Make this moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting all autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl and 20 minutes prep. The recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing.

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

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Gluten-free paleo vegan applesauce cake recipe

Add this healthy applesauce cake recipe to your fall baking list, because tis the season for apple recipes! Vegan applesauce cake is another classic recipe that was inspired by my grandmother’s baking. I took her old-fashioned applesauce recipe and change a few ingredients to make it vegan, refined sugar free, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly.

Even if you aren’t following a specific diet, you will love this delicious healthy flour-less applesauce cake.

And you have to try it with vegan cinnamon maple frosting! The moist applesauce cake contrasts nicely with the decadent paleo icing, making one of the best applesauce cake recipes I’ve ever had. The gluten-free cake also freezes well, making it a great batch cooking recipe.

This healthy applesauce spice applesauce cake is also a delicious treat for bake sales and an excellent food gift idea for friends, co-workers or helpful neighbours.

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

Old-fashioned applesauce cake with raisins

My grandma’s recipe for a applesauce raisin cake. The raisins provide sweetness and a lovely change in texture when you take a bite. The dried fruit also allows to cut back on sugar and make this applesauce cake low carb.

Some people do not like raisins. So, if you prefer applesauce cake without raisins, simply leave them out of the recipe or use dried apricots or cranberries instead.

I used homemade applesauce and apple pie spice mix to bake this real simple applesauce cake. Of course, you can easily use store-bought unsweetened applesauce and a pre-made spice mix. Make sure the applesauce is unsweetened – otherwise the cake will be very sweet.

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

How to make applesauce cake

This scrumptious gluten-free vegan applesauce cake is super easy to make! Here are the simple steps:

Prep work

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C / gas mark 4 and line a 12 in x 8 in / 30 cm x 20 cm baking pan / tin with parchment / baking paper.

Make the applesauce cake batter

Cream the palm shortening and maple sugar with an electric mixer. Then add the apple pie spice and applesauce and mix to combine. If you want to make a paleo applesauce cake with an egg, add it now and incorporate well.

Tip: I used palm shortening in the vegan applesauce cake, which has a neutral taste and is spreadable even refrigerated. If using coconut oil, allow it to soften on the counter for a bit. The oil shouldn’t be liquid just soft enough to be creamed.

Add the baking flour, baking powder, and raisins. Stir to combine.

Bake the applesauce cake

Transfer the vegan cake batter into the baking pan / tin and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until cooked through. Everyone’s oven is different so the exact baking time can vary. The grain-free paleo applesauce cake is done, when an inserted cake tester or skewer comes out clean.

Let the cake cool before icing, as the frosting will melt on warm cake.

This cinnamon maple frosting is vegan, paleo, gluten-free and most of all super simple! The vegan icing is a great addition for fall and Christmas baking and can be used to frost cakes, loaf cakes, or cupcakes and to ice cookies. The easy and quick frosting recipe only requires 4 ingredients is ready in 10 minutes. #frosting #icing #maplefrosting #cinnamonicing #maple #cinnamon #vegan #paleo #paleo #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

How to make the cinnamon maple frosting – Easy icing for applesauce cake

This cinnamon maple frosting is vegan, paleo, and most of all super simple! You can make the vegan cinnamon frosting while the applesauce cake is baking.

I used maple sugar and  palm shortening, which can be substituted for softened coconut oil. If you don’t like the coconut flavour, use refined coconut oil. Maple sugar gives this gluten-free frosting recipe a rich caramel-maple taste. I don’t think maple syrup would work here, as the liquid will change the consistency and texture too much. You can, however, sub maple sugar for coconut sugar or brown sugar if not paleo.

I love a flavourful spice frosting and added 2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon apple pie spice. But you can adjust the amount to your taste and use less, e.g. 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice.

How to make maple cinnamon icing

  • In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the shortening, maple sugar, cinnamon, apple pie spice and vanilla extract.
  • Whip on high for 8 to 10 minutes until soft and fluffy. Beating the frosting for longer than 5 minutes creates an airy and smooth texture.
This cinnamon maple frosting is vegan, paleo, gluten-free and most of all super simple! The vegan icing is a great addition for fall and Christmas baking and can be used to frost cakes, loaf cakes, or cupcakes and to ice cookies. The easy and quick frosting recipe only requires 4 ingredients is ready in 10 minutes. #frosting #icing #maplefrosting #cinnamonicing #maple #cinnamon #vegan #paleo #paleo #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

Paleo vegan applesauce cake substitutions

You can customise the recipe depending whether you want your healthy flourless applesauce cake to be vegan, paleo, or vegan and paleo. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

Tip for the best applesauce cake recipe

I truly want you to enjoy the best applesauce cake! I tested this cake recipe with applesauce many times and found that:

  • a vegan gluten-free applesauce cake works best if gluten-free flour is used (won’t be paleo)
  • a paleo applesauce cake turns out best if 1 egg is added to the batter (won’t be vegan)
  • a vegan paleo applesauce cake without eggs and made with paleo baking flower is slightly more dense and crumblier than the other versions above but still very delicious.

How can I customize this applesauce spice cake?

If you want to create some flavour variations for this applesauce raisin cake, here are a few suggestions how you can customize this easy applesauce cake recipe:

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

How do you store vegan applesauce cake?

If you want to store the gluten-free cake recipe only for a day, store the cake bars on a plate covered loosely with plastic wrap / cling film or tin foil.

To store vegan applesauce spice cake longer than a day, put the paleo cake slices into an airtight food container so that the cake doesn’t dry out. Applesauce cake will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze applesauce cake?

Yes, you can freeze this dairy-free applesauce cake with icing or without it.

If unfrosted, cut the vegan applesauce cake recipe into bars and wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap / cling film or tin foil. Then place in a storage container or freezer bag. To warm it up, heat the unwrapped cake in the oven or microwave.

Before you freeze applesauce cake with frosting, chill the cake in the refrigerator so the icing can harden before wrapping and being frozen. Iced applesauce spice cake has to defrost in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a couple of hours. Heating would melt the frosting, so I don’t recommended it.

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

Tools to make applesauce cake

Tab or click the links below to shop the tools used to make this applesauce cake recipe:

More healthy recipes with apples

With autumn in full swing, why not try more delicious and healthy apple recipes? I just can’t get enough of healthy apple desserts, so here are a few more recipes with apples you can try:

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com
Yield: 16 servings

Vegan Applesauce Cake with Cinnamon Maple Frosting - Gluten-Free Paleo

The best moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting for autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo spiced applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl. The quick recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce cake and vegan icing. With almond and coconut flour. Grain free, flourless, no eggs, no butter. #applesauce #applesaucecake #vegan #vegancake #paleo #paleocake #glutenfree | countryhillcottage.com

Make this moist vegan applesauce cake with raisins and cinnamon maple frosting all autumn! Learn how to make easy gluten free paleo applesauce cake from scratch with one bowl and 20 minutes prep. The recipe tastes like grandma’s old-fashioned cake and you can’t go wrong with this healthy flourless applesauce spice cake and vegan icing.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Instructions

How to make applesauce cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C / gas mark 4.
  2. Line a 12 in x 8 in / 30 cm x 20 cm baking pan / tin with parchment / baking paper.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the palm shortening and maple sugar until light and fluffy.
  4. Mix in the applesauce and apple pie spice. If using an egg, add it now.
  5. Add the baking flour and raisins and mix slowly until just combined.
  6. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared baking pan / tin and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.
    Start testing the doneness after 30 minutes. The applesauce cake is done, when an inserted cake tester or skewer comes out clean.
  7. Let the cake cool before icing, as the frosting will melt on warm cake. 

How to make cinnamon maple frosting

  1. Add the shortening, maple sugar, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and vanilla extract into a
    large mixing bowl.
  2. Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with the whip attachment, cream the ingredients together on low for one minutes.
  3. Increase the speed to high and whip fluffy, for 8 to 10 minutes.

Finish the applesauce cake with frosting

  1. Once the applesauce cake is cooled, spoon the frosting over the cake and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula. Optionally, use the spatula to create swirls.
  2. Cut the cake into 16 bars.

Notes

Paleo Baking Flour

I make my own paleo baking flour from scratch by combining 1 1/2 / 150 g / 5.3 oz cups
blanched almond flour with 1 1/4 cups / 150 g / 5.3 oz cassava flour, and 1/2 cup / 55 g / 2 oz cup coconut flour. This gluten free flour recipe makes 3 1/4 cups / 300 g / 10.8 oz flour. You only need 2 cups / 240 g / 8.5 oz for this recipe, so save the leftover for other paleo baking recipes.

Cassava flour can be substituted with tapioca flour /starch.

Alternatively, use grain-free paleo baking flour from Bob’sRed Mill or from King Arthur Flour. If you don’t need this to be paleo applesauce cake, gluten-free flour can also be used. Try Bob’s Red Mill, Cup4Cup or KingArthur.

How do you store vegan applesauce cake?

If you want to store the gluten-free cake recipe only for a day, store the cake bars on a plate covered loosely with plastic wrap / cling film or tin foil.

To store vegan applesauce spice cake longer than a day, put the paleo cake slices into an airtightfood container so that the cake doesn’t dry out. Applesauce cake will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze applesauce cake?

Yes, you can freeze this dairy-free applesauce cake with icing or without it.

If unfrosted, cut the vegan applesauce cake recipe into bars and wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap / cling film or tin foil. Then place in a storage container or freezer bag. To warm it up, heat the unwrapped cake in the oven or microwave.

Before you freeze applesauce cake with frosting, chill the cake in the refrigerator so the icing can harden before wrapping and being frozen. Iced applesauce spice cake has to defrost in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a couple of hours. Heating would melt the frosting, so I don’t recommended it.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 305Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 240mgCarbohydrates: 27gNet Carbohydrates: 0gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 2g

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