Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake

Welcome to a delightful autumn-inspired treat that captures the essence of the season—my Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake! This cake is a celebration of warm spices and the tart sweetness of fresh cranberries and crisp apples, making it the perfect addition to your fall gatherings or a cosy afternoon at home.

Not only is it entirely plant-based, but it also brings together wholesome ingredients that create a moist, flavourful dessert everyone will love. Whether you’re a dedicated vegan or simply looking to indulge in a deliciously fruity cake, this recipe promises to fill your kitchen with inviting aromas and your heart with warmth. Let’s get baking and bring a slice of autumn to your table!

What you need

• eating apples, cored and sliced
• lemon, juiced
• self raising flour, sieved
• baking powder
• caster sugar
• cinnamon
• mixed spice
• apple sauce
• non-dairy milk of choice
• sunflower oil (or any flavourless oil)
• vanilla extract
• dried cranberries

How to make spiced apple and cranberry cake

Start by preheating the oven to 200°C or400°F. Then line and grease the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin.

Prepare your apples ahead of getting stuck into making the cake mix. Core and then slice the apples thinly, and use a little lemon juice over them to stop them from browning.Next, add the sieved weighed out flour to a large bowl with the remaining dry ingredients of baking powder, caster sugar, cinnamon and mixed spice.Once we have our dry ingredients, we can weigh out our wet ingredients, including apple sauce, non-dairy milk, sunflower oil, vanilla extract and lemon. Add these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine to make the batter.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared cake tin. Distribute the apple slices and cranberries evenly on top (the cranberries can be optional, as in these photographs you’ll see I actually forgot to add them at this point).

Then spoon over the remaining batter on top. Don’t worry if they’re not fully covered, as the cake rises and puffs up. Scatter a few apple slices on top for decoration if you like. Note that if you add apple slices on top, this will weigh the cake down a little and stop it from rising as much. If you want a more fluffy cake, skip this step.

Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake is golden brown. Check with a skewer to make sure it’s fully cooked (but bear in mind the apples may be a little juicy when you test the cake).

When fully baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 5-10 minutes and then place on a cooling rack. Once fully cooled, sieve a little icing sugar on top of the cake and serve with a spoon of ice cream or custard.

Fancy something sweet?

• Italian Lemon and Raspberry Olive Oil Cake
• Vegan Nutella Cheesecake
• Vegan Jaffa Cakes
• Best Ever Baked Vegan Apple Fritters

Did you make this spiced apple and cranberry cake recipe? Take a photo, tag me @MadeleineOlivia and hashtag it #MadeleineOlivia. I love seeing your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Tiktok.

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Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake

Welcome to a delightful autumn-inspired treat that captures the essence of the season—my Spiced Apple and Cranberry Cake! This cake is a celebration of warm spices and the tart sweetness of fresh cranberries and crisp apples, making it the perfect addition to your autumn gatherings or a cosy afternoon at home.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Servings 8

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

MetricUS Customary

Ingredients

• 2 eating apple (cored and chopped in 2cm chunks )
• ½ lemon (juiced )
• 225 g self raising flour (sieved )
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 120 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• 45 g apple sauce (I used shop bought )
• 150 g non-dairy milk (I used oat milk )
• 100 ml flavourless oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 25 g dried cranberries
• Icing sugar (for sieving )

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 200°C-400°F. Then line and grease the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin.
• Prepare your apples by coring and thinly slicing, and squeezing a little lemon juice on top to stop them from browning.
• Add the sieved flour to a large bowl with the remaining dry ingredients.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and add to the dry ingredients. Combine to make a batter.
• Place half of the batter into the prepared cake tin. Spread the apple chunks and cranberries evenly on top (saving a few apple slices if you want for decoration on top).
• Then spread the remaining batter on top. Don’t worry if they’re not fully covered, as the cake rises and puffs up. Optionally, add a few of the saved apple slices to decorate the top of the cake. Note that if doing this, the cake won't rise as much as the slices will weigh the cake down a little, so either skip or make sure not to add too many apple slices for decoration.
• Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and cooked through. Check with a skewer to make sure it’s fully cooked (but bear in mind the apples may be a little juicy when you test the cake).
• Remove from the oven, leave to cool in the tin for 5-10 mins, and then place onto a cooling rack to fully cool.
• Sieve a little icing sugar on top and serve up on its own or with some vanilla ice cream or custard.

Video

Notes

Notes. Keep an eye on the top of the cake, if it is looking golden enough before the end of cooking, just lay a piece of foil over the top to prevent it browning further.

Nutrition

Calories: 176kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 37mgPotassium: 74mgFiber: 1gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 80IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 0.5mg

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