Apple Spice Cake with Buttercream Frosting

This easy Apple Spice Cake will be your new favourite autumn dessert! It’s made with whole wheat flour, apple pie spice and apple cider, and topped with a vegan buttercream frosting. It’s the perfect cake to serve for Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert!

Single layer snack cakes are my favourite desserts to prepare for gatherings. They come together quickly and serve up easily. And they’re always a crowd pleaser!

My all time favourite (and reader favourite) is this vegan chai cake with orange cardamom frosting. It’s so easy to pull together and always a go-to dessert for me around the holidays.

The same will be true for this vegan apple spice cake going forward!

This cake is lightly spiced, with a soft and tender crumb, and the sweet vegan buttercream perfectly complements the taste and texture of the cake.

And if you love apple spice, you’ll also want to try these apple spice muffins!

Why you’ll love this apple spice cake recipe

• It’s a single layer cake. So you just need to frost the top. You don’t need to worry about assembling and frosting multiple layers.
• Apple flavour with just apple cider. There’s no fussing with chopping or grating apples. And you don’t need to reduce the apple cider for this recipe either.
• Dairy-free and vegan. It’s a great dessert option to offer your holiday guests who are vegan or follow a dairy-free diet.

Details on a few ingredients

Apple cider – Apple cider adds a subtle apple flavour to this cake without having to add apples or applesauce. I used fresh pressed sweet apple cider which is just pressed apples. You can use reduced apple cider (just boiled down on the stovetop) to get a more concentrated apple flavour, but to save time, I didn’t do that for this recipe.

Apple pie spice – I’m using store-bought apple pie spice with a mix of cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves. Different apple pie spice recipes have different combinations and proportions of spices so the type of apple pie spice you use may alter the taste of the cake slightly.

Cinnamon – As the apple pie spice I was using had a pronounced star anise flavour, I added extra ground cinnamon to the cake. You can reduce the amount if your apple pie spice is heavy on the cinnamon.

Coconut sugar – The caramel flavour of coconut sugar enhances the flavour of the apple cider and warm spices. You can substitute brown sugar with similar results.

Butter – To keep this recipe vegan, I used vegan butter to make the buttercream frosting and brought it to room temperature so it would whip up easily. If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan, you can use regular butter.

Powdered sugar – Also called icing sugar. You’ll need this to sweeten and thicken the frosting. If your sugar is lumpy, be sure to sift it first so your frosting turns out super creamy.

How to make apple spice cake

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda and salt.

Add in the milk, apple cider, oil and vanilla and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.

Pour the batter into a 8-inch pan lined with overhanging parchment paper and bake for 24-26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

How to make vegan spiced buttercream frosting

Add the softened butter to a mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth.

Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy. (If you want your frosting sweeter and thicker, you can add more powdered sugar. I suggest adding a few tablespoons at a time).

Add the apple pie spice and vanilla and beat again until incorporated.

Recipe substitutions

• For the nut milk, I normally use unsweetened cashew or almond milk, but you can use another type of non-dairy milk or use dairy milk for a non-vegan cake.
• If you don’t have coconut sugar, brown sugar works as a substitute in this cake.
• You can use store-bought or homemade apple pie spice. I used store-bought but here’s a recipe to make homemade apple pie spice.
• If apple pie spice is not for you or you want to change up the flavour of this cake, you can use cinnamon, pumpkin spice or chai spice.
• Instead of the vegan buttercream, you can use any kind of buttercream recipe you like or a cream cheese frosting. To keep it vegan, try a coconut whipped cream or this chocolate avocado frosting.

Make ahead and freezing instructions

Although I think this cake is best enjoyed freshly made, you can store the frosted cake, covered, in the fridge for 3-4 days.

You can also make the cake 1-2 days in advance, leave it unfrosted and store it covered at room temperature. When ready to serve, whip up the buttercream and frost the cake.

You can also make the frosting 1-2 days in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will firm up so you’ll need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before giving it a good stir and then frosting the cake.

You can store the unfrosted cake in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just let it cool completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container or resealable freezer bag before freezing it.

To defrost, keep the cake in the plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator the day before you want to serve it or leave it at room temperature for a few hours. Once defrosted, make the buttercream and frost the cake.

Frequently asked questions

Key recipe tips

• Measure flour properly. To ensure you’re adding the correct quantity of flour to the recipe, be sure to spoon and level your flour.
• Don’t over mix. This can lead to dense or gummy cakes instead of light and airy.
• Toothpick test. Oven temperatures can vary so I always test a cake for doneness by sticking a toothpick into the centre. If it comes out clean (or with just a few crumbs), the cake is ready to come out of the oven.
• Parchment paper. I lightly spray my cake pans and then line them with overhanging parchment paper. The spray helps the paper stick and the paper makes sure the cake doesn’t stick to the pan. It also helps lift the cake out of the pan for easy frosting and serving.
• Let the cake cool before frosting. If the cake is not fully cooled, the buttercream icing will start to melt as you spread it on.
• Sweeter frosting. The frosting recipe doesn’t contain as much powdered sugar as some other buttercream recipes. If you like your frosting sweeter and thicker, you can mix in additional powdered sugar.

Other easy vegan cakes

• Orange Spice Cake
• Pumpkin Snack Cake
• Sweet Potato Cake
• Banana Snack Cake
• Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake
• Chocolate Cranberry Cake
• Mini Chocolate Bundt Cakes
• Air Fryer Cake

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!

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