Is there anything better than a spiced apple cake? The glorious aromas of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice are guaranteed to make your kitchen smell like heaven, while chunks of freshly baked apples offer a healthy spin on a warming and delicious treat.

As a vegan, I tend to struggle to find delicious cake recipes that don’t require complicated substitutions to “3 large eggs.” This recipe, however, is packed full of only the very best vegan-friendly ingredients that will ensure you get all of the yumminess without an animal-based product in sight!

I tend to prepare this delicious spiced apple vegan cake in a Bundt cake pan, but you can also make delicious apple cake in a cast-iron skillet (like the ones from Uno Casa) for a rustic look that tastes incredible. 

Spiced Apple Vegan Cake Recipe

This tasty spiced apple cake utilizes the irresistible wintery spices of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice to create a dish that’s gloriously fragrant and delicious. The cake is entirely vegan, with absolutely no dairy products whatsoever, and it’s surprisingly healthy thanks to the use of no artificial ingredients or excess sugar, so you can enjoy it completely guilt-free.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 10 slices

Calories: 308 cal per slice

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp flax meal 
• 4 tbsp water
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (or any other neutral-flavor oil)
• ¾ cup organic cane sugar
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk or non-dairy milk of your choice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 2 medium apples (around 300g), peeled, cored, and diced into ½” pieces
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 375’F and thoroughly grease your Bundt pan.
2. Combine flax meal and water, then leave to stand for 5 minutes until it reaches a thick consistency.
3. In a separate bowl, combine your cubed apples with 1 tbsp flour until each piece is evenly coated.
4. Take a large bowl and combine your chosen oil with the sugar, non-dairy milk, vinegar, and vanilla, then stir in the flax mixture until well combined.
5. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger.
6. Add the dry ingredients to your oil/flax mixture and stir until just combined and moist.
7. Add the apples and stir everything together until well combined and evenly distributed.
8. Spoon (don’t pour) the cake batter into your Bundt pan and smooth the top by tapping it on your countertop.  
9. Bake for 45-50 mins or until a clean skewer come out clean after being injected into the middle of the cake. 
10. Leave the cake in the Bundt tin for 10 minutes to cool before slowly turning it upside-down onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
11. Top with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar and serve with a cup of tea or coffee.

Notes

I prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil in this recipe, but you can substitute this for any neutral-flavored oil. Unrefined melted coconut oil also works well. If you would prefer to avoid oil altogether, you could also use an equal measure (1:1 ratio) of unsweetened applesauce for an extra apple kick and a wonderfully moist batter.

If you would prefer to use eggs, you can substitute the 2 tbsp of flax meal and 4 tbsp of water for 2 large eggs. That said, this recipe is absolutely delicious just as it is, and the other flavors are so tasty that the flax is undetectable, so eggs really aren’t necessary!

I’d recommend avoiding variants such as Red Delicious for the apples as they can be a little dry in the cake. Fresh, juicy apples such as Gala, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, Jazz, or Braeburn tend to be best in this vegan cake, and it’s always good to buy local where possible.

If your batter is too dry or difficult to mix, you can add a couple more tablespoons of non-dairy milk. I generally prefer almond milk in this recipe, but oat milk or any other non-dairy milk can be just as delicious. You don’t want the batter to be runny, as it’s best to spoon it into the pan. However, it shouldn’t be so thick that it’s difficult to mix or spread.

We think this vegan spiced apple cake is perfect for fall evenings, preferably served with a nice cup of tea or large coffee. It’s also surprisingly healthy, so you can indulge yourself without breaking your diet!