This vegan apple crumble cake is a dessert that I love as it reminds me a lot of actual apple crumble with the super toasty streusel topping. I love to serve this cake with warm custard but it tastes great on it's own.
Be sure to check out my vegan apple cinnamon cake and vegan apple cinnamon muffins which are two other apple classic.
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Ingredients For This Recipe
- All-purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Salted vegan butter - I used Vitalite for this recipe.
- Ground cinnamon
- Walnuts
- Large Granny Smith cooking apple - this is the best type of apple for baking.
- Soy milk
- Apple cider vinegar - mix into the soy milk to create vegan buttermilk.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Ground nutmeg
- Canola oil
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup - enhances the flavour.
How To Make An Apple Walnut Crumble Cake
Step-By-Step Instructions
For the full method and ingredient amounts, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Grease two rectangular cake tins with vegan butter.
2: Make the vegan buttermilk and let it curdle.
3: Add all the crumble ingredients to a small bowl.
4: Make the streusel. It should be crumbly like this.
5: Remove the core from the Granny Smith apple.
6: Remove the skin and then chop into cubes.
7: In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry cake ingredients.
8: Mix in the buttermilk and the other wet ingredients until smooth.
9: Fold the apples into the cake batter.
10: Pour the batter into the cake tins.
11: Sprinkle on the walnut crumble mixture and bake.
12: Let the cakes cool and serve.
Tips For Making Vegan Apple Cakes
Use Good Baking Apples
The apples that you choose to use for this recipe is a crucial step. Many apples are better suited to being baked at high temperatures than others.
Over the years, I have realised that two types of apples have stood out amongst the others when making cakes.
They are: Granny Smith apples (which are used for this recipe) and Braeburn apples which are also a great choice.
Place The Crumble Inside The Fridge
Make the streusel crumble before you make the cake batter then place it into the fridge until you need it later on.
This way, it will be nice and firm when you sprinkle it onto the cake batter.
Why You Will Love This Crumble Cake
- It is very soft and crumbly.
- There are so many flavours.
- The recipe is so easy to make.
- It is fully dairy-free and vegan.
- You can serve it with custard.
Customisations & Substitutions
Use a different dairy-free milk. I love using soy milk for most of my cakes as it contains natural binding agents such as soy lecithin but other plant milks like almond milk and oat milk also have great effects on the cakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
I love to use Granny Smith apples for this cake as I love their texture and flavour when cooked. Braeburn apples also work very well.
I often dust mine in a little flour before I add them to the batter. This can help this issue.
How To Store Vegan Apple Cakes
Store your cakes either at room temperature or in the fridge for up to three days.
Please store the cake slices inside an airtight container if you can.
More Cake Recipes
Best Ever Vegan Apple Walnut Crumble Cake
Ingredients
For the walnut crumble:
- 30 g all-purpose flour
- 25 g brown sugar demerara
- 1.5 Tablespoons salted vegan butter softened
- 0.25 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 30 g walnuts chopped
For the cake batter:
- 1 large Granny Smith cooking apple
- 200 ml soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 190 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 150 g brown sugar demerara
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 50 ml canola oil rapeseed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 177 Celsius (350F).
- Grease two 20cm x 10cm cake tins with vegan butter. Set aside until later.
Make the streusel:
- In a small bowl, mix together all the crumble ingredients. Use your hands to combine it together until the texture is crumbly.
- Cover the crumble topping and place it into the fridge until you need it.
Make the cake:
- Remove the core and skin from the Granny Smith apple then chops into 1cm cubes. Set aside.
- Next, make your vegan buttermilk mixture by mixing your apple cider vinegar with the soy milk. Let it curdle for 8 minutes. You can measure out the other cake ingredients while you wait.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir together.
- Pour in the curdled soy milk, canola oil, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Fold your cake batter until the flour is completely combined.
- Finally, fold the chopped apple cubes into the mixture.
- Pour the apple cake batter into the prepared loaf cake tins. Sprinkle the walnut streusel equally onto the top of the two cakes. Bake your loaf cakes in centre of the oven for 20 minutes. A skewer will come out of them clean when they’re ready.
- Let the apple walnut cakes cool in their tins for 15 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.
Sue says
One of the yummiest cakes I’ve ever tried! 😍