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!
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 (180g) 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.