A delicious, tender and moist — even healthy — vegan Apple Cake that’s made with whole wheat. This makes a perfect snack or dessert. Vegan, soy-free and nut-free recipe.
Desi loves apple pie and the way he usually reminds me that he wants one one is by declaring, “I’ve forgotten what an apple pie tastes like.”
But an apple pie — as divine as it is — is not always the healthiest option (fruit notwithstanding). So, some years ago, I came up with this vegan Apple Cake recipe that is all whole-wheat, tastes exquisite, and gives all of the satisfaction of pie without the guilt. I shared the recipe with you all those years back, but I’ve updated it for you with new photos and an optional drizzle/glaze that Jay loves, although I’ve made no modifications to the cake recipe itself — it’s just that perfect.
This is whole wheat cake, with very little fat added, and yet it’s also supremely moist and flavorful and really, really delicious.
The apples bake into juicy little bits scattered throughout the cake, and the walnuts add pockets of nutty crunch. If you are looking for a kid-friendly snack, or an adult-friendly dessert (or breakfast), you couldn’t do better.
How to bake the perfect vegan apple cake:
This is a rather easy recipe, and it’s quite foolproof. But even so, here are some tips for ensuring success in your baking efforts:
- If you can’t find or don’t want to use whole wheat pastry flour, use a half-and-half mix of unbleached all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. You can also use all unbleached all purpose.
- Use a neutral vegetable oil, like avocado oil. Coconut and olive both have strong flavors that will linger in your cake, and you don’t want to detract from the wholesome flavor of apples here.
- This cake contains a cup of sugar, but if your apples are very sweet, you can use less. You can use 3/4 of a cup of sugar and add 1/4 cup of applesauce to add some moisture back in. This is a useful tip for anyone who wants to cut down on sugar in a recipe. Sugar acts as a “wet” ingredient in baked goods, because when it melts it becomes liquid. When you remove sugar from a recipe, you remove moisture and your baked good can turn out dry. Applesauce provides a great option when substituting some of the sugar because it adds tenderness and moisture to a recipe. Don’t overdo it, though. Replacing one-fourth of the sugar with applesauce is fine, but replacing three-fourths of it is not and is going to show in your results by making the cake so tender, it’ll probably fall apart.
- I used an easy applesauce glaze on this cake, to make it prettier and to intensify the apple flavor. You don’t absolutely need it, and the cake is just as delicious without it.
What is the best apple to use in the cake?
This is a question that I asked almost every time I made a recipe with apples, and you’ll find reams and reams dedicated to the perfect baking apple on the internet. And while you will want to be a little more careful about the apple you choose for a pie or a tart, where your apples will be quite visible, the short answer for this cake is: don’t sweat it too much.
While you don’t want to use a powdery apple, like a red delicious, which will fall apart, most others will work fine here.
I keep pink ladies on hand most of the time because they are great eating and baking apples, and that’s what I used this time, but Granny Smiths, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisps, Braeburns, Jonagolds all work just as well.
You don’t even have to peel your apples for this recipe. But make sure you use organic apples.
Can I freeze this cake?
Yes, you can, if you have a will of iron and can resist polishing it off at one go. 🙂 Make sure you wrap it in cling wrap, then place it in an airtight container. Thaw completely to room temperature before serving.
You can also refrigerate for up to a week. If you make the glaze, drizzle it on right before serving because otherwise the cake will absorb all of it and become too tender.
This vegan Apple Cake is going to be one I make again and again. Enjoy, all!
Ingredients for Vegan Apple Cake:
- Apples
- Whole wheat pastry flour (can sub with half whole wheat and half all purpose)
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Flaxmeal
- Ground cinnamon (can also use nutmeg and cloves)
- Walnuts
- Pure vanilla extract
For optional glaze/drizzle:
- Applesauce
- Confectioners’ sugar
Looking for more healthy vegan cake recipes?
Vegan Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Vegan Cucumber Cake
Vegan Zucchini Cake
Gluten-Free Vegan Skillet Cornbread Cake
Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake
VEGAN APPLE CAKE
Wholegrain | Nut-Free | Soy-Free
Vegan Apple Cake, whole wheat
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (sub with half regular whole-wheat and half all-purpose if you can't find whole-wheat pastry flour)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon (I sometimes use a mix of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar (if you want to cut down on this, substitute a quarter of the sugar with an equal amount of applesauce)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp flaxmeal (whisked with 6 tbsp of water to make two flax "eggs")
- 1 cup walnuts , toasted lightly and chopped
- 2 1/2 cups apples (About 1 1/2 apples, finely chopped. I use Pink Lady or Granny Smith, but most apples would work)
For optional applesauce vanilla drizzle:
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.
- Beat together the oil, sugar and vanilla for about a minute to aerate.
- Add the flaxmeal mixture, beat for a few more seconds to mix, and then add the flour mixture.
- Stir with a spatula to get the ingredients well-mixed. The dough will be very stiff, but don't worry -- the apples will express juices as they bake. Add the apples and the walnuts and mix well.
- Pour the batter into an 8-inch oiled and floured square pan (or use a round cake pan if that's what you have). To make the cake easier to unmold, line the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and then oil and flour. (The first time I baked this cake years ago, I didn't take that extra step and unmolding this cake from the pan was a small battle.)
- Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes. Unmold and continue cooling.
Make the applesauce drizzle:
- Whisk together all of the glaze ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle over the cake just before serving. (Adding the drizzle in advance will cause it to seep into the cake, making it more moist -- it will be totally delicious, but will get too tender.)
Nutrition
The cake looks so inviting and delicious !!
Thanks, Usha!
This looks great! I’ve been a vegetarian many years now, but not a ‘good’ one. I’ve been trying to eat healthy for months now and was so excited to find your site! I’ve already tried a couple of recipes, I’ll leave comments on those. I just read today a post on the 20 foods we should avoid, and canola oil is in that list. I would have never thought! Just telling you in case you want to look into it. I’ll try posting a link but I don’t know if that’s acceptable here: http://ybertaud9.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/20-ingredients-to-memorize-and-avoid-in-any-food-you-consume/
Hi Melina, welcome, and happy you’ve liked the recipes you tried. Thanks for the canola oil information. I hadn’t heard about the health concerns over canola although they seem to be all over the web, and this was very informative. But I also found a number of credible sources that say the fears are unfounded. I have been moving more toward olive and coconut oil– both of which I already used a lot of in my cooking– and I guess I will do even more so in the future. Refined coconut oil particularly is a good substitute for canola because it doesn’t have the strong coconut flavor which I love in Indian food but might not be great in cakes.
I’m glad to hear it- I had just read one article before I saw it in your ingredients but hadn’t looked further, just thought I’d let you know to make your own decisions. I’ll read up more too! I too have been trying coconut oil. I am already using olive oil wherever I can (I live in Greece so it would be a shame not to!). It works well in cakes also, if the cake can handle the flavor. I will try this recipe too! thank you!
I love Applepie with dollop of good old vanilla ice cream. I know not healthy but so worth the guilt trip. I am bookmarking the recipe and will use applesauce as it makes all baked caked taste good. I started baking with applesauce to cut down the eggs but then found that it cuts sugar portions also.
Love Ash.
Ash, apple pie with ice cream is certainly a classic. 🙂 Hope you will like this cake. It would be great with some ice cream too!
I am loving everything about this recipe 🙂 🙂
Thanks!
[ Smiles ] Whole Wheat Apple Cake is a nice vegan pastry to indulge in.
Thanks!
such a moist and delicious cake!!! can we use maple syrup instead of sugar… if yes, then how much can I add? please guide.
Hi Sowmya, yes, you can definitely use maple syrup. I’d just substitute cup for cup, although since maple has a richer taste, you should try substituting the 1 cup of sugar for 3/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup applesauce.
substituted maple syrup for the sugar and it is definitely sweet! next time, I will use 3/4 +1/4 apple sauce or banana. I used regular 100% whole grain whole wheat flour.
Forgot to mention that it is the best whole wheat cake recipe that I’ve tried so far. 2 granny apples barely made the 2+1/2c so I topped off the apple with some fresh blueberries & raspberries to make the full measurement. AWESOME! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!
Hi Renee, a mix of berries and apples sounds delicious! So glad you tried the recipe, and love it. Thanks! 🙂
Wow that looks so delicious, luvly clicks.
Divya, thank you! Clicks credit goes to Desi, of course. 🙂
For some reason apple is one fruit I’m not a big fan of. But this cake sounds amazing. I’ll buy some apples to try this cake. Thanks for sharing this yummy cake!!
Pavani, I am not big on eating apples by themselves. But I do like it in baked goods because the texture’s much softer.
Using cooked pumpkin instead of apple sauce might work well too, although it is less liquid. Lovely recipe!
Val
Val, great suggestion.
It looks delicious and the recipe sounds great! I’m not much of a sweet tooth but I am rather fond of apples in baked goods.
Mel, me too!
Beautiful cake.looks delicious and perfect
I made applesauce cake following your recipe, and it was great!
This apple cake also looks so YUM, and I will try sometime…
Thank you so much for inspiring people across the world to try vegan fare…
This cake sounds so wonderful! I’ve been buying big bags of apples lately and I can’t seem to finish them before at least one or two become mealy. This looks like a great way to use them up!
This cake sounds lovely! I’ve made cakes where the apples were only on the top, more of a decoration than “apple” cake. I’d love to try this out.
Having apples, apple sauce at home and hubby giving me very similar hints on good fruits going waste – so this is a recipe that is a timely send to me!
Pastry flour same as ‘atta’ used for making chapati? Noticed baking powder and soda in the recipe too – so atta can be used instead of pastry flour?
Appreciate your help in this clarification!
Rajani, atta isn’t quite the same as whole-wheat pastry flour although it is lighter than regular whole-wheat and can be used as a substitute. For the best texture I’d advise mixing the atta with some all-purpose flour–1 cup of atta and 1/2 cup of all-purpose should work very well.
We are actually making this cake right now using 100% whole wheat flour from the grocery store. We used 2 Granny Smith apples — puréed one with a little water, and finely chopped the other. Our batter turned out more fluid than the recipe specified. Will post how it turns out.
Hi, pureeing the apple with water would explain why your batter was more fluid.
Hi Vaishali,
I made this cake last night for a few friends and it was absolutely wonderful! Everyone loved it! Thanks for the wonderful recipe and this fantastic site!
Gayatri
Vaishali, this is an excellent recipe. I have taken it to work and is one of the most popular baked goods that I have made.
Kindly, Jenn
This is the BEST apple cake I have EVER made, and I have made lots of them! I made it for my vegan daughter and her family last week. My 4 year old granddaughter wants it for her next birthday and my daughter asked for another one which I am now making for tomorrow. I used 1t. Vietnamese Cinnamon from Penzey’s, 1t. Freshly grated Nutmeg, and 1/4t. Ground cloves. I also used parchment paper in a glass pie pan and sprayed it with organic canola oil. It came out PERFECT! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. I cook everything vegan and organic for her and am not missing eggs at all in baking!
Becky, that sounds delicious– so glad you liked it. And thanks for the tips on substitutions. Great idea to cut down on the oil.
Forgot to say about the sugar….. I used 3/4 c. And 1/4c. Applesauce….PERFECT!
Made this for my mom earlier today and my 20mth old wanted to try it.
Need to make more!
Yummy!!!!
Thanks for this great recipe Vaishali.
I just wanted to know at what point do you mix the powdered spices? … since its not mentioned in the recipe
Tina, add it with the flour mixture. I’ve updated above.
Thank you Vaishali!
Your recipes are the best ones I have found on the Internet! I love your page.
Thanks, Vaishali, for the lovely recipe. One of the most delicious cakes I ever had and so easy to prepare, too! It came out perfectly moist without being soggy, gooey or heavy.
Since the question ob substituting sugar was raised earlier: I used 3/4 cup of maple syrup instead of the 1 cup sugar and it turned out perfect and added a delicious maple taste.
Since I needed a gluten-free version, I substituted the whole-wheat flour with half buckwheat flour and half rice flour, which I find is the best way to replace whole-wheat flour in any cake recipe and still stay on the healthy side and avoid the refined stuff.
If one is not opposed using a flexible silicon baking form, i can recommend it for this cake, I just slightly oiled it and the cake tumbled out after baking without any problem.
This is one of the best vegan cake recipes ever. I used 1/2 cup applesauce and a bit less than 1/2 cup maple syrup. It was plenty sweet. I also used gingerbread spice instead of the spices listed. It is a dark wonderful gingerbread taste with apples.
Thank you for the recipe! Does it work to use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil?
In place of flax meal could flaxseed be or porridge oats be used?
My family loved the apple cake! Thank you!
My husband cannot have oil of any kind but applesauce is an excellent substitute. Substitute 1:1
Hi Vaishali,
This is hands down THE BEST VEGAN APPLE CAKE I’ve tried so far. The recipe calls for easy to find ingredients and works really well.
Thank you!
Hi, I baked this cake a couple of days back and it turned out so delicious. I used the regular whole wheat flour used for making chappatis and substituted the sugar with jaggery powder. It came out just perfect! The applesauce drizzle however was a bit thicker than I wanted , though it paired well with the cake. The entire cake was polished off in one go as many went for a second serving 😊
This turned out great! Very flexible recipe. I used 1/3 cup brown sugar and 2 tbsp applesauce since our son likes cakes a little less sweet. Used Shimla apple we get in India. Also added 6 tbsp milk as I used whole-wheat flour. Rest all same as recipe. Cake was soft, moist and fluffy.
Perfect time for apple cake. Can I substitute aqua faba for the flax?
Yes, use 6 tbsp and whisk it with the sugar and oil at the beginning!
Can I use the batter to make mini muffins?
Yes, absolutely! You can also try this applesauce mini muffin recipe with apples: https://holycowvegan.net/cardamom-scented-applesauce-mini/
Great recipe. I have made this twice now. I used a silicone baking pan with spray oil. No problem demolding. I tried substituting 1/4 cup stevia for 1/4 cup sugar to good effect. I also used 1/2 cup applesauce to substitute for more sugar and the water in the flaxseed mixture. It was plenty sweet.
I used vegan ice cream to top it instead of glaze. Yum! I used a mild olive oil once and avocado oil another time. I don’t know what to think about canola oil, not sure I trust it.
Great recipe. I have made this twice now. I used a silicone baking pan with spray oil. No problem demolding. I tried substituting 1/4 cup stevia for 1/4 cup sugar to good effect. I also used 1/2 cup applesauce to substitute for more sugar and the water in the flaxseed mixture. It was plenty sweet.
I used vegan ice cream to top it instead of glaze. Yum! I used a mild olive oil once and avocado oil another time. I don’t know what to think about canola oil, not sure I trust it.