Fresh Apple Cake Recipe (Easy Dairy-Free Version)

This sweet, unassuming fresh apple cake was shared with us from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts from the Moosewood Collective. It has been adapted slightly to be dairy free, since many of the recipes in this book do contain dairy.

Fresh Apple Cake Recipe (dairy-free version + a vegan option)

Special Diet Notes: Fresh Apple Cake

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.

For an egg-free and vegan apple cake, you can substitute 1/3 cup applesauce for the eggs and increase the baking powder to 1 1/8 teaspoons. Alternately, you can substitute 2 powdered egg replacers for the eggs.

Fresh Apple Cake

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

This recipe was adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts by The Moosewood Collective, Clarkson N. Potter Publishers, NY, NY, 1997.

Author: The Moosewood Collective

Serves: 9 servings

Ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar (can substitute coconut sugar for less sweet)
½ cup melted dairy-free buttery spread (can substitute coconut oil or another baking oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs (see post above for egg-free / vegan option)
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled, chopped apples (about 1 large)
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9x9-inch baking pan.
Place the brown sugar and buttery spread in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture in your mixing bowl and stir to combine. The batter will be stiff. Fold in the apples, lemon juice, and zest.
Scrape the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Leftovers will keep, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerate or freeze individual slices to enjoy later.