Vegan Apple Cake

🍎 Why We Love This Recipe

• Fall flavors: This vegan apple cake is packed with fall favorites like apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg to jumpstart that fall feeling. Bonus: it makes your kitchen smell AMAZING!
• Gluten free and vegan: We modified my great grandmother's recipe to make this apple walnut cake totally gluten free and vegan, without sacrificing taste or texture. It took quite a few tests to get it right, but we didn't mind all of the taste testing. 😉
• Quick and easy: you don't need any special equipment to make this vegan apple cake – just two mixing bowls and a baking pan! It's perfect for any skill level and can be ready in under an hour.
• Perfect for any time of day: this is (obviously) a fantastic fall dessert, but since it's not crazy sweet, it's also suitable as breakfast or a snack. Pro tip: enjoy with coffee or hot cider!

🥮 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this vegan apple cake:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Gluten free flour: We used Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour for this recipe. It's our go-to blend for gluten free – it mirrors the texture and consistency of regular baked goods. If you're using a different product, just be aware that your results may vary from the end result shown here.
• Applesauce: We used unsweetened applesauce in this recipe in place of eggs. They act as a binding ingredient and also add extra apple flavor!
• Flax egg: you'll need to use ground flax meal here, not whole flax seeds. Be sure to let this thicken up for 10-15 minutes before incorporating into the wet ingredients to make sure that it reaches the right consistency. You can read more about flax eggs and why we use them here.
• Choice of nuts: You can opt for chopped walnuts or pecans. Both will work and taste great in this recipe.
• Apples: our favorite apples for baking include Honeycrisp, Granny Smith and Pink Lady. We'd avoid Red Delicious or McIntosh, both of which tend to get super mushy and mealy in baked goods.
• Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV): it may seem like an odd or unnecessary ingredient, but the vinegar reacts with baking soda to help create lift in vegan baked goods. It's essential, so don't skip it!

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Make flax eggs by stirring together flax meal and water. Let sit to thicken for 10-15 minutes. Grease a 9"x9" pan with vegetable oil spray or butter.

(1) In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

(2) In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, apple sauce, milk, flax eggs, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.

(3) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until batter is completely mixed together. (Note – the batter will be thicker than what you might expect.) Stir in chopped nuts and apples.

(4) Pour into your baking pan, and spread evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out dry. Rotate the pan once during baking. Once the cake is done cooking, remove from oven and let cool completely.

(5) While the cake is baking, whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth. Pour over cooled cake and enjoy.

Slice and enjoy warm!

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Be sure to let the flax egg thicken up for 10-15 minutes before incorporating into the wet ingredients to make sure that it reaches the right consistency.
• Using a 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour will improve the end result of your vegan apple cake. It contains special ingredients like xanthan gum to help bind the cake together, resulting in a better, not-gluten-free-at-all texture. Of course, if you aren't gluten free, feel free to sub in regular all purpose flour.
• Rotating the pan during cooking will help to create a much more evenly baked cake.
• Apple topping: we add a few sliced apples to the top of the cake before baking, but this is completely optional (and really just for looks!). When making it at home, we typically just leave them off and bake as usual.
• Glaze is optional: we love the extra sweetness/cinnamon flavor that the glaze adds, but this cake is still delicious without it.
• Holiday dessert: you don't need a special occasion to make this vegan apple cake, but it is fantastic for Thanksgiving or any other fall dinner parties!
• Make into muffins: you can use this vegan apple cake batter for muffins, too! Bake for about 30 minutes, then test for doneness with a toothpick.
• Storage: cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. We don't suggest storing at room temperature as it tends to spoil much faster.

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