Spiced apple cake with caramel sauce is the most delicious vegan dessert for fall! You’ll love this seasonal recipe.
I have had this spiced apple cake recipe in my draft posts for a while, now, and I keep forgetting to post it! Ugh. There’s really just no excuse for that, because this cake was sooooo good. I made it when Darryl’s parents came into town, and it was a big hit.
I was thinking about an apple cake that my mom used to make when we were growing up, it was one of my favorite desserts. I remember it was made in a really tall bundt pan, and it had a lot of sliced apples throughout the cake, so it was super moist. Eggs and butter made it a very rich cake, too.
I thought it would be fun to try to create a spiced apple cake that we could all enjoy now, even though we can’t eat eggs. This cake is really moist, due to the apple sauce and the apples in the batter, and nicely spiced with the apple pie seasonings. I love the caramel sauce on top, and I feel like it makes the cake more special, but you could make it without the sauce as well.
This vegan spiced apple cake is:
- perfect for Thanksgiving dessert
- easy to make
- extra special with the addition of caramel sauce
Spiced Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 3/4 cup spelt flour
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/3 cup organic canola oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large apple peeled and diced - I used a Gala apple
For the caramel sauce:
- 1/2 cup vegan buttery spread
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- pinch sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a nine inch round cake pan.
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In a large bowl, whisk flour and spices together. Set aside.
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In a separate bowl, mix oil, applesauce, sugar, water, and vinegar.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix until combined.
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Add the apples and stir. Pour batter into the cake pan.
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Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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To make the caramel sauce, place the arrowroot powder and the cider in a container with a lid and shake to combine.
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Place the vegan buttery spread, brown sugar, apple cider mixture, and salt in a saucepan.
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Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and continue to stir, letting the sauce thicken up.
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Let the sauce cool slightly, then spoon over slices of apple cake to serve.
*Caramel sauce adapted from Kathy’s recipe.
If you aren’t familiar with arrowroot powder, it is just a thickener, like cornstarch. Cornstarch would work just as well here if you have that on hand. If you are not dairy free, then you can definitely use butter in the caramel sauce instead of the vegan buttery spread.
Happy Saturday! I’m feeling super productive and positive today, because we got up early, and the sun is shining, and I heard a rumor that we are having Thai food for dinner tonight from our favorite restaurant! Yay! (I started the rumor, and therefore it is going to happen). :)
Delicious recipe!
Hello! I am waiting for the cake (it is in the oven right now), BUT I have a quick question: can I replace the apple cider with apple juice? Would that work as well for the caramel? Thanks in advance and keep up with the yummy postings.
Sorry I am just now getting to this! I am not sure. Did it work with apple juice? Let me know how it turned out!
Yummy! This looks delish. I haven’t dabbled much in gluten-free baking but I think it’s time to make the switch, why not..it’s so easy to replace regular flour! Thanks for sharing! I’ll give this a try soon :)
I actually used spelt flour here, which is lower in gluten, but not gluten free. I hope you like this cake if you try it! :)
The flavors in this sound delicious! I love apple and caramel together : )
Thanks, Natalie!
Yum. I love anything apple/caramel. My mom used to make an applesauce cake in a bundt pan and it was my favorite, but the recipe calls for a box mix + additions, so I think this recipe would be a good replacement!
I hope you like it! :)
This cake sounds yummy. Since I can’t eat gluten can I substitute a GF flour mix for the spelt? Do I need gum as well?
I have not tested this recipe with gluten free flour, but if you try it that way, let me know how it works out! It just might not rise as well.