One-Bowl Vegan Apple Cake with Olive Oil and Cinnamon Sugar Top
A tender vegan apple cake made in one bowl with olive oil, brown sugar and almond milk, loaded with diced apples and baked under a crackly cinnamon sugar lid.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 50 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Serves
- 12
One-Bowl Vegan Apple Cake with Olive Oil and Cinnamon Sugar Top is a vegan dessert recipe made with unsweetened almond milk, apple cider vinegar, olive oil. It takes 70 minutes of hands-on time, plus 30 minutes resting, serves 12, and each serving has 265 calories, 2 g of protein and 2 g of fiber.
This is a snacking cake, not a layer cake: olive oil keeps the crumb moist for days and gives it a soft, fruity background that pairs well with apples and cinnamon. Almond milk soured with apple cider vinegar reacts with the baking soda for lift without eggs, and packing the batter with three cups of diced apple means the fruit does most of the moistening work. The cinnamon sugar scattered on top before baking melts into a thin, crackly lid — don't stir it in.
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup180 gunsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp15 gapple cider vinegar
- ½ cup108 golive oil
- 1 cup221 gbrown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp8.4 gvanilla extract
- 2 cups250 gall-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp9.2 gbaking powder
- ½ tsp2.3 gbaking soda
- 1½ tsp3.9 gground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp0.6 gground nutmeg
- ½ tsp3 gfine sea salt
- 2 large473 gfirm apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups), Honeycrisp, Braeburn or Granny Smith all hold their shape
Cinnamon sugar top
- 3 tbsp41 gbrown sugar, for the top
- 1 tsp2.6 gground cinnamon, for the top
- ⅓ cup39 gwalnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
Kit: 9-inch square baking pan, large mixing bowl, whisk, parchment paper, wire rack
Tips
- Use a fruity but mild extra-virgin olive oil; a sharp, peppery one will dominate the apples.
- Dice the apples no larger than 1/2 inch so they cook through in the same time the cake sets.
- Spoon and level the flour rather than scooping — a packed cup can add 30g and dry the cake out.
- The cake is even better on day two, once the apple moisture has redistributed through the crumb.
Swap ideas
- Swap the almond milk for oat milk or soy milk
- Soy milk curdles most thickly with the vinegar and gives a slightly richer crumb; oat milk makes it a touch softer.
- Use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar in the batter
- Deeper caramel flavor and a darker crumb, with slightly less moisture — check for doneness at 45 minutes.
- Replace 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour
- Nuttier and sturdier; add 2 tbsp extra plant milk to keep the batter spreadable.
- Swap the nutmeg for 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- Brighter, more aromatic spice that leans away from classic American apple pie flavor.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
265kcal per serving
Everything else · 12 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 1.3 g 7%
- Sugars
- 25.6 g
- Sodium
- 249 mg 11%
- Potassium
- 108 mg 2%
- Calcium
- 102 mg 8%
- Iron
- 1.4 mg 8%
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg 2%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Beverages, almond milk, unsweetened, shelf stable, Vinegar, cider, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Sugars, brown, Vanilla extract, Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached, Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate, Leavening agents, baking soda, Spices, cinnamon, ground, Spices, nutmeg, ground, Salt, table, Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program)
Method
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides, and lightly oil any exposed pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the almond milk and apple cider vinegar together and let sit until it looks slightly thickened and curdled, about 5 minutes.
Whisk the olive oil, brown sugar and vanilla into the soured milk until smooth and no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt directly on top. Stir with a spatula just until no dry flour is visible — the batter will be very thick, and overmixing makes it tough.
Fold in the diced apples. The fruit will loosen the batter as it goes in; keep folding until every piece is coated.
Scrape into the pan and smooth the top. Stir the topping brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and scatter it evenly over the surface, along with the walnuts if using. Do not stir it in.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden and springs back when pressed lightly, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Tent with foil if the top darkens before the center sets.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before lifting out by the parchment and slicing into 12 squares — the crumb is fragile while hot.
Storage: Keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days (bring slices back to room temperature, or warm 15 seconds in the microwave). Freezes well: wrap individual slices and freeze up to 2 months, thawing at room temperature.
Questions
- How much protein is in one-bowl vegan apple cake with olive oil and cinnamon sugar top?
- Each of the 12 servings has 2 g of protein, 2 g of fiber and 265 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is one-bowl vegan apple cake with olive oil and cinnamon sugar top vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does one-bowl vegan apple cake with olive oil and cinnamon sugar top take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 50 minutes of cooking, so 70 minutes of hands-on time, plus 30 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make one-bowl vegan apple cake with olive oil and cinnamon sugar top ahead?
- Keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerate up to 5 days (bring slices back to room temperature, or warm 15 seconds in the microwave). Freezes well: wrap individual slices and freeze up to 2 months, thawing at room temperature.
- What can I substitute in one-bowl vegan apple cake with olive oil and cinnamon sugar top?
- Swap the almond milk for oat milk or soy milk — soy milk curdles most thickly with the vinegar and gives a slightly richer crumb; oat milk makes it a touch softer.. Use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar in the batter — deeper caramel flavor and a darker crumb, with slightly less moisture — check for doneness at 45 minutes.. Replace 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour — nuttier and sturdier; add 2 tbsp extra plant milk to keep the batter spreadable.. Swap the nutmeg for 1/4 tsp ground cardamom — brighter, more aromatic spice that leans away from classic american apple pie flavor..
- Does one-bowl vegan apple cake with olive oil and cinnamon sugar top contain gluten or tree nuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 21, 2026 ·American