven’t tested it. Hope that helps!
Hi! I would like to make mini cakes in mini disposable cake tins with this recipe for family members who some are vegan and some are gluten free so I will also use KA GF 1-1 flour. My question is how does this cake rise when baked? I’m wondering how much batter to put in the mini tins (about 7 oz) and still have enough room for frosting. Also how long would you recommend I bake mini cakes with the GF flour? Thank you!
Hi Cathy! This cake rises about 1-inch when baked in a sheet pan and rises a little less with KA’s gluten-free flour. Sorry, it’s a bit hard to know how much to fill your mini tins and the bake time without testing it myself. However, I would try filling them by two-thirds and baking them for around 15-20 minutes. Maybe do a test batch with one cake to see what works best? Hope that helps!
Excellent flavor. For me it was too sweet so next time I’ll eliminate the icing and caramelized apples and lightly dust with powdered sugar. Everyone else loved it just the way it is. I also love that the ingredients I have on hand. It’s so irritating finding a good recipe and then it calls for vegan cream cheese or vegan yogurt etc… things I really cannot get easily.
Hi Gabby, thank you for your feedback! We’re so happy to hear you loved the flavor of this cake and that the ingredients were accessible for you! We completely get that sweetness levels can be a personal preference – a dusting of icing sugar sounds like a great idea!
I made this using Dove farm gluten free flour and it turned out absolutely gorgeous. The smells of the spices throughout the house were mouth watering – thanks for the beautiful recipe
Hi Annie, so glad to know this works with Dove’s gluten free flour! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback ❤️
Made this to celebrate a special family occasion and it was a hit. Added the caramelised apples as well. Only modification was to use protein flour for added fibre to assist with macros for family members with dietary restrictions. Thanks for another bakery banger.
Hi Bek, aw that’s amazing! And I’m so glad to hear that you were able to customise it for your family and use protein flour. Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback 🙂
Made with almond flour n wheat flour turned out soft n moist . Thank you 🤩
Hi Anita, soft and moist sounds perfect! Thank you for letting us know the almond flour + wheat flour combo works well!
This was the most fluffy, moist, delicious cake we had in a while. Loved it a lot! Thanks!
Hi Gerty, that’s the loveliest feedback!!! Thank you so much, I appreciate it!
this was HIGLHY anticipated by me since I’ve seen photos of this beautiful cake on instagram. as always – easy to follow, basic/accessible ingredients (I live in europe), perfectly measured and an absolute visual FEAST in the most literal sense. the perfect “fake autumn” cake for this time between summer and fall.
I’m over the moon that you loved this cake and found it approachable and delicious!! And haha, I’m always up for those fake autumn cakes too 🤣🤣. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment here and I hope you have a great start to Autumn!
Made this cake this morning for a gathering with my friend and it turned out so well! It’s flavorful , sweet and caramelized. Everyone loved it and I will definitely make it again!
Hi Nina, that’s amazing to hear!! Thanks so much for letting me know and I’m so glad the recipe will be a keeper for you ❤️
Tere is no written Apple sauce here
Applesauce is the first ingredient under ‘Wet Ingredients’