October 16, 2019
(last updated November 14, 2020) 
This vegan Italian apple cake is a perfect for when you need an elegant dessert that’s easy to prepare. Great for last-minute entertaining!
Like many people, I associate autumn and the holiday season with apple pie. Yet cake is my one true dessert.
Longtime blog readers know a little bit about my cake obsession. It ranges from PB & J swirl cake to banana cake, chocolate pear cake to cherry upside down cake.
During the holiday season, I love gingerbread cake and cinnamon spice cake. Sometimes I indulge the craving for carrot cake, or I put my jars of applesauce to use in applesauce cake.
But I’ve never made a simple apple cake, and it’s time for that to change.
This lovely autumn dessert is my tribute to torta di mele, a classic Italian treat that’s decorated with apple slices. The apples are pushed into the batter from the top, which creates a lovely pattern.
This recipe is also my tribute to La Cucina Italiana, a digital and print publication that celebrates Italian cuisine and a love of Italian culture.
The online site features many healthy Italian recipes. When I was asked whether I’d like to contribute a vegan dish, it was an easy yes! I love Italian food, and I haven’t made too many traditional Italian desserts at home.
Oftentimes, when I make desserts with apple, I go heavy on cinnamon, clove, and other holiday baking spices.
When I was reading up on torta di mele, I learned that the cake itself is usually very simple, with lemon zest as the main flavor note. I tried to honor that here, using the same cake batter formula that has become the base of nearly all of my cakes and the zest and juice of a large lemon.
Many torta di mele recipes have a dusting of confectioners’ sugar on top. Hilariously, I ran out to the grocery store in driving rain to get some when I photographed this recipe.
But, once the cake was made, I thought that the top looked too pretty to tamper with at all. You can use some decorative sugar if you like, or you can leave it “naked,” as I did. Here’s the recipe.
I’m always looking to learn more about foods from around the world. Italian cuisine is more familiar to me than most, since half of my family is from the Mediterranean, but I’m not an expert, and I’m always eager to discover more traditional recipes.
I’m enjoying perusing the healthy Italian recipes on La Cucina Italiana, and I hope I can continue to get inspiration there for both dinner and dessert.
In the meantime, I’m savoring slices of this simple autumn cake with the Italian roast coffee that friends gave to me this past summer. It’s a new favorite, exactly the kind of treat I love, and I hope some of you will love it, too.
Happy Hump Day, friends. I’ll see you this weekend for the usual roundup!
xo
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I made it with coconut cream and lime instead of lemons and it turned out great! Loved this recipe.
So happy that you liked it, Brooke!
It was a very nice cake, i only added some almond essence and cookie-spice mix. And replaced a third cup of flour with custard ( powder).
Loved it!
Yay! I’m glad to hear you liked it 🙂
I made this cake for thanksgiving, and it truly was a dream. the batter came together super easily, and it was really fun to decorate with the apple slices. It has a nice, strong vanilla flavor, and the lemon juice/zest and olive oil add some really bright, fruity notes which are lovely. It’s a no-fuss cake that is absolutely divine.
I’m so happy to hear that it was a hit, Grace 🙂
hey this cake looks fab, im looking around my pantry and am missing baking powder, could i just use self raising flour as a sub?? advice would be appreciated, i want that cake 😀 thanks
I think it should be ok, Cay! Let me know how it goes.
Do you think this would work with gluten free flour or do you have another recommendation for making this gluten free?
This cake turned out perfectly fluffy and delicious. I will definitely bake this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad!
This cake is delicious and so light and fluffy! I only had about half a cup of sugar left at home but it turned out perfect. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
5 stars. (Where does that go?) Long story, but I made two of these cakes today. One regular and one using 1-to-1 GF flour. Both turned out well, and looked remarkably similar. To get as much browning as you did, I put them under the broiler for a nanosecond. But so happy that my GF friends got to partake in the same dessert the rest of us were having. I agree, no powdered sugar necessary.
I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Tastes very good. My family loved it. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so glad!
I made this and it turned out perfectly! I used unsweetened almond milk, followed the recipe precisely and it was as delicious as it was beautiful. I served it with a decadent, full fat vanilla bean coconut yogurt (has more of a custard texture) and it was absolutely to die for. I will definitely make this again. Total showstopper, but so easy to make!
The way you served it sounds absolutely lovely! So glad you enjoyed.
Yum! this cake looks so moist! i love the techniques you use for this recipe
Gena, this looks fabulous, and reminds me of my ancestry. I love the idea of apples and lemon instead of the traditional spices and I also love the fruit pressed into the batter. I’ve been seeing that here and there lately–maybe a fig cake you posted in one of your Weekend Reading recipes–that presses fruit right into the batter. I tried it with banana bread, slicing a banana lengthwise and pressing it in and was pleased with the results. I agree these apple slices baked in look lovely as is. So pretty! (And yes, tha sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar is pretty standard in Italian baked goods! I loved looking at the site too. Made me smile. Thanks!! xo
It’s one of my favorite desserts in a while, Maria! I’ll have to try the pressing technique with banana now—I love banana desserts, too 🙂
I wonder if you could reduce or eliminate the oil in your recipe and use apple sauce instead. It is a common substitution and I think would not change the character of the cake.
Hi Mark,
I sometimes use a mix of applesauce and oil to reduce the fat. I think it might affect the texture a little, but I agree that it likely would not change the character! I’ll have to try it sometime 🙂
G