One of my favorite parts of Fall is apple cider, so it’s only natural I turned my favorite drink into the best darn Vegan Apple Cider Bundt Cake! This apple spice cake also has fresh chopped apples inside and an apple cider glaze on top for the best Fall cake.
I originally made this eggless & dairy-free apple cake to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with King Arthur Flour! If you are not familiar with Rosh Hashanah, it is a celebration of the Jewish New Year. Traditionally, it is celebrated by blowing the shofar (definitely recommend google searching this if you’ve never seen it, it’s amazing!) and eating sweet foods to bring about abundance in the year to come.
Growing up, Rosh Hashanah was one of my favorite holidays as it was a time to get together with family and do what we do best- catch up & eat delicious homemade food! I always got so excited over the sweet apple cakes, apples dunked in honey, challah, and kugel!Well, things look a little different these days now that I’m egg-free and live pretty far away from family. However, I am still celebrating at home this year with this moist, easy, & absolutely delicious vegan apple cake!
Steps to make an apple cider bundt cake
You may be looking at this apple cider bundt cake thinking it’s a complicated recipe, but it’s actually a very easy cake to make!
First up, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl
The full list of ingredients with volume is in the recipe card below, but to quickly recap we are using King Arthur All-purpose Flour, Cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.
I really recommend sifting these ingredients together in a small bowl before mixing with the wet ingredients. While I normally stick to using one bowl in my cake and cupcake recipes, a bundt cake uses about double the ingredients of a normal cake. Sifting the dry ingredients in a small bowl first ensures no large clumps form.
Also, it’s crucial for vegan baking to use what the recipe calls for when it comes to baking soda and baking powder. Too much baking soda makes this cake too soft and brown (believe me I tried it) and not enough leavening makes this cake too dense.
Why use cornstarch?
Fun Fact, but if you’re wondering why we use cornstarch it makes this cake so light, tender, and fluffy! When paired with all-purpose flour, it makes the protein consistency of the dry ingredients lower and therefore leads to a lighter cake.
Then, mix the wet ingredients:
Again, the full ingredients are in the recipe card, but to recap we are using apple cider (pasteurized, not apple juice), applesauce (as a vegan egg replacement!), olive oil (though any oil works), white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla bean paste.
Using apple cider and applesauce also allows us to cut the amount of added sugar and oil in this recipe. This vegan apple cinnamon cake ends up not too sweet, but gratifying with tons of apple & cinnamon flavor!
P.S- if you love this recipe, you’ll also love my Vegan Apple Cider Donuts!
Mixing bowl with wet ingredients only and with dry ingredients added for a thick batter
Last- add in fresh apples
This is totally optional, but if you’re a big fan of apples in cake batter- add them in! Make sure to use aluminum free baking powder or the apple skins may turn green. Better yet, remove the skins altogether to avoid this problem.
What apples work best in this apple cake?
I used Gala apples and really recommend them! They stay sweet but still hold their shape while baking. Other good apple varieties include Granny Smith or Fuji apples as they hold their shape, though they are a bit more tart.
Bake at 350F 38-45 minutes
Before baking, I like to let my batter rest in the bowl, preheat my oven to 350F, and prep my bundt pan.
How to prep a bundt pan:
To prep the bundt pan, I recommend greasing it with vegan shortening or coconut oil (here is the shortening I used). Vegan butter, oil, or non-stick spray also works.
Then, VERY lightly dust the pan with flour. After dusting, dump out any excess flour that isn’t sticking to the pan.
Believe it or not, dusting the pan with flour is super important! If you just add oil, your cake won’t stick (which is good), but it also might fall flat and not rise enough. Dusting the pan with flour helps the cake batter climb the walls of the bundt pan as it rises and really makes a difference. The photos below should show you how lightly I dust my bundt pan.
Bundt pan without batter and with cake batter added
Let cool & invert!
Once the cake is done cooking, remove it from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before inverting. It’s also a good idea to run a butter knife along the edges of the bundt pan to help loosen the cake. Then, invert onto a wire cooling rack.
How to cool a bundt cake:
It’s SUPER important to invert onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling or the bottom of the cake may get too sticky from moisture building up while cooling. Bundt cake’s need a decent amount of time to cool before being glazed, so be patient!
Apple cider glaze & apple chips
To make this cake even better, I decided to decorate it with a cinnamon apple cider glaze and homemade apple chips!
How to make apple cider glaze:
To make the glaze, mix together 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp apple cider, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon until a thick glaze forms. Then, pour it over the cooled apple cake.
P.S- If glaze isn’t your thing, you could also soak this cake with a little apple cider or coat it with cinnamon sugar to make an Apple Cider Donut Cake!
How to make homemade apple chips:
To make the apple chips, I turned my oven to 200F convection oven settings. Then, I thinly sliced an apple and put the pieces onto a parchment paper lined aluminum baking tray. Cook the apples for 2-3 hours, flipping halfway through, until all the moisture is gone and the apples are crispy.
It is a more time intensive process, but I just love the way they look! Also, I highly recommend using a mandoline to cut the apple slices so they bake evenly.
If you want you could also coat them with cinnamon and sugar right before baking for even more flavor!
FAQ & Substitutions:
Can I make this cake gluten-free?
I haven’t tried it, but if you do I’d recommend using a 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking substitute. Keep in mind, you’ll want to sub GF flour by volume NOT by grams as it can vary based on the brand. Alternative flours such as almond, coconut, or cassava will not work 1:1 in this recipe.
What about oil-free?
Okay so I really tried to make this oil-free after a few requests, but honestly, I didn’t like it!
Technically you can sub the olive oil 1:1 in volume for additional applesauce or a plant-based yogurt, but I found it made this bundt cake too dense. The trick to a really good bundt cake is making it moist without weighing it down, and I have found the best way to do this is by using olive oil. There is just something magical about olive oil in baked goods, so if you can I recommend making this a vegan apple cake with olive oil every time!
Will this cake work with alternative sugars?
Again, I haven’t tried it, but I personally do not recommend subbing the brown sugar in this recipe. The molasses is actually the acidic ingredient needed to interact with the baking soda. If you really can’t eat refined sugar, try adding 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar to the batter to provide an acidic ingredient. However, subbing the white sugar for a granulated sugar like coconut sugar or maple sugar may work!
How do I store leftover cake?
This apple bundt cake can be sliced and stored in a closed container at room temperature for 24-48 hours and in the freezer up to 1 month. I found storing it between sheets of parchment paper works best or it sticks together.
Also, technically you can store this cake in the fridge for 5-7 days, but I don’t recommend it. Storing cakes in the fridge tends to dry them out and it won’t be as moist and delicious.
I truly hope you all love this Vegan Apple Cider Bundt Cake with Apple Cider Glaze! It’s such as fun recipe to make in Fall and is really perfect to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with loved ones. L’Shana Tovah & Happy New Year!
-TSG
Looking for more vegan cake recipes for Fall? Check out these SGTO Favorites!
Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
Carrot Walnut Cake with Cashew Frosting
Vegan Apple Cider Bundt Cake
A truly moist, fluffy, and delicious vegan apple cider cake with an apple glaze!
Ingredients
Apple Cider Cake:
- 1 ½ cups apple cider (355 ml, NOT apple cider vinegar)
- ⅓ cup olive oil (78 ml, can be subbed 1:1 with any oil)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce (76 grams)
- ½ cup brown sugar (128 grams)
- ½ cup white sugar (102 grams)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (6 grams)
- 2 ¾ cup all purpose flour (300 grams)
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch (16 grams)
- 2 tsp baking powder (8 grams)
- 1 tsp baking soda (5 grams)
- 1 tsp salt (4 grams)
- 1 tsp cinnamon (1 gram)
- ½ tsp cardamom (.5 grams)
- ½ cup diced apples ( 55 grams, apples are optional for the recipe- it is best to peel the apple skins off or rub in lemon juice)
Apple Cider Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 grams, measure then sift)
- 1 Tbsp apple cider 1(4 grams)
- ½ tsp cinnamon (.5 grams)
Instructions
- First sift together the dry ingredients including the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Next, add the wet ingredients to a larger mixing bowl including the apple cider, olive oil, applesauce, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla bean paste. Whisk together to combine.
- Add the bowl of sifted dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and whisk together until a thick cake batter forms. Please note, it is important not to overmix the batter and just mix it until large clumps or streaks of flour are gone. Then, add in the optional chopped apples and fold them into the batter.
- Let the batter rest in the bowl and preheat the oven to 350F. While the oven is preheating, lightly grease the bundt pan. I have found that greasing the pan with shortening works best, but olive oil or a non-sticky spray works too. Make sure every crevice is lightly oiled so the cake does not stick. Then, dust the pan lightly with flour. Make sure to dump out any excess flour that is not sticking to the pan.
- Once the oven is preheated, add the cake batter to the bundt pan. Before adding to the oven, tap the pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles and fill in all the crevices of the pan with batter. Then, add the cake to the oven. Bake for 38-45 minutes or until cooked throughout.
- Remove the bundt cake and let sit 10-15 minutes before inverting. I also recommend running a knife along the edges of the cake before inverting to help loosen. It is best to invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool so the bottom does not get too moist.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, make the apple cider glaze. Add the powdered sugar, apple cider, and cinnamon to a small bowl and whisk together until a thick glaze forms. The glaze should be very thick, but feel free to add up to ½ Tbsp more apple cider for a thinner glaze.
- Pour the glaze onto the cooled cake, slice, and serve!
Notes
- Leftover cake can be stored for 24-48 hours at room temperature in a closed container or up to 1 month in the freezer. Store sheets between layers of parchment paper for the best results. The cake can also be stored in the fridge for 5-7 days, however this method of storing may dry it out so it is not recommended.
- Please see blog post FAQ section for substitutions.
- This is the bundt panI used for this recipe. Nordic Ware is truly the BEST for bundt pans!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 1gSugar: 35gProtein: 4g
ShortGirlTallOrder occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although shortgirltallorder.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Sindy says
So so good! Fall in a mouthful! The bundt cake (I used a 12 cup Wilton bundt cake pan and baked it for 38mins and it came out perfect!)
came out nice and tall & wasn’t dry or too sweet (I ran out of white sugar so I only put about half of what the recipe called for – but the icing on top definitely makes up for the sweetness lost there!).
Megan Horowitch says
So glad to hear it worked even with half the sugar! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Kathleen says
If you’re looking for the best vegan Bundt cake in the world, look no further. Megan really does just make the best recipes – so user friendly, and everything has ended to so so so delicious. Make it, make yourself a cup of coffee, and enjoyyyyy.
Megan Horowitch says
Thank you thank you! 🙂
Nicole says
Can I sub arrowroot starch for cornstarch?
Megan Horowitch says
Maybe but I wouldn’t recommend it. I find arrowroot makes baked goods “gummier” vs. lighter like cornstarch. I would just sub for 2 Tbsp flour if you don’t have cornstarch.
Lori Dortch says
Not just any recipe, it’s culinary baked genius. Not only did my Apple Cider Cake turn out moist, it was deeply flavorful, capable of transporting me to my favorite fall spot in nature or fireside.
Her words are detailed, steps are easy to follow and the ingredient list won’t break the bank.
When a recipe makes you feel this confident after a first attempt, you know the writer/baker is an intentional, creative teacher.
Do yourself a winning favor (flavor) and bake this cake.
(Will be on my table this Thanksgiving)
Megan Horowitch says
Wow Lori this was truly the kindest review! Thank you so so much and of course I am just beyond happy you liked the cake :).