Apple Walnut Coffee Cake (Vegan)
This vegan apple coffee cake features jammy stewed apples layered in a whole wheat and walnut-infused cake topped with a walnut crumble!
Why We Love This Vegan Apple Walnut Coffee Cake
- Lower in Sugar and Saturated Fat: There are 13 grams of added sugar and 1 gram of saturated fat per slice. It’s just sweet enough (in my opinion – but you can add a glaze if you want it a little sweeter!), so you can taste the sugar but also the apples and spices in the cake.
- Layers of Flavor: The walnut-infused cake is layered with cozy spiced apples and topped with a cinnamon walnut crumble!
- Cozy and Perfect for Fall: I don’t know about you, but nothing screams fall more to me than apples, walnuts, and cozy spices (except maybe pumpkin).
- Easy to Make: No fancy mixing techniques here, just the simple muffin method – mix dry and wet separately, then fold together.
Key Ingredients
- Apples ⟶ I love using my stewed apples for this coffee cake! They create a soft, jammy apple layer in between the cake.
- Walnut Butter ⟶ Instead of using walnut pieces, this recipe uses walnut butter in the cake and crumble to really infuse the walnut flavor throughout. Though you could add some walnut pieces to the crumble or cake if you want a little crunch!
- Cinnamon ⟶ Cinnamon and apples are a perfect match and make this coffee cake extra cozy and flavorful.
- Brown Sugar + Granulated Sugar ⟶ I like to use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar in the cake, but you can just one if you’d like. I love the molasses flavor of brown sugar, but using all brown sugar can make the cake too dark.
- Vegan Butter + Oil ⟶ Using vegan butter in the crumble helps it stay more firm over time, while an oil-based version would be a little softer. However, we want the cake to stay soft and moist, so oil is preferred here.
- Applesauce ⟶ For moisture, binding, and more apple flavor.
- All Purpose Flour + Whole Wheat Flour ⟶ I like to use half and half for a little extra nutrition, but you can just use all purpose flour if you’d like. I don’t recommend using all whole wheat flour as the cake will be denser, and the whole wheat flavor can overpower the apples and spices.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda ⟶ These are our leavening agents which help the cake rise. Adding baking soda helps the cake brown better on the edges.
- Vinegar ⟶ Some acidity to react with the baking soda and make the cake a little more tender.
Tips for Success
Don’t over-mix ⟶ Too much mixing overworks the gluten in the flours, resulting in a dense and tough cake. This batter will be thick, so I don’t recommend using a whisk as it will be difficult to stir. Instead use a silicone spatula to fold the dry and wet ingredients together, just until there isn’t any dry flour left.
Prep stewed apples the day before ⟶ While you can use fresh apples (see FAQ), I love the soft, jammy texture of stewed apples in this cake. But you don’t want to make them right before baking the cake, since you don’t want the stewed apples to be hot when you add them. So make them the day before or at least a couple hours in advance.
Prep walnut butter the day before ⟶ You can get by without this ingredient too, but it adds a lovely nutty, toasty flavor that I hope you try at least once! Just like with the stewed apples, you don’t want to be adding hot walnut butter to your cake batter. So make it the day before or a couple hours in advance.
Apple Walnut Coffee Cake FAQ
More Apple Flavored Treats!
- Apple Chia Pudding
- Wholesome Apple Crisp
- Cinnamon Apple Bread
- Apple Pie Snickerdoodles
- Caramel Apple Crumb Cake
If you try out this recipe, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Apple Walnut Coffee Cake (Vegan)
Ingredients
Crumble
- ½ cup (60g) oat, all purpose, or whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup (48g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp (26g) vegan butter melted
- 2 tbsp (30g) walnut butter1 or more vegan butter
Cake
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp (105g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp (105g) whole wheat flour or more all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (48g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ cup (120ml) soy milk
- 1½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup (120g) applesauce
- 1 ½ tbsp (17g) brown sugar
- 2 tbsp (26g) vegetable, canola, avocado, or other neutral oil
- 2 tbsp (30g) walnut butter1 or more oil or melted vegan butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ cups
stewed apples2
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Make the streusel by combining flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pour over the melted butter and walnut butter and stir with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.Tip: If your streusel seems too moist still, add an extra 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour.
- For the cake, whisk dry ingredients in a bowl (all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon).Tip: Sift the baking powder and baking soda into the bowl since these tend to clump.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk the wet ingredients (soy milk, vinegar, applesauce, brown sugar, oil, walnut butter, and vanilla extract).
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold together just until no dry flour is left.
- Spread half the batter into your lined baking dish. Top with stewed apples, then spread the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle crumble all over.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with some moist crumbs (but not uncooked batter).
- Place the baking dish on a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes in the dish. Use the parchment paper to carefully remove the cake from the baking dish and place on the wire rack to finish cooling.
- Store the cooled coffee cake in an airtight container. It can be stored at room temperature for the first 24 hours, but for any longer than that it should be refrigerated or frozen.
Notes
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