This Vegan Applesauce Cake is a delicious plant-based treat that is perfect for a special occasion or just an ordinary day. This cake is light and fluffy, full of spices and apple flavor, and not too sweet. It is easy to make and requires only simple ingredients.
Why We Love this Cake
There are a lot of reasons to love this cake!
- It's not too sweet. Some Applesauce Cakes are slathered with frosting. This recipe has just a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top.
- It's light and fluffy. No dense cake here!
- It's full of warm spices. This recipe has a good amount of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Vegan Applesauce Cake Ingredients
This vegan cake is make with simple and wholesome ingredients.
- All purpose flour - If you want to add some whole grain flour, you can substitute up to ½ the total amount of flour with whole wheat flour.
- White sugar
- Brown sugar - You can use either light or dark brown sugar.
- Applesauce - Store bought unsweetened applesauce is perfect but you can also use homemade applesauce if you have any around.
- Baking soda
- Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
- Vegan butter - My favorite vegan butter is Earth Balance. It comes in both tub and stick form which makes measuring easier. To melt, simply put the vegan butter in the microwave for up to 30 seconds.
- Non-dairy milk - I prefer baking and cooking with unsweetened soy milk. Almond milk and oat milk would work well too. I wouldn't use coconut milk as it gives too much coconut flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar - If you want to make 100% sure your sugar is vegan, buy organic.
How to Make Vegan Applesauce Cake
This delicious cake is really easy to make. First, preheat oven to 350°. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan by lightly coating with non-stick oil spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of flour, ½ cup of white sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
In a medium bowl, mix together the melted vegan butter, brown sugar, vanilla, applesauce, non-dairy milk, and apple cider vinegar until combined. Whisk until nice and smooth.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. For my oven, I find 32 minutes to be the perfect amount of baking time.
Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes into the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Put the powdered sugar in a small wire mesh sieve and sprinkle on top of the cake. Serve as is or with one of the suggestions below.
Serving Suggestions
This simple dessert is perfect as is, but you can also make it more decadent.
- Serve warm with vegan whipped cream.
- Top with vanilla vegan ice cream.
- Enjoy with a cup of tea.
Storage
Store any leftover applesauce cake in an airtight container at room temperature. Eat the leftover cake within 3 days.
FAQ
Can I make this with whole wheat flour?
If you want to use whole wheat flour, you can substitute up to 1 cup of the white flour with whole wheat flour. It will affect the texture a bit and make it a little denser.
Doesn't this cake recipe need a flax egg?
No, I don't bake with flax eggs (ground flaxseed and water). They make baked goods too dense. This cake is light and fluffy!
Does this cake need vegetable oil or coconut oil?
No, this recipe uses melted vegan butter instead of oil.
Can I add any dried fruit to this recipe?
If you want to add some dried fruit, I recommend mixing in ½ cup raisins before pouring the batter into the pan.
Summary
For a moist and flavorful vegan cake, it doesn't get much better than this Vegan Applesauce Cake recipe. You'll love the flavor combination of applesauce, cinnamon, and nutmeg that makes this cake such a tasty treat! It's sure to become a favorite dessert or afternoon snack that you'll be making again and again. Enjoy!
Looking for other vegan cake recipes? Check out:
- Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Vegan Gingerbread Loaf Cake with Chocolate Chips
- The Best Vegan Coffee Cake with Berries
Easy Vegan Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan butter, melted
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish by lightly coating with non-stick oil spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, white sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the melted vegan butter, sugars, vanilla, applesauce, non-dairy milk, and apple cider vinegar until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Put the powdered sugar in a sifter or a fine mesh sieve and dust the top of the cake. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I use unsweetened soy milk but almond milk would work great too.
Carol says
We loved this cake. It’s just sweet enough without going overboard. It’s easy to make too.
jencardenas says
Glad you liked it Carol. Thanks for the comment.