Italian Vegan Apple Cake is a delicious, egg-less and dairy free cake. I put a vegan spin on my Italian mother-in-law's famous apple cake and it so soft and moist!
It can't be already the beginning of March and I find myself still catching up with things like this Italian Vegan Apple Cake. This is a cake that I have had on my mind to share here since the beginning of winter. It is a cake that is baked very often.
Italian Vegan Apple Cake
So back to Teresa-she really is quite a baker and she is famous in the family for her cakes, especially her apple cake. It's kind of a staple when you visit her. You get to try her apple cake or any other cake made with her various homemade jams (jams made with berries that they grew or other fruit that some friends grew and shared with them. That's life in Italy). Italian Vegan Apple Cake is my vegan homage to her incredible Italian apple cake.
How do you make flax eggs?
You could easily make your own flax eggs: For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed (measure after grinding) with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes.
What pan do you bake this Italian Vegan Apple Cake in?
The cake is lovely baked in a 9-inch round cake pan or a tube pan. Just take care when you remove the cake from the pan. Be sure to let it cool very well or you will burn your fingers as I have rushing to get it ready for that first slice for my taste testers.
Make this vegan apple cake your own:
- Feel free to change the coconut milk to your own favorite dairy free milk;
- Use sunflower seed or coconut oil instead of vegetable oil;
- If you don't have Limoncello, use fresh squeezed lemon juice or orange juice;
- Use your favorite egg replacer instead of flax eggs.
Keep leftover cake covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to 5 days.
I did use Teresa's apple cake recipe and changed just a few things. I reduced the sugar and the oil. The apples made the cake so very sweet (at least for our taste).
Italian Vegan Apple Cake
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and, and cut into chunks
- 1 tablespoon Limoncello or fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ginger
- 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 cups sifted flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 flax eggs
- ¾ cup coconut or vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- juice and rind of lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch spring form pan (or cake pan) with baking spray. Place the apple chunks in a large bowl.
- Add the lemon juice and rind (Limoncello if you are using), light brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger and stir together. * I used a spoonful of Teresa’s ground Calabrese lemons from her Limoncello production. It’s a magical little jar of ground lemons rinds soaked in vodka.
- Sauté’ the apples in a skillet on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. The apples will start to get tender. The spices and sugar will melt around the apples and it will be hard not to eat that mixture right out of the pan! Set the pan aside and let it cool for a few minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
- In a small bowl, add the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar. Mix together and let sit while you prep the other ingredients. In another large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and sea salt.
- Add the flax eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla to the coconut milk/apple cider mixture and stir together until all combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients a little at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix well after you add each portion of the dry ingredients.
- Pour half of the batter into your prepared tube pan. Spread ½ of the apple chunks evenly around the batter. Spread on top of the apples the rest of the cake batter and then spread on top of the batter the rest of the apple chunks.
- Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Depending on the oven, I always check the cake after 30 minutes and lower the heat to 325 for the remainder of the baking time (that’s because of my oven...every oven is different).
- When the cake cools, carefully release from spring form pan to your serving plate. Serve warm with powdered sugar sprinkled on top or a scoop of your favorite ice-cream.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
This was amazing!
Ooh, this was very good. Thanks so much. Added to my favourites. Can I freeze it?
Hi very happy you enjoyed. You could slice and wrap in plastic wrap (and put in zipped lock freezer bag or an airtight container)individual slices. XX
This was absolutely delicious. It’s going into the favourite recipe folder to be made regularly
Thank you, Sarah...I'm super happy you enjoyed it! It's one of our favorites!
Can I cook the apple mixture the day before and refrigerate?
Hi Judi-YES! You can cook it the night before. Hope you enjoy!! XX
Any idea for altering the cooking time if I'm making this in smaller 6" spring form pans, vs. the 9" cake pan?
A 9-inch pan is 64 square inches. A 6-inch pan is 29 square inches. I would fill the 6-inch pan and whatever extra batter (you'll end up with too much batter for 6-inches) you could always add to muffin tins (baking the extra batter in muffin tins would be less baking time...just start to check at around 15 mins to see if done). A 6" pan (2" deep) will bake for about 25-30 minutes at 350F. So check cake at 25 mins (insert a thin knife to see if comes out clean). Happy Baking! XX
I sort of mixed the apples in, rather than layering them. It turned out really nice. I did a little dusting of powdered sugar on top. And if you add a little slurry of flour or starch to the apple cooking liquid, you will have an amazing caramel sauce to pour over.
(you say "if you don't have Limoncello, you can use lemon juice," but the recipe doesn't call for any limoncello. But I did put some in with apples and it was awesome.)
That caramel sauce sounds fantastic!I adjusted to the recipe list ...it's a tablespoon Limoncello or fresh lemon juice. Thrilled you like the cake! Happy Baking, Andrea! XX
Are we using the lemon juice, because the part about mixing in the wet ingredients do not say lemon juice?
Yes the juice and rind is cooked a little bit with the apples. Happy Baking! XX
Fantastic recipe. The flax eggs worked brilliantly
So nice to hear, Suzy! It is really nice with the flax eggs. Happy Baking!xx