This version of traditional German apple cake (apfelkuchen) is vegan friendly and made with spelt flour. Topped with cinnamon, this vegan German apple cake is a perfect Autumn indulgence. Most importantly, in true German apple cake fashion, this recipe retains the soft and moist crumb and develops a perfect caramelized sugar ring around the edge (so good)!
My family grew up with many German traditions thanks to my very German father. As such, we ate traditional German fare, including Apfelkuchen (apple cake) on occasion. The smell of apfelkuchen, apricot dumplings, chamomile tea, and sauerkraut will always bring me back to my youth, a happy time filled with lots of German comfort foods.
While there are certain German foods I can't exactly make vegan friendly, apple cake is easy enough to do and it's sure to please any nostalgic palette. My dad thoroughly enjoys this cake; I like to think it reminds him of "the old country" as he calls it!
This version is made with spelt flour which adds fiber and a slight nutty flavour to this simple, yet beautiful vegan apple cake. Most importantly, in true German apple cake fashion, this recipe retains the soft and moist crumb and develops a perfect caramelized sugar ring around the edge (so good). Note that the batter for this recipe is thick; as a result, you will need spread the batter into your pan somewhat.
Enjoy this vegan German apple cake with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream or whipped cream on the side. This cake is also perfect on it's own with a cup of tea or coffee.
Guten appetit xx
Want more recipes like this one?
If you like this recipe, check out my other favourite apple recipes!
Vegan German Apple Cake [Apfelkuchen]
This version of traditional German apple cake (apfelkuchen) is vegan friendly and made with spelt flour. Topped with cinnamon sugar, it's a perfect Autumn indulgence. This recipe varies slightly from the YouTube version in that it uses flax meal instead of egg replacer powder and spelt flour instead of all purpose flour.
Ingredients
- 2 Medium-large Gala Apples, peeled, cored and cut lengthwise into ¼" slices
- ½ Cup vegetable Oil
- ½ Cup Organic Cane Sugar
- 2 tablespoon flax meal + 4 tablespoon water, mixed together
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ½ teaspoon Almond extract
- 1 ¼ Cups Spelt flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger root power
For the Topping
- 2-3 tablespoon Organic Cane Sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375' F. Line the bottom and lightly grease an 8" round spring-form pan. Set aside. Combine the flax meal and water and let stand for 5 minutes.
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In a large bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, sugar, almond milk, almond extract and flax mixture. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and ginger. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
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Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and arrange the apple slices in concentric circles on top. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the cake making sure to cover the entire surface.
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Bake the cake in the preheated oven for approx 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let the cake stand for 10 minutes before unmolding. Use a knife and gently run around the edge of the cake to help it release. Cool completely before serving.
Emily says
Made this cake today and it was wonderful!
I only needed one apple and the top of my cake was quite sufficiently covered. Also, I used all of the sugar recommended for the top, and it is perfect. However, mine is much sugarier than the one pictured.
Heidi Richter says
I'm so happy to hear you like the recipe, Emily! Yes, the size of the apple(s) will determine how many you may actually need...I can imagine how beautiful it must have looked 🙂
Emily says
Such a lovely cake! Surprisingly low fuss for how pretty it is, and the almond with the ginger is so nice. I used einkorn flour because I was out of spelt, and whether because of that substitute or my measuring, my batter was a little thin. So the apples sunk into the cake a little more and the middle sunk, but it baked through and was tender and delicious. I could do with slightly less sugar in the batter, but I worry the lovely crackly outside wouldn't bake up the same. Look forward to trying it with spelt next time--is 195 grams still the amount you would use, as in your comment above?
Heidi Richter says
HI Emily! My apologies for the late reply; my comment filter was set too high and your message was sent to spam. Yes, that is the amount in grams that I use for this recipe.
Ebony says
Should you store this in the fridge or can you put it in a cake stand container. making tonight 🙂
Heidi Richter says
Hi Ebony! I've kept it in the fridge in the past, however, it can also be kept covered in a cake stand. Let me know how you like the recipe 🙂
Kristin says
I made this cake for our parents who are German and it was really good. They enjoyed it. Thank you for the recipe and I will keep this one for their next visit.
Heidi Richter says
That's wonderful! Thank you for sharing your feedback, Kristin!
Gijs says
Hi!
I'm making this now and there is an inconsistency in you recipe. In the ingredient listing you speak of baking powder, but later in the instructions you say baking soda...! Which is it?
Heidi Richter says
Hi Gijs! It should read baking powder. My sincere apologies for the inconsistency in the direction listing. I will ensure this is corrected! Thank you for pointing that out.
Susan says
Delicious and super easy!
Heidi Richter says
Thanks, Susan! So happy to hear you like it!
Lauren says
I made this last night and used 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour because I didn't have any spelt. My springform pan is also 9" instead of 8" but I still cooked it for ~50 minutes and it turned out beautifully! So simple yet delicious and impressive looking.
Heidi Richter says
I'm so happy you like it, Lauren! And thank you for sharing your success with all purpose and whole wheat flour!
Yaryna says
Salve!Avrei tanto piacere di provare questa ricetta,se potresti indicare le dosi degli ingredienti in grammi e ml?Sarei molto grata!
Heidi Richter says
Hello Yaryna! I'm sorry I didn't include measurements in grams, however, this is a helpful list for doing the conversions yourself https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart
In future I plan to include gram measurements for all my recipes 🙂
Heidi Richter says
Ciao Yaryna! Mi dispiace di non aver incluso le misure in grammi, tuttavia, questo è un elenco utile per eseguire le conversioni da solo. In futuro ho intenzione di includere misurazioni di grammi per tutte le mie ricette.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart
Lara says
Loved how fast+easy it came together! The smell and taste are spot on - like my German grandma used to make ?
Heidi Richter says
I'm thrilled to hear the feedback, Lara! Thank you so much!
Pen says
Fantastic recipe! It was sticky, gooey and tasted like Christmas. I subbed the white sugar for coconut sugar.
Heidi Richter says
I so happy to hear it, Pen! Thank you so much for making my recipe 🙂
Diane says
Hi! I absolutely love this cake! I’ve made it 3 times and it’s perfect every time! Earned some brownie points from the German in-laws too! If I wanted to double the recipe what size baking tin would you recommend? Thanks xx
Heidi Richter says
Thank you so much for the feedback, Diane! So happy to hear it. Hmm, that is a good question and I'm not entirely sure which size tin would be best for doubling the recipe. You could opt to make it in a rectangular pan perhaps a 9x13? Let me know if you give it a try!
Natalia says
I am sorry, you use cup measure and i do not understand how big is the cup and how many grams are inside? Using your link for conversions it gives me 1 cup of spelt flour = 99 grams. so for this cake needs 1 1/4 cups = about 124 grams. But it is too less for this cake I think. Normally I use around 300 gr of flour for such dimension of cake. So I do not know how to cook it(((
Heidi Richter says
Hi Natalia! Thank you for the question and I am endeavoring to update my recipes to all include weight measurements. For this recipe, 1 1/4 cups of spelt flour equals about 195g. The cake itself is not tall, so it may seem like not enough flour.
Shruti Shah says
I made this amazing cake in the morning today and it turned out absolutely fabulous!! I am not a baker and I am always skeptical as my cakes never turn out as cake at all!
But this recipe is absolutely perfect to the tee and I loved it! Thank you so much for making lives easy for people like me who cannot bake at all. I would love to try other recipes too!
Thank you once again
Heidi Richter says
I am so very happy to hear it, Shruti! Your comment made my day 🙂
Nanou says
I add more apple less sugar on the top and it was amazing thanks
Heidi Richter says
Thank you for the feedback, Nanou! I’m so happy it turned out for you!
Julia says
Hi! The recipe written here and the YouTube video have different recorded measurements and I was curious which ones are accurate. In the youtube video it says 1 cup flour and 1 tablespoon baking powder but here on your blog it is 1 1/4 cup flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder? I have been eyeing this cake recipe for a while and am very eager to make it correctly!
Heidi Richter says
Hi Julia! Both recipes are accurate, however, the blog version was changed slightly from the YouTube version in that it uses flax meal instead of egg replacer powder and spelt flour instead of all purpose flour. This was done due to my new preferences to use spelt flour in baking, however, feel
free to use either version you like 🙂
Cynthia L Erbentraut says
Do you think it is possible to replace the vegetable oil with coconut oil? And could you use whole wheat flour instead of spelt?
Heidi Richter says
Hi Cynthia! Great question! Yes, you can use melted coconut oil in equal measure and whole wheat flour can be used for spelt flour 🙂
Allyriia says
Hi! Could I use all-purpose flour instead? I don't live in a country that has spelt flour or it is not found easily here. I'm eager to try your recipe for my brothers: birthdays!
Heidi Richter says
Hi Allyriia! Yes you could use all-purpose flour, however, I would suggest reducing the amount of almond milk by about 1 tbsp or so; all-purpose flour absorbs less liquid than spelt of whole wheat flour 🙂
Tracy says
LOVE this cake! Thank you so much for posting!
Any tips for making gluten free? I've tried replacing with oat flour and it tends to turn out a bit dry... I was thinking about trying with all-purpose gluten free flour, but wondering if you had any thoughts! Thanks so much, your recipes are delicious!!
Heidi Richter says
I'm so happy to hear that, Tracy 🙂 I actually haven't tried the recipe with any GF flour, but please let me know if you give it a go and how it works out. Thank you again for the lovely feedback!