Vegan Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cake

This vegan cinnamon apple upside down cake is a moist and flavorful cinnamon cake topped with thinly sliced brown sugar coated apples. Warm, cozy, and loaded with the flavors of fall, this vegan apple cake is sure to be a fall favorite.

After making pineapple upside down cake this past spring, I understood what all the fuss was about when it came to making an upside down cake.

The cake was beautiful as presented, needed nothing else added to make it wonderful, and stayed moist for days.

I knew after the pineapple upside down cake, I would be making different upside down cakes based on the season and what fruits we had on hand. As someone with toddlers who love to pick out different colored apples at the store, I found myself with an abundance of green apples.

While I could sit and eat an apple a day, I would much rather slice up the apples and pop them on top of a simple, flavorful, and oh so moist vegan apple upside down cake.

Why We Love Vegan Apple Upside Down Cake

There’s not much you would need to do to get me to indulge in a slice of cake. This vegan apple cake has become a frequently requested cake in our home because its:

• Quick to get in the oven. It takes about 10 minutes of prep work before you bake this beauty up.
• Made with pantry-staple ingredients. We pretty much have everything you need for this recipe on hand in the kitchen at a moments notice.
• Moist for days. This is one of those cakes that you don’t feel like you need to eat the whole thing in one sitting or it will be ruined.

Vegan Changes to Apple Upside Down Cake

There are three main ingredients to take into consideration when you are making this vegan upside down cake.

• Plant-based butter. The base of this vegan cake uses plant-based butter sticks to cream with the sugar.
• Non-dairy milk. I used oat milk as a milk replacement to keep it both vegan as well as tree nut free.
• No eggs. A mixture of apple cider vinegar and baking powder give this eggless cake rise.

How to Make Vegan Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Vegan Butter– Used in both the topping of the cake as well as the base of the cake.
• Cinnamon brown sugar– Coats the pan before placing the sliced apple topping.
• Apple– Peeled and thinly sliced, I prefer to use a green apple for this topping.
• Non-dairy buttermilk– A mixture of non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar help the cake stay moist as well as give the cake rise when combined with the baking powder and baking soda.
• Flour– All purpose works great in this recipe.
• Spices– A blend of baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt give flavor and rise to the cake.
• Vanilla– For a boost of flavor.
• Sugar– White granulated sugar sweetens the vegan cinnamon cake.

Step-by-Step Directions for Apple Upside Down Cake

• Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F and pour melted plant-based butter into a 9-inch cake pan.
• Make cinnamon brown sugar: In a small bowl stir together brown sugar with ground cinnamon.
• Add to cake pan: Sprinkle the cinnamon brown sugar mixture over the melted vegan butter in the cake pan.
• Line with apple slices: Press thinly sliced apple pieces into the brown sugar mixture to coat the bottom of the pan in apple slices.

• Make vegan buttermilk: In a liquid measuring cup mix together non-dairy milk with apple cider vinegar. Set to the side for at least 5 minutes.
• Mix dry ingredients: In a medium sized mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

• Add vanilla: Mix vanilla into the apple cider vinegar mixture.
• Cream butter + sugar: In the base of a stand mixer cream together room temperature vegan butter with granulated sugar.
• Pour in half the liquids: Add half of the liquid measuring cup mixture into the stand mixer and beat together.

• Mix in half the dry: Next add the flour mixture into the batter slowly.
• Add remaining liquid: Finally, pour in the remaining liquid measuring cup mixture and mix until just combined.
• Pour and bake: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.
• Cool: Allow the cake to cool completely before flipping out of the pan onto a plate or cake stand.

Flipping Out an Upside Down Pineapple Cake

Thanks to copious amounts of vegan butter this vegan cinnamon apple cake should slip right out of the pan.

• Once you have a cooled cake, run a butter knife or rubber spatula around the rim of the cake pan.
• Next, place a plate or cake stand with the flat side covering the top of the cake, bottom side facing you.
• Pick up the plate topped cake pan then place one hand on the plate while the other hand holds the pan.
• Flip the plate topped cake pan so the plate is now on the bottom and the cake pan base points up.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

When you are ready to make this delicious and moist vegan pineapple upside down cake, here are some kitchen tools you might find helpful along the way.

• Cake Pan– Used to assemble the topping of the cake and also provide a space to bake the cake.
• Liquid Measuring Cup– Perfect for mixing and pouring the vegan buttermilk mixture.
• Cake Plate– Holds and serves the cake after baking.

Serving Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cake

Look, a warm slice of this cake is honestly as good as it gets for me. If you want to try to take it up a notch, pair this vegan cake with:

• Homemade vegan whipped topping using either- Country Crock, Califia Farms, or Silk Heavy Cream Alternative
• Vegan vanilla ice cream
• A warm proffee latte
• Drizzled with a little salted caramel

Storing Apple Upside Down Cake

This delicious and moist vegan cinnamon apple upside down cake is best stored in the refrigerator. Place the cooled cake inside of an air-tight storage container and keep chilled up to 3 days after baking.

Apple Based Recipes to Make This Fall

Craving more apple based goodness this fall? Here are some of my favorite apple based goodies to make as the weather cools off.

• Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread
• Vegan Apple Galette
• Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

If you tried this vegan cinnamon apple upside down cake recipe please let me know in the comments below!

You can also share a picture of it with me on Instagram by tagging @mylifeafterdairy so I can see all of your life after dairy adventures!

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Vegan Cinnamon Apple Upside Down Cake

Print Recipe

Tender cinnamon apples top a moist cinnamon flavored cake in this vegan apple upside down cake recipe. Made with plant-based ingredients, this simple apple upside down cake, takes a fall flavored twist on a delicious fruit topped cake.

• Author: Annie
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 Tablespoons Plant Based Butter, Melted
• ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
• ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 Green Apple, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 ¾ cup Non-dairy Milk, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• ½ cup Plant Based Butter, room temperature 
• 1 ½ cups Flour, all-purpose
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ¾ cup Sugar, granulated

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Melt ½ cup of plant based butter and pour into a 9-inch cake pan.
3. In a small bowl stir together ⅓ cup brown sugar with ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
4. Sprinkle the cinnamon brown sugar mixture over the melted vegan butter in the cake pan.
5. Press thinly sliced apple pieces into the brown sugar mixture to coat the bottom of the pan in apple slices.
6. Set the prepared pan to the side while you make the vegan cake batter.
7. In a liquid measuring cup mix together 1½ cup non-dairy milk with 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Set to the side for at least 5 minutes.
8. In a medium sized mixing bowl stir together 1 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.
9. Mix 1 teaspoon of vanilla into the apple cider vinegar mixture.
10. In the base of a stand mixer cream together ½ cup room temperature vegan butter with ¾ cup granulated sugar.
11. Add half of the liquid measuring cup mixture into the stand mixer and beat together.
12. Next add the flour mixture into the batter slowly.
13. Finally, pour in the remaining liquid measuring cup mixture and mix until just combined.
14. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.

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