Easy Apple Cake Recipe - One Bowl Vegan Sheet Cake (2024)

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This moist vegan apple sheet cake with almonds and cinnamon is the perfectrecipefor busy people and beginners, because it is made with simple ingredients in just a few minutes and tastes incredibly delicious! It looks like classic German butter cake, but is made healthier and vegan without using butter and eggs!

The Best Vegan Apple Cake – like Grandma’s classic!

Grandma’s German apple cake recipes are just always the best and when the vegan version tastes just as delicious, it’s always a hit! This easy sheet cake is a favorite with everyone because not only is it incredibly delicious, but it’s also quick and easy to make with inexpensive ingredients!

If you’re a fan of traditional American apple pie and grandma’s apple cinnamon cake, you’ll love this easy sheet cake too!

Easy recipe with simple ingredients

To make this easy apple cake cake, you’ll only need a few simple ingredients that you may even already have in your pantry. And if you have an apple tree in your garden, you don’t even need to buy apples, so you can get started with this easy recipe right away!

What type of apples are best for apple cake?

Basically, you can use any type of apple for baking, depending on your desired sweetness and texture. My personal favorite apple for apple cake is the fruity, tart crisp Boskoop. But I also like to use the sweet and tart Jonagold or the Braeburn or Elstar for all kinds of cakes and pastries. If you prefer softer apples, feel free to reach for varieties like Elstar or Cox Orange. Or if you want super tart and crunchy apples for a sweet cake, try Granny Smith apples.

Ingredients for vegan apple cake

Apples: I have already listed some recommended varieties above.
Lemon juice: this prevents the apples from turning brown.
Flour: you can use all-purpose flour as well as spelt flour or a gluten-free flour blend 1:1. Whole-wheat flour or buckwheat flour will also work (you may need a little more liquid).
Almond flour: If you can’t find any in the supermarket, you can also just put whole raw almonds in a food processor or blender and grind into flour. Of course, you can use other nuts like ground hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, etc. too!
Baking powder plus baking soda.
Ground vanilla: or vanilla extract or the pulp of a vanilla bean.
Cinnamon: for a wonderful warming and wintry flavor.
Salt: a pinch for flavor.
Applesauce: is used as an egg replacement. Alternatively, you can use a mashed banana, or vegan yogurt or 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds mixed with 6 tablespoons of water, then let swell for 5 minutes).
Plant milk: e.g. almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk or soy milk.
Raw cane sugar: or other sugar to taste plus some coconut or brown sugar for sprinkling.
Oil: e.g. butter flavored canola oil (Alba oil) or sunflower oil.
Slivered almonds: or streusel topping.

How to make Vegan Apple Cake

As always, I recommend checking out these step-by-step instructions and the recipe video first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!

Step 1: Make the cake batter

First, peel, core and finely slice the apples. Then combine with lemon juice and cinnamon. Next, stir together all the ingredients for the batter, then fold in the apples.

Tip: Sift dry ingredients beforehand to avoid lumps. This also helps the dry and wet ingredients combine better, so you don’t have to stir the batter as much, which results in a fluffier cake that rises better.

Step 2: Bake apple cake

Transfer the batter into a sheet pan or cake tin, sprinkle with slivered almonds and a little sugar, and bake at 392 °F (200 °C) for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Tip: If you want a moist cake, do not overbake!

Step 3: Cut the cake

Allow to cool. Then cut into pieces and serve with powdered sugar, pomegranate seeds and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or vegan custard, if desired. Enjoy!

Tip: If you like, you can eat the freshly baked apple cake while it’s still warm directly from the baking sheet or spoon it out of the pan – it tastes really amazing that way!

Can I use other fruits?

Of course! This recipe is very versatile, so you can also use other fruits like pears, plums, cherries, apricots or berries. No matter what fruit you choose, this easy vegan sheet cake tastes fantastic with any fruit!

More ideas for recipe variations

Feel free to add chopped walnuts or chocolate chips into the batter before baking. Instead of almonds, you can use other nuts or make crumbles of shortbread pastry as a topping. Or you could bake it without any extras and serve it with a cream cheese frosting or glaze.

How to store apple cake?

You can store leftover apple cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days. Before eating, simply reheat briefly in the microwave or preheated oven to make the cake fluffy and moist again! For longer storage, you can also freeze leftover cake pieces and thaw whenever you need some.

This easy apple sheet cake recipe is:

Dairy-free
Eggless
Can be made gluten-free
Quick and easy to make
Moist and fruity
Healthy and low in calories
Topped with crunchy almonds
Absolutely delicious!
Perfect as a snack, for breakfast or as a dessert with a cup of coffee or tea!

More apple recipes to try

I have so many simple yet delicious vegan apple cake and dessert recipes that you should try! I’m sure you’ll find something on this list to suit your tastes!

Apple Cake with Cinnamon Streusel
Easy Apple Carrot Muffins
Apple Crumble
Apple Custard Cake
Mini Apple Pies
Apple Turnovers
Apple Stuffed Buns
Moist Apple Blondies
Apple Pie Roll-Ups
Apple Hand Pies
Chocolate Apple Crumble Cake
Apple Pie
Vegan Frangipane Apple Tart

If you try this easy vegan apple cake recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you share a photo of your delicious cake on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me@biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Enjoy baking! 🙂

The Best Apple Sheet Cake - Easy & Vegan

Author: Bianca Zapatka

Ingredients

3 (350 g) apples peeled, cored and finely sliced
½ lemon approx. 2-3 tbsp juice
1-2 tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cup (180 g) all-purpose or spelt flour or gluten-free flour blend
1 cup (80 g) almond flour or nut-free option is mentioned in the text above
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground vanilla or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
½ cup (120 g) applesauce or mashed banana, or 2 flax eggs*
½ cup (120 ml) plant milk e.g. soy milk
½ cup (100 g) raw cane sugar or other sugar to taste* (+ some coconut sugar for sprinkling)
⅓ cup (80 g) oil e.g. butter-flavored canola oil or sunflower oil

Topping (optional)

slivered almonds
powdered sugar for dusting
pomegranate seeds for garnish

Instructions

*Note: Check out the recipe video + tips + step-by-step pictures in the post above!

Preheat the oven to 392 °F (200 °C). Lightly grease an 11x7-inch (27x18-cm) baking pan or similar size and line with parchment paper.
Peel, core and finely slice the apples. Drizzle with lemon juice and cinnamon and mix to coat.
Sift flour, baking powder and ground vanilla into a large bowl. Add almond meal, sugar and salt and whisk together.
Combine apple sauce, plant milk and oil in a measuring cup. Then pour into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the apples, pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth it out. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and a little sugar and bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (if you want a moist cake, don't over-bake).
Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, using the overhanging parchment paper, carefully lift out and let cool completely on a cooling rack.
Cut into bars and serve with powdered sugar, pomegranate seeds and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Flour: Instead of all-purpose and spelt flour, you can use agluten-free flour blend 1:1. Whole wheat or buckwheat flour works too, however, you may need alittle more liquid.
Applesauce: Instead of applesauce, you can also use the same amount of banana or pumpkin puree or sub 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp of ground flaxseeds mixed with 6 tbsp of water, then set aside for 5 minutes to thicken).
Sugar: I used raw cane sugar for the cake batter and coconut sugar for sprinkling. However, you can use any sugar.
Fruits: You can also use other fruit such as pears, plums, apricots or cherries.
Variation: Instead of almonds, you can also use other nuts or prepare crumbles as a topping. If you like, you can add chopped walnuts or chocolate chips to the batter before baking.
Storage: Leftover cake can be stored covered in the refrigerator for about 5 days or frozen for longer.
Please read my blog post for additional information on this recipe!

Nutritions

Nutrition is calculated automatically and should be used as estimate.

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