This apple cake is so delicious you won't mind that it's missing a few ingredients (like eggs and milk). It's fabulously moist and perfect for any occasion, especially Fall.
This eggless apple upside down cake is so delicious that the non-vegans never noticed anything was missing. This cake is seriously moist for days and a perfect treat for the Autumn months when all things apple spice just sound nice.
If you're looking for another vegan apple recipe idea, check out my Spiced Vegan Apple Bundt Cake. It's a wonderful cake as well but let's not overlook the simplicity of this upside-down cake.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's delicious. Serve it as-is or with vanilla ice cream because we all know warm apple cake is great with ice cream. Yum!
- You can use your favorite apples. Make it with your favorite sweet or tart baking apples (or a combination of them), and enjoy a dessert that's both easy to make and impressive to look at.
- You won't notice the missing milk and eggs. This is one of those recipes that tastes so good you won't even notice what's missing. Perfect for sharing with everyone!
🥘 Ingredients
All-purpose flour- This will make the gluten structure of the cake.
Baking soda- A leavening agent to help the cake rise nicely as it bakes.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer.
Granulated sugar- For added sweetness and a tender crumb.
Spices- You will want to use some ground cinnamon and nutmeg for a well-spiced cake.
Vanilla extract- A flavor enhancer.
Vinegar- You can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar to help the cake rise nicely.
Vegetable oil- This will give us needed fats for a cake that stays moist for days.
Water- Use some water to get the cake batter to the right consistency.
Vegan butter- You'll need some dairy-free plant-based butter to help cook and saute the apples.
Brown sugar- Adding a little brown sugar to the apple slices will help them to caramelize.
Apple- Use your favorite baking apple for this cake. You can use a sweet or tart variety, depending on which you choose.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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- 8 inch cake pan
- Whisk
- Skillet
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make vegan apple upside down cake with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease the inside of an 8-inch cake pan. Set the pan aside.
In a skillet on the stove, warm your apple slices and butter with brown sugar until the apple slices are soft and hot. Set the pan aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well mixed.
Stir in the vanilla, vegetable oil, vinegar, and water until no flour streaks remain.
Pour your apple slices into the prepared cake pan and try to make it an even layer so every slice will get apple pieces. It's okay if some apple slices overlap.
Pour the cake batter over the top of the apple slices.
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
Wait about 10 minutes before flipping the cake onto a plate to reveal the apple slices on top. This helps the syrup to set.
Slice and serve.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Tips for cutting apples
Make sure that you don't cut your apple slices too thick as the thicker they are the longer they will take to cook through. Getting them about ¼ inch in thickness is perfect. You should be able to get a lot of thin slices from one large apple.
Another tip for getting evenly sliced apples is to simply use a metal apple cutter and corer. That should give you about 8 even slices. After using it, cut each ⅛ slice in half to make a total of 16 same-sized apple slices per apple.
Why we cook the apples first
Cooking the apple slices in a skillet instead of the baking dish is pretty important for making sure that they are cooked enough to stay on the bottom of the cake when baking. Undercooked apple slices and chunks will rise up through the batter to the top of the vegan upside down cake. (Learned that one the hard way).
You don't have to cook your apple slices too long, just enough to get them warmed through and maybe change a shade or two in appearance so that they aren't so fresh-looking.
💭 FAQs
After this cake has cooled completely, keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge. This will help it to stay fresh for days and still be enjoyable. If you allow it to sit on the counter for a few days, the apples will cause the cake to become soggy, and the apples will smell fermented. These are two things that we want to avoid.
If stored properly in the fridge, this cake can last about 3-5 days and still be great. You can always reheat a slice in the microwave or oven to warm it up before eating if you find you prefer it that way, though.
Yes, after this cake has been baked and cooled completely, you can freeze it as a whole or in slices in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge before eating.
More great vegan recipes to try
- Spiced Vegan Apple Bundt Cake
- Vegan Dinner Rolls
- Rich and Chocolatey Vegan Mug Brownie
- Vegan Hamburger Buns
- Easy One Bowl Vegan Banana Bread with Applesauce
- Vegan Slider Buns
- Simple Dairy Free White Bread
📖 Recipe
Vegan Apple Upside Down Cake
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pan
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour ($0.12)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda ($0.01)
- ½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- 1 cup granulated sugar ($0.22)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ($0.10)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ($0.05)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ($0.02)
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar ($0.04)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil ($0.16)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 2 Tablespoon vegan butter ($0.18)
- ¼ cup brown sugar ($0.09)
- 1 whole apple, peeled and sliced thin ($0.89)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease the inside of an 8-inch cake pan. Set aside.
- In a skillet on the stove over medium heat, cook butter, brown sugar, and sliced apples for a few minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add in the vanilla, vegetable oil, vinegar, and water. Mix until combined.
- Pour the apple slices into the prepared cake pan and arrange apple slices into an even layer, but some overlapping is okay.
- Pour your cake batter over the top of the apple slices.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.
- Wait about 10 minutes before flipping the cake over and revealing the apple slices on the top of the cake.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- You can use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar for this recipe.
- You can double it and bake in 9x13 for 40-50 min.
- Make sure that you don't cut your apple slices too thick as the thicker they are the longer they will take to cook through. Getting them about ¼ inch in thickness is perfect. You should be able to get a lot of thin slices from one large apple.
- Cooking the apple slices in a skillet instead of the baking dish is pretty important for making sure that they are cooked enough to stay on the bottom of the cake when baking. Undercooked apple slices and chunks will rise up through the batter to the top of the vegan upside down cake. (Learned that one the hard way).
- You don't have to cook your apple slices too long, just enough to get them warmed through and maybe change a shade or two in appearance so that they aren't so fresh-looking.
Storage
- After this cake has cooled completely, keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge. This will help it to stay fresh for days and still be enjoyable. If you allow it to sit on the counter for a few days the apples will cause the cake to become soggy and the apples will smell fermented, these are two things that we want to avoid.
- If stored properly in the fridge, this cake can last about 3-5 days and still be great. You can always reheat a slice in the microwave or oven to warm it up before eating if you find you prefer it that way though.
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