Updated! The mere suggestion of vegan coffee cake gives me this warm feeling of satisfaction. It’s a true comfort dessert that pleases all but the pickiest of people. And best of all, for me at least, it contains not a drop of coffee. Intended for enjoying at breakfast with a hot cuppa joe or in the afternoon with a spot of tea, coffee cake is typically a rich white cake adorned with a wonderful streusel topping, and in this case, filling.
Of course, your average coffee cake contains at least a couple of eggs and a hefty dose of dairy, but Tami Noyes, author of American Vegan Kitchen decided to share her equally indulgent recipe for vegan coffee cake.
Tami ensures us that this recipe will please all, “Moist and delicious, this coffee cake can be made a day or two ahead of time to make your Easter breakfast or brunch even easier. That is, if you hide it!”
Special Diet Notes: Around-the-Clock Vegan Coffee Cake
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, vegan / plant-based, and vegetarian.
For a soy-free, vegan coffee cake, use a sour cream alternative like Wayfare, or make your own cashew sour cream (recipe in Go Dairy Free).
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup dairy-free margarine (such as Earth Balance), diced
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup dairy-free margarine (such as Earth Balance), room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup dairy-free sour cream alternative
- 1 to 2 tablespoons plain dairy-free milk beverage (your choice of type), if needed
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the margarine, using your fingers to blend it in until it resembles peas.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil a 10-inch tube pan or a 9-inch square baking pan.
- In a blender, combine the flaxseed and water and blend until frothy and thick.
- In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and margarine. Use an electric mixer to cream them until fluffy. Add the flax mixture and the vanilla. Mix to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Add half of the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add the sour cream and remaining dry ingredients. Mix well to combine. The mixture should be thick but pourable. If it is too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons milk beverage.
- Spoon about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of the topping. Spoon the remaining batter on top and spread as evenly as possible. Sprinkle with the remaining topping.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack. If using a tube pan, remove the cake from the pan once it has cooled. If using a square pan, serve the cake from the pan.
15 Comments
Delicious! I tried this and it was a big hit!
I only used 2 tbsp of margarine the topping. The batter was very thick and didn’t pour, but it still turned out great. I also baked it for 45 minutes and then turned off the oven and let it sit for 10+ more minutes to bake the center .
The vegans and non-vegans I made it for all thought it was a tasty dish.
Brilliant! Yes, vegan batters are usually much thicker for muffins and cakes. So glad it worked out well and thanks for your feedback Lyla!
Hi,
I just wanted to say that coconut milk yogurt with a little extra almond milk really amped up your recipe nicely. Also, I don’t layer the topping, I swirl it in. It’s in the oven, but the batter tasted phenomenal!
Fabulous! Thank you for sharing your own baking notes Christina.
Did you use the yogurt in place of the sour cream alternative? I hope so because we have one but not the other! 🙂
You should be fine with dairy-free yogurt in place of the sour cream Cass.
Love the adaptation! That’s the fun part of cookbooks! Thanks for sharing and so happy you liked it.
As far as GF, I’m not a competent GF’er, but I’d guess on of the blends would work.
🙂
I didn’t have a sour cream substitute so after looking through our fridge and pantry, I decided to use a thawed blended banana along with 2 tablespoons of Biscoff spread and a little coconut oil in place of the sour cream. I held my breath because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but WOW, is it delicious!!!! Fortunately I had cut back on the sugar a little bit because the banana and Biscoff added sweetness. I also had to add some milk to thin the batter a bit. Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe. I hope you don’t mind the post to encourage people to be creative if they don’t have exactly what the recipe calls for.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing your adaptation Rebecca.
the streusel is definitely my favorite part of a coffee cake… I do not think I have had one with a filling before? I have a favorite recipe from childhood (actually called “Bishops Bread”) that I think of when I am wanting a coffee cake. I always double the streusel topping.
I am looking forward to trying this one for sure, thank you for sharing!
Me too! I hadn’t heard of that bread – will definitely be looking it up. Thanks Kristina!
It is in the cookbook The Silver Palate.
This sounds lovely! How do you think it would fare with a gluten-free flour blend?
That’s always tough to say since you really need to add some binding – but I’m sure you are used to baking without gluten and eggs!
I would use Oat flour I always get awesome results!