Vegan coffee cake, yes please! Coffee cake is an undisputed classic cake, and this one can be made in one bowl with no milk, eggs or dairy. It's moist with a delicate crumb and a crumbly streusel topping, everything a great coffee cake should be.
Along with my easy vegan cinnamon rolls and apple turnovers, coffee cake is one of my favorite brunch dishes. It's perfect for the holidays, or even for a lazy weekend breakfast. It's simple to make and everyone enjoys it.
This coffee cake is the American version, which typically consists of a flat sheet cake with a streusel crumb topping. In contrast to European coffee cakes that actually use coffee as an ingredient, a traditional American coffee cake contains no coffee. It's a sweet cake that's intended to pair well with a good cup of coffee.
This ubiquitous cake is so popular across the USA that you can find it everywhere from high end bakeries to Costco. And now, you can make your own vegan coffee cake that's equally as good without all the dairy.
Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
✅You only need 10 simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry to make this vegan coffee cake.
✅You can make this cake in one bowl with only about 10 minutes hands-on time. It's easy!
✅Despite having no milk, eggs or butter, this vegan coffee cake is just as moist and delicious as any coffee cake made with dairy.
✅This is a great recipe for a holiday brunch menu.
Ingredients
- Soy Milk: I like to use soy milk for all my vegan baking projects. It has the highest protein content of all the plant based milks.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: We'll be using apple cider vinegar and soy milk to make a vegan buttermilk. The vegan buttermilk will act as an egg replacer . In addition, it adds a nice tangy flavor that balances out the sweetness. In many traditional coffee cake recipes sour cream is used to balance the sugar, but vegan buttermilk does the trick nicely!
- All Purpose Flour: I've used all purpose flour in this recipe instead of cake flour, because it's what most people have in their pantry and I like to make accessible recipes. I've tested it both ways and couldn't see a difference.
- Sugar: We'll be using regular white granulated sugar in this recipe. If you're among the subset of vegans that avoids sugar because you live in a part of the world where it's potentially processed with bone char, I can't recommend a substitute. I would note that Peta says this of sugar, "Don’t stress too hard about sugar if you’re unsure about how it was produced. You’re saving more than 100 animals per year by following a vegan lifestyle, and the effect will snowball as people around you, inspired by your choices, may start trying vegan meals once you’ve shown them how easy it can be." It' really a personal choice, but I haven't tested coconut sugar or any unrefined sugars in this recipe. If you try it, do let me know in the comments though!
- Baking Powder: Baking powder is the leavening agent we'll be using.
- Salt: Salt has a chemical function in baking. It binds to the gluten in flour, strengthening it so that it doesn't tear when the cake rises. It also enhances all the other flavors. While you can make a salt free cake, I don't recommend it.
- Vegan Greek Style Yogurt: This makes the cake moist without adding too much sweetness. Applesauce works well here too, but I find the result too sweet.
- Vegan Butter: When baking vegan cakes, muffins and cookies, I always recommend using vegan butter that comes from a block, not a tub. Spreadable butters that come in a tub have a higher water content.
- Vanilla: Cake is just not cake without vanilla! Choose a great quality vanilla extract and you'll really notice the difference in the flavor.
How To Make Vegan Coffee Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350° F (175° C). Grease and lightly flour an 8x8 inch baking pan.
- Make your vegan buttermilk by combining the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a cup or small bowl. Set aside.
- Make the streusel crumb by combining the brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Sift your flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Add your vegan buttermilk, melted vegan butter, vegan Greek style yogurt and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix until most of the lumps are gone. Be careful not to over mix.
- Pour half of the coffee cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture. Pour the remaining cake batter on top and spread it evenly across the top of the streusel layer with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining half of the streusel over the top of the cake.
- Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegan butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Keep a close eye on the coffee cake. If the streusel is starting to get too dark, cover the pan loosely with foil and continue baking until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow your cake to cool in the pan for 15 min.
- Enjoy!
Baker's Tips And Suggestions
🧡I always suggest using a scale to measure ingredients for any baking project, especially for vegan baking. If you need a handy grams to cups table have a look at my post.
🧡Sift the dry ingredients, don't just mix them with a whisk. In cooking school, they actually tell you to sift dry ingredients 3 times! While I wouldn't say you need to go that far, some bakers are perfectionists, and sifting ensures that all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the batter.
🧡Let your vegan coffee cake cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing it. I know it's tempting to dig in, but vegan cakes need a chance to firm up if you want the pieces to stay fully intact.
🧡Grease and flour your baking pan. This coffee cake has a brown sugar center, which caramelizes and sticks to the sides of the pan. For the easiest release of the cake from the pan, use butter and a bit of flour.
Frequently Asked Questions
It will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days. You should store it in a cake tin or an airtight container. If you want it to last longer, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up 5 days.
Yes, you can. Allow the cake to cool fully. Wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap and store in a freezer safe container or plastic bag for 2-3 months. To defrost, leave the coffee cake in the plastic wrap and transfer it to the fridge. It should be defrosted the next day. Alternatively, you can leave it to defrost at room temperature for two hours. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
Most cakes will dry out if not stored properly. To keep coffee cake moist, cover it in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Craving More Easy Vegan Dessert Recipes?
Apple Cake (Eggless, Vegan and Dairy Free)
How To Make A Vegan Bundt Cake
Creamy Vegan Biscoff Cheesecake
Ultimate Biscoff Butter Cookies
Eggless Almond Cake With Orange Glaze
📖 Recipe
The Best Vegan Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Vegan Buttermilk
- 1 cup soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Dry Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegan Greek style yogurt *I used soy
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons vegan butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Grease and lightly flour an 8x8 inch baking pan.
- Make the vegan buttermilk by combining the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a cup or small bowl. Set aside.
- Make the streusel crumb by combining the brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the vegan buttermilk and the rest of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until most of the lumps are gone. Be careful not to over mix.
- Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture. Pour the remaining cake batter on top and spread it evenly across the top of the streusel layer with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining half of the streusel over the top of the cake.
- Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegan butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Keep a close eye on the coffee cake. If the streusel is starting to get too dark, cover the pan loosely with foil and continue baking until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 min.
Notes
- Vegan coffee cake will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days. You should store it in a cake tin or an airtight container. If you want it to last longer, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up 5 days.
- To freeze, allow the cake to cool fully. Cut into individual pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and store in a freezer safe container or plastic bag for 2-3 months. To defrost, leave the coffee cake in the plastic wrap and transfer it to the fridge. It should be defrosted the next day. Alternatively, you can leave it to defrost at room temperature for two hours. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
Fiona
I can't see any coffee in the ingredients.
Fiona
Sorry just read that American coffee cake doesn't contain coffee
Keri Bevan
Hi Fiona, That's ok! It's called coffee cake because it's meant to be eaten with coffee. A bit like an English teacake. I hope you enjoy the recipe.x