This fresh apricot cake recipe is our take on the traditional Austrian apricot cake known as Marillenkuchen. The juicy fruit and fluffy sponge make this vegan apricot cake a must try.
You'll love this vegan apricot cake because...
- It's super apricot-y!
- It's an iconic and beloved traditional bake in Austria
- The apricots on top go soft, sweet and juicy
- It's oh so moreish
- It's perfect for sharing (if you can resist keeping it all for yourself!)
This vegan apricot cake is probably our favourite way to enjoy apricots. It’s super indulgent and fruity and you just can’t get enough of it.
We made this apricot cake for our own wedding, that’s how much we love this cake. We hope you will love it too!
Apricots in Austria
Did you know Austria is famous for apricots? In Paul’s home region, the Wachau valley along the Danube, they grow in abundance.
Their white blossom carpets the valley in spring, and in summer, if the weather has been kind, the trees are bursting with juicy, orange apricots.
And so, of course, Austria has many traditional recipes for apricots. And we just love to veganise them.
There’s Marillenmarmelade, a delicious apricot jam, and sweet apricot dumplings called Marillenknoedel.
But Marillenkuchen is always the first thing we love to make! Instead of baking it in a cake tin, this apricot cake is cooked on a baking sheet or tray.
This way you can maximise the space for all that yummy, juicy fruit on top!
Ingredient Tips
There’s a secret ingredient in our delicious vegan apricot cake… Can you guess what it is?
Apricots! Wait… what? That’s right, apricots – not just on top, but in the batter too.
Using apricot puree in the cake gives this yummy Austrian dessert great flavour, but also the rich and moist texture of a traditional Austrian Marillenkuchen - without the need for eggs.
Plus the puree gives a wonderful orange colour to the cake itself, don’t you think?
Use the more bruised and soft apricots in the puree, while leaving the more beautiful and firm ones to put on top.
The fruit size of apricots can vary from one variety to another, and weather and climate also have an effect. Small apricots can simply be cut in halves and put on the cake.
With larger apricots we actually recommend you cut them into quarters instead, so the cake cooks more evenly and you avoid pools of juice on it.
Sparkling water really helps the vegan apricot cake get a light, fluffy texture.
The cake batter has to be a bit on the wet side so you can spread it out on the baking sheet evenly. Sparkling water works best for this, and the extra bubbles make the cake rise perfectly.
Apricot cake is traditionally oil based, and the ratio of oil to other ingredients is actually rather low. A neutral oil like sunflower or vegetable oil is a good choice.
Step by step pictures
Step 1 - Blend a part of the apricots into fine puree. Blemished and bruised ones are perfect for this!
Step 2 - Whisk in the sugar and oil.
Step 3 - Add the sparkling water and gently whisk or stir it in.
Step 4 - Mix the flour and baking powder and combine with the wet mix into a smooth batter.
Step 5 - Spread the batter out on a lined baking sheet and top it with apricots.
Step 6 - Bake the apricot cake, then sprinkle with icing sugar while it’s still hot!
Variations and tips
Other fruit - You can make this cake with other fruit. Stone fruit like plums or cherries work well, but you might want to strain out bits of skin after pureeing them.
Without apricot puree - To skip the apricot puree, use an additional amount of sparkling water equal to half the weight of the puree (e.g. 100ml instead of 200g), like we do in our vegan plum cake recipe.
Tin size - You don’t need to bake this cake on a large baking sheet. The recipe is flexible enough to be baked in various sizes and shapes of cake tins. It might turn out a bit thicker, so adjust cooking time accordingly.
As a rough guide, our recipe makes about two 8-inch (20cm) square or two 10-inch (25cm) round cakes. It’s also easy to halve the recipe for just one small cake - just use the serving adjustment in the recipe card.
Serving and storing
This cake is usually served on its own, it’s delicious enough as it is. Just dust with icing sugar (if there isn’t enough on it already!)
In Austria you might have it with some coffee in the afternoon, or simply any time of day as a little sweet treat! That’s how most of it gets eaten in our house.
Once it’s cooled down completely, keep the cake in an airtight container for up to three days. In warm climates, keep it in the fridge.
Freeze it
This apricot cake freezes exceptionally well - so you can enjoy its delicious fruitiness all year round, when apricots are out of season.
Cut it into large portions and stack them into sealed bags. You can cut the cake directly with the greaseproof paper, to keep layers separate when stacked.
Before sealing the bags, squeeze as much air out as you can without squashing the cake.
The cake keeps for 6-12 months in the freezer. Thaw it either at room temperature, or - what we like to do - reheat it in the oven at 120°C (250°F) for about 15 minutes.
Thanks for visiting Vegan on Board! Come back soon and try these other vegan summer recipes:
Our Summer Pudding which is full of yummy berries
This Vegan Biscoff Ice Cream because cookies + ice cream = YUM!
And if you’ve still got some apricots left, these Vegan Apricot Dumplings
Happy baking!
Paul and Sophie
Vegan Apricot Cake - Marillenkuchen
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 cup) apricot puree
- 150 g (2/3 cup) sugar
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) sparkling water
- 100 ml (7 tbsp) vegetable oil
- 280 g (2 1/4 cups) plain white flour or self-raising
- 4 tsp baking powder half if using self-raising flour
- 20 - 24 small (12 large) apricots
- 2 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
Apricot Puree
- Use a blender or food processor to make the apricot puree out of destoned apricots.
Cake batter
- Whisk together apricot puree, sugar and oil in a mixing bowl.
- Add and gently whisk in the sparkling water.
- Mix the baking powder into the flour.
- Whisk together the flour mix and the wet puree mix to form a smooth batter.
- Add a splash more water if the batter seems a bit too thick to spread.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 180°C on fan (350°F, gas mark 4-5).
- Destone and halve the apricots to go on top. For large apricots, cut them into quarters.
- On a large baking sheet (12 x 16 inch, 30 x 40 cm) lined with greaseproof paper, spread out the batter into a uniform layer, covering the whole sheet.
- Lay the top of the cake with rows of halved or quartered apricots. Gently press down bigger pieces.
- Bake for 25 - 30 min.
- Check the cake after 25 minutes. The cake is done when it has browned a bit, the apricots are soft and juicy and a cake needle stuck in the batter beween the fruits comes out clean.
- Fresh out of the oven, sprinkle the cake generously with icing sugar. It will melt on the moist fruit.
Oana says
This is a great cake, thanks for the recipe. Simple, rustic and so good. Perfect way to use up the apricots from my grandmother's orchard.
Sophie and Paul says
Thanks Oana! We are glad you like it. Your Grandmother's orchard sounds wonderful, happy apricot picking. If you are looking for more apricot ideas, then we adore this apricot jam. Also have you tried just grilling apricots, they are amazing! Sophie
Aga says
Can I make this cake in a round tart pan?
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Aga, yes I think that would work. Line or grease the base and sides first. Sizewise this recipe fills a whole baking sheet (approx 40cm by 30cm) so you will want to adjust the quanity down to suit the pan size. You can use the servings slider in the recipe card to automatically calculate the quanities for you.
We hope you love the cake as much as we do!
Sophie
Katey says
Yesterday, I baked your Marillenkuchen with yellow and red Pluots instead of apricots, a cross between plums and apricots. I used oat milk in place of sparkling water/soy milk. It was delicious and a huge hit!
Have you baked your plum Kuchen using plum purée instead of the Aquafaba?
My parents live in Bregenz, Austria and are lucky to visit them often with our children. We live in Southern California.
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Katey,
Thanks so much for your lovely comment 🙂 We're delighted the cake was a hit! <3
We've never heard of pluots before! Sounds amazing! Do you make jam from them as well? Or pluot powidl?
We have not tried it with plum puree instead of aquafaba, but that was before we discovered how well fruit puree works for the apricot cake! 😉 We'll try when we make our next plum cake 🙂 We think it should work just as fine though.
Good to hear it worked with oat milk. We make our own oat milk - much easier than making soy milk - so we'll definitely give that a go next time.
Bregenz is really gorgeous in the summer, right next to the lake...
Love from England to California,
Sophie and Paul
Janik Bastide says
Have you tried making this gluten free? Might it work with oat flour? Thanks!
Sophie and Paul says
Hi Janik, We haven't tried a gluten free version. I'd recommend trying a blend of gluten free flours rather than just oat. 1/4 tsp xanthan gum per cup of flour can also help in gluten free baking. If you want to try out a smaller batch of cake to see if it works out, then you can adjust the serving size in the recipe and it will automatically calculate the ingredient amounts for you. We'd love to know how you get on if you do try 🙂 Hope that helps! Sophie