Description
This warming, delicious vegan apple cake with walnuts and a cinnamon glaze is an old family recipe from great grandma. We made it vegan (and gluten free) so everyone can enjoy, but it's just as delicious as the original! Perfect for a fall dessert, snack or even breakfast.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 flax eggs (2 flax eggs = 2 tablespoons ground flax meal + 5 tablespoons water)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup nondairy milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour (or regular AP flour)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of allspice
- Pinch of ground cloves
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 2 cups diced, peeled apples
Cinnamon Sugar Glaze:
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons nondairy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- 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.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, apple sauce, milk, flax eggs, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until batter is completely mixed together. Stir in chopped nuts and apples. (Note: the batter may be thicker than you expect.)
- Pour into your baking pan, and spread evenly. Bake for 45-50 min, or until a toothpick comes out dry. Rotate pan once during baking. Once the cake is done cooking, remove from oven and let cool completely.
- While the cake is baking, whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth. Pour over cooled cake and enjoy.
Notes
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.
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.
Give the flax egg 10-15 minutes to thicken 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 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.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 335
- Sugar: 26.8 g
- Sodium: 160.8 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 50.2 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
