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

You can make your own walnut butter at home if you have walnuts and a food processor/high powered blender! However, if you’re unable to make some, you can use almond butter or double the amount of vegan butter (in the crumble) and oil (in the cake).

If your kitchen is very cold, you can keep it for 1-2 days at room temperature, but I recommend storing this in the fridge due to the moisture from the apples.

I haven’t tested this with any gluten-free flours, but you can try using an all purpose gluten-free flour like Bob’s Red Mill*. You may need to add more flour or less milk depending on how absorbent the flour is.

I love using stewed apples since they get really soft and jammy, but if you want a little more crunch, you can use 1 large fresh apple, diced small and tossed in 1 tbsp brown sugar + 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp flour. You may need to bake the coffee cake a little bit longer due to excess moisture from the apples.

More Apple Flavored Treats!

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!