Best Vanilla Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

 This Vanilla Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze is moist, tender, and fully vegan, made with coconut milk and applesauce instead of eggs or dairy. The sticky, buttery caramel glaze drips down the curves of the bundt and is honestly the best part, if you're a caramel lover, this one's for you.

If you love a good vegan dessert, you'll also want to try my Vegan Maple Pumpkin Pie and my Olive Oil Cake.

The cake itself is adapted from a coconut vanilla cake by Versatile Vegetarian, and the coconut milk keeps it wonderfully moist for days. If you'd rather skip the glaze, a simple dusting of powdered sugar works just as well.

See the full recipe below, including my top tips and recipe notes.

Ingredient Notes

A few notes on what makes this cake work, and where you can swap things out:

• Coconut milk - full-fat canned coconut milk gives the cake its moist, tender crumb.
• Applesauce - replaces eggs and adds moisture without any coconut flavor coming through.
• Canola oil - keeps the cake soft; any neutral oil works.
• Lemon juice - brightens the vanilla flavor; lime juice works as a substitute.
• Vegan butter or margarine - used in the caramel glaze to keep the whole cake dairy-free; regular butter works fine if that's not a concern.
• Corn syrup - keeps the caramel glaze glossy and prevents it from turning grainy.

How to Make Vanilla Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

1. Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a bundt pan well with non-stick baking spray, or butter and flour it.
2. Step 2: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Step 3: In another bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
4. Step 4: Add the flour mixture and coconut milk alternately to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the bowl to fully incorporate the batter, then pour into the prepared pan.
5. Step 5: Bake for ½ hour at 350°F, then lower the heat to 325°F and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Step 6: Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
7. Step 7: For the glaze, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and salt, and cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, stirring constantly for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat.
8. Step 8: Pour the hot glaze over the cooled cake and let it set before slicing.

Recipe Tips

• Grease the pan generously. Bundt pans have a lot of detail for the cake to stick to, don't skimp here.
• Cool completely before glazing. A warm cake will melt the glaze right off instead of letting it set.
• No caramel glaze? No problem. A simple dusting of powdered sugar works beautifully too.
• Extra glaze keeps well. Store any leftover caramel in the fridge and rewarm gently to drizzle over other desserts.
• Don't overbake. Start checking with a skewer at the 15-minute mark of the second bake stage, coconut milk cakes can dry out fast once they're done.

Serving Suggestions

This cake is rich enough to stand on its own with a cup of coffee or tea, but it also holds up well on a dessert table next to other cakes, like my Olive Oil Cake or an Apple Cider Donut Cake. For a fall gathering, it pairs nicely alongside a Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie so there's a vegan option on the dessert table too.

More Recipes to Try

• Olive Oil Cake
• Apple Cider Donut Cake
• Cranberry Coffee Cake
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie

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Vanilla Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

A moist, fully vegan vanilla bundt cake made with coconut milk and applesauce, topped with a rich, buttery homemade caramel glaze.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time50 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake

Servings: 12 slices

Calories: 473kcal

Author: Lora

Equipment

• bundt pan

Ingredients

Cake

• ▢ 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ½ cups sugar
• ▢ 13.5 ounces coconut milk 1 can
• ▢ ¾ cup canola oil
• ▢ ½ cup applesauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice or lime juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

• ▢ ½ cup vegan butter or margarine or regular butter
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup light corn syrup
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a bundt pan well with non-stick baking spray, or butter and flour it.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together the oil, applesauce, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
• Add the flour mixture and coconut milk alternately to the wet mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl to fully incorporate the batter, then pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake for ½ hour at 350°F, then lower the oven to 325°F and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the brown sugar and salt, and cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Add the corn syrup and vanilla, stirring constantly for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat.
• Pour the hot glaze over the cooled cake.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.

Notes

• Extra glaze: this makes a little more caramel than you'll use on the cake; save the extra to drizzle over other desserts.
• No glaze option: a dusting of powdered sugar is a lighter alternative.
• Storage: covered at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze the unglazed cake up to 3 months.
• Nutrition: no nutrition information was provided for this recipe; values will vary depending on the exact ingredients used.

Nutrition

Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 366mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg

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