A tender, fluffy, delicious vegan Applesauce Cake that is super easy to make and healthy enough for breakfast or dessert. It's also whole wheat!
This Applesauce Cake is one of those recipes that you can make in a hurry with stuff that's presumably sitting in your pantry. But the end result is so delicious, you can even serve it to company-- as I have in the past, and trust me, it was gone in minutes.
I always have applesauce sitting in my pantry because it makes a great substitute for fat in baking-- I usually substitute it for part of the fat, and not all, because it does tend to make the texture of baked goods really tender. And while some tenderness is good, too much can make the cake or cookie fall apart.
Anyway, I am always in a hurry to use up the applesauce once I've opened a bottle because otherwise it tends to go bad pretty fast. I don't love to eat it by itself since I am no longer two years old nor toothless (yet), but when I bake it into this easy cake, it is quite a treat.
I usually make this cake with whole-wheat pastry flour but this time I was out, so I made it with all-purpose instead. There's almost no difference in the taste, although I do prefer the whole-wheat pastry flour version for obvious health reasons. I also use unsweetened applesauce, and flavor the cake with tons of spices.
More vegan fruit-based cakes
- Vegan Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Vegan Orange Cake
- Vegan Apple Cake
- Vegan Peach Upside Down Cake
Enjoy, everyone!
Vegan Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon (or a mix of spices including cardamom, all-spice, nutmeg or cloves)
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon egg replacer (whisked with 2 tablespoon warm water)
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 cup walnuts (lightly toasted, then chopped)
Instructions
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a bowl and whisk in the spices
- In another bowl, beat together the oil and the sugar for a minute.
- Add the egg replace-water mixture to the bowl.
- Add the applesauce and mix well.
- Now add the flour and whisk together until just mixed. Don't overmix.
- Pour the batter into a greased and floured standard loaf pan.
- Bake 50-55 minutes in a 350-degree preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edges, unmold, and continue to cool on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.
- The cake, once baked, has a wonderfully rich brown color that sometimes makes some guests wonder whether it has chocolate in it.
Michele
It's a beautiful autumnal morning on the East Coast of the South Island of NZ. I have an apple tree full of delicious tart apples. So just trying out your applesauce cake recipe. In the oven now. Yummo!
Vaishali
Michele, that sounds like heaven. How lovely you can make it with applesauce from your own apple tree!
Anonymous
Ok, so applesauce cake is light, not too sweet, fluffy and totally scrumptious. Having a slice with Earl Grey tea.....high tea heaven. Thanks Vaishali. And yes I am one lucky person with a quarter acre section full of fruit trees, blackberry, black and red currant and an elderflower. ?
Veganlover
Thank you so much for posting these recipes. They are life savers for my family. Can I use flax seed substitute instead of egg replacer?
Vaishali Honawar
Hi there, you can sub with an equal amount of cornstarch. Flax is fine too but would change the texture a bit.
narf77
I keep finding more...and more...and MORE amazing recipes! The more I look, the more there are. Every corner of this blog is cram packed full of gorgeousness. I can see me working my way through every recipe here in order...I won't have to worry about breakfast, lunch, dinner OR snacks for about a year 😉
Vaishali Honawar
Hi narf77, you are so kind. Hope you try 'em! 🙂
Alpana Deo
Vaishali, this cake looks so delicious and tempting too..:) I will definitely try it soon.
Vaishali
Thanks, Alpana, hope you try it! 🙂
Daisy
Hi Vaishali 🙂
thanks for this recipe. The cake was Delicious! I tried this past weekend, it was so easy to make and the results was so tasty that i had to force myself to stop eating it :).
I didn't have all the ingredients, so I used black cardamom (and added some nutmeg, I really like it) and toasted some hazelnuts in the preheated oven (only a few minutes and they're done). I'm so excited that this turned out so good that I will try your orange and banana cakes very soon!
Susana.
Dips
Girl...you cook up a lot of cakes...and make me too..Im gonna blame you for all the pounds I put on 😉 .. Im just kidding...but I am on my way to creating all those cakes from your archives 🙂
TBC
Going by the color, I thought that it would have chocolate in it. It looks very nice.:)
Vij
Yummy moist cake !
Nithya
Tats a lovely cake.. It is absolutely mouthwatering.. Going to try it asap.
First time to ur blog and you have a very nice space here. Keep it going. 🙂
Happy cook
Wow the cake looks beautiful, moist and supe ryumm.
Sharmila
Applesauce in place of fat?! Wow! Who wouldn't love it. 😉
That cake does sound so quick and easy to make Vaishali.... and looks wonderful. 🙂
Pavani
Cake looks delicious. I've all the ingredients in my pantry. I'm going to make it soon.
Poornima Nair
Wow...that cake looks moist n delicious...love the ingredients in it.
Priya
This looks scrumptious! I made banana & rhubarb-oats-whole wheat muffins y'day. Everything went well until I realized I hadn't greased the cup cake liners 🙁 sob sob.
Pooja
Oh what a fabulous cake Vaishali! Looks so spongy and delectable! I too thought you had added chocolate until I went thru the recipe. Awesome!
Priya
Wowow applesauce cake looks fabulous, soft, moist and delicious Vaishali!
Gita
I did see some recipes where applesauce was used instead of butter...this cake looks very delicious...so moist 🙂
Ashwini
wow the cake looks delicious and moist..
Pavithra
Wow thats looking so wonderful and moist vaishali.. really tempting.. wish to have a slice.