This Dairy-Free and Eggless Apple Cinnamon Cake is chock full of in-season apples and lots of fall spices. It’s topped with a rich streusel crumble topping, thinly sliced apples, and a dusting of powdered sugar. This easy cake is completely vegan thanks to the applesauce which replaces the eggs!
why we love this eggless apple cinnamon cake
This cake is super easy, can be made in one bowl, and is the perfect recipe for fall baking. This apple cake is made without any eggs or dairy, so it’s totally plant-based. It’s rich, with a caramelly flavor thanks to the brown sugar, and it’s packed with an abundance of apples. I also love the fact that it has pecans in it for some extra crunch and a nice nutty flavor. If you’re looking to use up a bunch of apples, you could also make my cozy, silky smooth Apple Curd!
why this recipe works
No eggs are necessary for this apple cake! Applesauce serves as a fantastic egg replacer in this cake, plus it adds to the apple flavor. Since eggs also help leaven cakes, today we’re adding both baking soda and powder to help the cake rise. This recipe calls for oil which means it’s also dairy-free and vegan. Of course, you could substitute in melted vegan butter if you’d like!
the vegan apple cake ingredients
This recipe packs as much apple flavor into the cake as possible. It uses fresh diced apples, applesauce, and apple cider to make sure the apple flavor really comes through! This easy vegan apple cake only uses 13 ingredients plus some salt.
You’ll need to gather the following ingredients to make this cake:
- Oil
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Applesauce
- Apple Cider
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Baking Soda + Powder
- Flour
- Apples
- Pecans
equipment and tools
This vegan apple cake recipe makes 1 round 9″ cake. You could also make an apple bundt cake by doubling the ingredients in the recipe card below! That being said, to make this recipe you’ll want a few tools or pieces of equipment to helps it turn out perfect!
Below are some suggested tools to make this apple cake:
- Digital Kitchen Scale: to measure all the ingredients accurately
- 9″ Cake Pan
- Measuring Cups or Scoops
- Fine Sieve or Sifter: for sifting the dry ingredients
how to make the eggless apple cinnamon cake
The prep time for this cake is super fast. It takes about 10 minutes to mix together. Like most cakes, the longest part is just waiting for it to bake! Because this cake has apples inside of it, it takes a bit longer to bake, about 55 minutes.
Below are the main steps for making this eggless apple cinnamon cake:
- Beat the oil and sugar until creamy. Add the applesauce, vanilla, and apple cider. Mix to combine.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt together with a fine sieve onto the wet ingredients.Â
- Mix the wet and dry together until the mixture is smooth.Â
- Fold in the apples and pecans.Â
- Pour the batter into the cake pan. Top with the thinly sliced apples (optional) and sprinkle on the crumble topping.Â
- Bake for 55-60 minutes on the middle rack. A knife inserted into the batter should remove cleanly with only a few crumbs.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
the crumble topping
I think what makes this cake go from great to fantastic is the crumble topping. This streusel topping adds a bit of decadence to the cake, as well as some more cinnamon flavor. To make the crumble topping, you really only need 4 ingredients: vegan butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
When you mix those ingredients together with a fork, they should form big crumbs. Then, once you have the cake batter all mixed up and in the cake pan, you can sprinkle the crumbles on the top right before baking.
sliced apples
I also like to top the cake with some sliced apples. These are such cute decorations for the top of the cake. The trick here is to make sure that these are very thin slices.
If the slices are too thick, they’ll weigh the cake batter down and prevent it from rising properly.
eggless apple cinnamon cake tips & tricks
For this recipe, I like to use Granny Smith since the texture holds up after baking and they have a tart flavor that helps balance the sweetness of the filling. I also prefer Honeycrisp apples since they have a very crunchy, crispy texture that helps texture and depth to the filling. You could also try Braeburn, Golden Delicious, or McIntosh apples!
This post has lots of info on the best apples for baking.
Yes, you absolutely can. The texture once baked will be softer and the flavor won’t be as pronounced, but I’m definitely a fan of using ingredients you have on hand!
This recipe calls for about 1 1/2 cups of chopped apples. This is about 4-5 medium-sized apples plus maybe 1 more if you want to top the cake with slices (so 6 total). But of course, the number will depend on how large the apples are. If you have a scale, this is about 180 grams of chopped apples.
Looking for more vegan Cake Recipes?
- Vegan Biscoff Cake
- Strawberry Crunch Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Shortcake
- Italian Pear Almond Cake
- Spiced Orange Bundt Cake
- Eggless Baked Cheesecake with Strawberries
Did you make this Eggless Apple Cinnamon Cake? I’d love to know! Leave a rating and comment below!
Eggless Apple Cinnamon Cake (Vegan)
This Dairy-Free and Eggless Apple Cinnamon Cake is chock full of in-season apples and spices. It's topped with a rich streusel crumble topping, thinly sliced apples and a dusting of powdered sugar. Plus, it's completely vegan!
This cake is super easy, can be made in one bowl, and is the perfect recipe for fall baking.
Ingredients
Wet:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, or melted vegan butter 110g
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar, 100g
- 1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar, 100g
- 1/2 cup applesauce, 90g
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp apple cider, or substitute dairy-free milk
Dry:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 180g
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups chopped apples, 180g
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 60g
- Thinly sliced apples, for topping
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Crumble Topping:
- 3 tbsp softened vegan butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Grease a 9” round cake pan.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
To Make the Crumble:
- To make the crumble topping, mix all of the crumble ingredients together in a small bowl. The mixture should form large crumbs.
To Make the Cake:
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat the oil and sugar until creamy. Add the applesauce, vanilla, and apple cider. Mix to combine.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt together with a fine sieve onto the wet ingredients.
- Mix the wet and dry together until the mixture is smooth.
- Fold in the apples and pecans.
- Pour the batter into the cake pan.
- Top with the thinly sliced apples (optional) and sprinkle on the crumble topping.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350F on the middle rack. A knife inserted into the batter should remove cleanly with only a few crumbs.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Notes
- To make a bundt cake, double the ingredients and bake the bundt cake at 350F for 50-60 minutes until golden on top and a knife removes cleanly from the center.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 91mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gProtein: 2g
Nutritional info is an estimate.
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This looks lovely, but can it be baked in an air fryer instead of a conventional oven?
Hi Brenda,
I haven’t tried baking it in an air fryer, so I don’t have bake times or temperatures to suggest.
Hi! I have a batch of this in the oven right now and I’m so excited! Though, I just remember that I forgot the applesauce. Do you think that will be an issue?
I had a though to make this with pears. Do you think it would turn out? Would you suggest a different spice blend, in that case?
Hi Tamra, the applesauce serves as the egg replacer in this recipe. It also helps keep the cake moist and from crumbling. I’d love to hear how yours turned out! I do I have a separate vegan Pear Almond Cake if you’d like to check that one out. You can find it here: https://tyberrymuch.com/vegan-italian-pear-almond-cake/
The cake was amazing even without the applesauce. The edges were crisp, the center moist but not gooey. My husband and I ate half of this in one night. This first bake was a test run, and now I can make it again for an office party (maybe I’ll even add the applesauce!). The pear recipe looks amazing, I will have to try it. Thank you!
Hello! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Should the apple sauce be sugar free? Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, the applesauce should be unsweetened.
Just made this yummy cake today it is so delicious! Truly a comfort food. Didn’t have pecans, unfortunately, but we had walnuts and they worked well too! Thank you for the recipe. Loved it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!