Vegan Apple Cake with Bourbon Buttercream
This Vegan Apple Cake recipe is packed with spices like cinnamon and ginger, loaded with chunks of fresh apple, and frosted with delicious bourbon buttercream. It's easy to make, super moist, and absolutely delicious.
Servings: 14 Servings
Calories: 642kcal
Cost: $7
Equipment
- 2 8 Inch Round Cake Pans
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- 1 Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer For the frosting!
- 1 Offset Spatula or Butter Knife For frosting the cake
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt half this amount if using table salt!
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Allspice
- 1 ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- 1 ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk I used So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 10 tablespoon Vegan Butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon White Vinegar or Lemon Juice
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Medium Apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch cubes This will be about 1 ½ cups of chopped apple
For the Frosting
- 1 ½ Cup Vegan Butter, room temperature I love Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks
- 6 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- 3 tablespoon High-Quality Bourbon
Instructions
Bake the Vegan Apple Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans by greasing them well with shortening and inserting parchment circles into the bottom of each pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Whisk to combine.2 ⅔ Cup All-Purpose Flour, 2 ½ tsp Baking Powder, ½ tsp Kosher Salt, 1 Tbsp Cinnamon, 2 tsp Ginger, ½ tsp Allspice, ¼ tsp Baking Soda
- In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, non-dairy milk, melted vegan butter, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk well to combine.1 ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar, packed, 1 ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk, 10 Tbsp Vegan Butter, melted and cooled, 1 Tbsp White Vinegar or Lemon Juice, 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk to form the batter. Then, add the chopped apples and use a rubber spatula to fold them into the batter until they are evenly distributed.1 Medium Apple, peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch cubes
- Portion the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and spread the batter out evenly. Bake in a 350* F oven for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating. See note!
Make the Bourbon Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream the vegan butter until smooth and creamy. Then, add the sifted powdered sugar and mix on low until combined.1 ½ Cup Vegan Butter, room temperature, 6 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- While the mixer is running, slowly stream in the maple syrup. Stop and scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula, then start the mixer again and slowly stream in the bourbon. Scrape the bowl down once more and turn the mixer to medium speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 20 seconds.¼ Cup Maple Syrup, 3 Tbsp High-Quality Bourbon
Build the Vegan Apple Cake
- Place a completely cooled cake layer upside down on a cake board or cake stand. (See note!) Add about ¾ cup of frosting to the top and use an offset spatula or a butter knife to spread the frosting to the edges.
- Place the remaining cake layer on top, upside down again, and use the same offset spatula or butter knife to frost the exterior of the cake.
- From here, decorate as desired. I used an offset spatula to create some texture on the side of the cake and an Ateco 807 round tip to make a top border. Then, sprinkled the cake with cinnamon sugar.
Notes
If you are a beginner, once the Vegan Apple Spice Cake layers are cool, place them in the freezer for about 20 minutes before you start decorating. This will make the cake firm so it doesn't move around while you frost it!
To store, place the cake in a large container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Chop the apple as small as you can so it distributes evenly throughout the cake batter. I aim for about ½ inch cubes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 642kcal | Carbohydrates: 98g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 5g | Sodium: 414mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 77g | Vitamin A: 101IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 115mg | Iron: 2mg