Easy Vegan Apple-Nut Cake with Pudding

Apples are one of those foods you'll find in the supermarket in loads of varieties all year round. Their main season, though, runs from August to November. And even though they're THE quintessential fruit in Germany (on average, about 20 kilograms of apples are eaten per person each year, source: the German Federal Centre for Nutrition), we've only published two apple cake recipes on our blog so far: our sunken apple cake and our glazed apple cake. So it's high time for a new recipe — ideally as simple as possible.

This vegan apple pudding cake definitely falls into the category of: tastes like a lot of work, looks like a lot of work, but is actually super simple. And a little fun fact: Julia actually isn't a pudding fan at all. She's just not into that sweet, slippery texture so many people love — but even she enjoyed this cake!

What Makes This Cake So Simple?

1. We use the same dough for both the shortcrust base and the streusel, so there's no need to make two separate doughs. For the streusel, we just set aside a small portion of the dough and mix in a few chopped nuts.

2. The shortcrust dough doesn't need to chill forever. It just needs to sit in the fridge until everything else is ready.

3. The cream is really just vanilla pudding — no agar agar or anything like that needed.

What Should You Watch Out for When Baking?

1. We did try it without peeling the apples to make this recipe even easier, but it's worth peeling them — that way, they turn out nice and soft.

2. When making the pudding, soy milk is your best bet. Yes, other plant-based milks can work too, but unfortunately not all of them. We tested several milk alternatives, and soy milk was the clear winner. If your pudding doesn't thicken while cooking, the cream won't set properly during baking either. That's because certain components in some plant-based milks (for example, the enzyme amylase found in some oat milks) break down the starch in the pudding powder.

3. If you have a nut allergy, you can of course leave out the nuts and just use a bit more flour instead.

4. And one more little tip: the more flavorful your apples, the tastier the cake will be. So go ahead and grab your all-time favorite apple variety.

More Streusel and Shortcrust Love

If this recipe has left you craving even more streusel: our vegan crumble buns with custard filling are the perfect next crispy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside snack. And if you want to practice getting the perfect shortcrust pastry, take a look at our basic vegan short-crust pastry recipe.

With all that settled, we wish you lots of fun baking!