If you love apple cider donuts, then you will love this vegan apple cider donut cake! It makes an amazing fall sweet brunch option or a dessert!
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Apple Cider Donuts are one of the best fall creations ever; however, we are kicking it up another notch with this absolutely amazing vegan apple cider donut cake!
Apple Cider Donuts are becoming more and more popular; however, they are a classic in the Northeastern United States. They are handheld little craters of joy, but today we are giving you all the classic flavors in the form of a cake.
It is stunning, especially when made in a bundt cake and can be a real showstopper for anything you are hosting.
What ingredients do I need to make Vegan Apple Cider Donuts?
There are two parts to this recipe. The actual donut recipe and then the topping. The ingredients that you need to make these easy vegan donuts are:
- flour – The star of the show, we only used all-purpose flour here because we wanted this recipe to be as accessible as possible for everyone.
- vegan sugar – Cane sugar is what we are using. If you want to learn more about why your sugar may not be vegan, you can learn more by clicking on the link.
- brown sugar – the molasses in brown sugar helps with a different variety of sweetness but also moisture as well
- spices – we are making this an apple spiced cake so we use things like cinnamon and nutmeg to give the best flavor
- apple cider – to get the most intense flavor of apple cider we highly recommend buying local when possible, but any apple cider will do
- apple cider vinegar – Acid helps tenderize gluten and therefore making a softer cake.
- unsweetened applesauce – helps to keep the apple taste but also replaces the eggs in a vegan cake
- vegan butter – this helps with moisture but also so the topping with stick to the cake once cooled
Substitutions and Variations:
- flour – you could also use cake flour for this recipe
- sugars – you can only use cane sugar if that’s all you have; alternatively you can try with coconut sugar
- apple cider – for a change of flavor try another cider like pear cider and swap the applesauce for pureed pears
- apple cider vinegar – another acid like white vinegar or lemon juice may also be used
- unsweetened applesauce – any fruit puree will work like pumpkin, sweet potatoes, or even bananas. Just be mindful that bananas will give a banana flavor. Dairy free yogurt can also be used
Frequently Asked Questions:
Once made, the cake be store in an air tight container at room temperature. It will last 5-7 days stored this way.
There is flour, dairy free milk, and dairy free butter in this recipe.
If you are completely Top 8 Free, use an alternative dairy free milk like oat or hemp for this recipe. Otherwise, just use one that works for your family.
For the dairy free butter, you want one that is also soy free. We prefer Earth Balance soy free in the red tub or Flora!
While we have not tried gluten free flour with this recipe, we would recommend using King Arthur Measure for Measure flour. We have had the best results with this flour.
If you don’t wait for this to cool then the topping will warm and soak into the cake instead of being crunchy on top. This is why we highly recommend waiting.
Yes! Let cool completely and then slice as desired. Freeze in a freezer safe for container. Use within 3 months.
What other vegan cake recipes should I try?
If you love cake then you’ll love even more cake recipes! Here’s a few ideas:
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Black Forest Cake
- Easy Vegan Coffee Cake
- Layered Lemon Cake
- Vegan Caramel Cake
All the recipes above are vegan, dairy free, and egg free. Some can be made Top 8 Allergy Friendly.
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Vegan Apple Cider Donut Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegan cane sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 ½ cups apple cider
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping
- 4 tablespoon unsalted vegan butter, melted
- ⅓ cup vegan cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a bundt pan (or a 9×13 cake pan).
- In a large bowl, add the flour, both sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Whisk together.
- Add in apple cider, applesauce, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla. Use a spatula to fold together, just until combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 15-20 minutes to cool then invert onto a cooling rack. Let cake cool completely
- When completely cooled, melt the butter in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining topping ingredients together.
- Brush on the melted butter and then sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar topping.
I’m really looking forward to making this in a few weeks for a Thanksgiving potluck at work, but I do have a question. What size Bundt pan is recommended?
standard 10-cup bundt pan