THE PERFECT FALL TWIST ON A CLASSIC AMERICAN CAKE! CARAMELIZED APPLES, WITH A RICH, MOIST CAKE WILL BE THE PERFECT VEGAN FALL CAKE STAPLE!
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Pineapple upside down cake is such a classic cake recipe. However, we are here to talk about a new player in the game. This vegan apple upside down cake is the cake of your fall dreams.
If you love pineapple upside down cake, or the idea of it but not a fan of pineapple, then you will also love this amazing apple version.
We use essentially the same cake from our vegan pineapple upside down cake; however, we add in some perfect fall spices and then we swap those pineapples for apples.
The result is everything of your fall dreams.
Seriously, it screams fall and everything apple spice (move over pumpkin for just a second).
Plus, if you have a party or holiday get together, it makes for such a pretty show piece.
WHAT INGREDIENTS DO I NEED TO MAKE A DAIRY FREE APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE?
You need 15 ingredients to make this deliciousness and that makes it all the more perfect! The ingredients that you need for this vegan apple upside down cake are:
- vegan butter
- brown sugar
- apple slices
- flour (can sub for GF)
- vegan sugar
- vegan shortening (usually labeled vegetarian or vegetable)
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- ginger
- allspice
- salt
- dairy free milk (we used almond, use your favorite)
- vanilla
- applesauce
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE?
To start, you are going to heat your oven to 350°F.
Then you are going to pour in your melted butter into a round cake pan. Take a little more softened butter and rub along the sides of your dish. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the melted butter.
Next, you are going to peel, core and thinly slice your apple. Layer the apple slices in a circular pattern or just lay them in the bottom, making sure they don’t overlap a lot.
Place the pan into the fridge while you make the batter (Don’t skip this step).
In a bowl, cream together the vegan shortening and the vegan sugar. Add in the milk, vanilla, and applesauce and beat again until combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Beat together, scraping down as needed.
Remove the pan from the fridge. Pour the batter over your apples.
Bake your cake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Once done, very carefully remove from the oven and immediately place a heatproof serving plate upside down over your cake pan. Then, flip the plate and pan over at the same time.
Let sit like this for 5 minutes so the caramelized mixture drizzles down over the cake. Very gently remove the pan. Best served warm.
Cake can be stored at room temperature in an air tight dish for up to 3 days.
CAN I MAKE THIS TOP 8 ALLERGEN FRIENDLY APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE?
For allergen purposes, we are looking at the milk, butter, and flour.
You can swap out the flour for Measure for Measure flour from King Arthur. (Note, we haven’t ourselves made this vegan cake gluten free; however, we’ve had successful trials working with this flour.
The butter should be soy free. Earth Balance Soy Free in the red tub is our favorite for that.
Any dairy free milk can be used. We used almond, but it you are allergic, just pick your favorite milk.
CAN I PREP VEGAN APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE AHEAD OF TIME?
This cake is best served warmed right out of the oven; however it’s still possible to make ahead.
You can make this cake 3 days in advance. Beyond that, because this cake is so moist, you risk mold growth. So, I highly recommend, especially if serving guests that you don’t make it more than that far in advance.
Just make the recipe as directed and once completely cooked and cooled, put in an air safe container and store at room temperature.
Warm when serving.
WHAT OTHER VEGAN CAKE RECIPES SHOULD I MAKE?
Just because you have food allergies or preferences, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to have great tasting desserts. We’d even venture to say that these are better than their “normal” counterparts.
First, If you love upside down cakes, you have to try our delicious Vegan Pineapple Upside Down Cake
These are some other dairy free cake recipes that you should try:
- Vegan Coconut Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
- The Best Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Lemon Pound Cake
- Try these vegan vanilla cupcakes in a cake pan
PIN THIS VEGAN APPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE FOR LATER:
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Apple Upside Down Cake
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup vegan butter, melted (but not hot)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 apple (sweet/crisp variety like Fuji)
- ⅓ cup vegan shortening
- 1 cup vegan sugar
- 1 cup dairy free milk
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ⅓ cup flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pour melted butter into a 9-inch square pan.
- Take a little more softened butter and rub along the sides of dish.
- Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the melted butter. (*See notes for alternative spiced topping)
- Peel, core and thinly slice apple.
- Layer the apple slices in a circular pattern or just lay them in the bottom, making sure they don't overlap a lot.
- Place the pan into the fridge (Don’t skip this step).
- In a bowl, cream together the vegan shortening and the vegan sugar.
- Add in the milk, vanilla, and applesauce and beat again until combined.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and salt. Beat together, scraping down as needed.
- Remove the pan from the fridge. Pour the batter over apples.
- Bake cake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Once done, very carefully remove from the oven and immediately place a heatproof serving plate upside down over cake pan. Flip the plate and pan over at the same time.
- Let sit like this for 5 minutes so the caramelized mixture drizzles down over the cake. Very gently remove the pan. Best served warm.
- Cake can be stored at room temperature in an air tight dish for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
This was delicious and my family loved it! I thought the apple on top with the spiced cake was amazing and I think I will add more next time because I went a little light for my first attempt.
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe! We’re really happy to hear that it was a hit with the family.
So delicious, especially with the “spiced” topping… the smell is heavenly and well worth the overheated house ( it’s still hot in FL) ok so if anyone’s asking, I used coconut oil because Im out of vegan butter, and homemade apple butter instead of applesauce… because I was out! Thanks for the recipe!!! Also doubled fills a 9×13 perfectly!!
So happy to hear you loved the recipe and offering up your substitutions. Thanks so much for taking time to leave a review, we appreciate that a lot. Have a great week!