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This Vegan Coffee Cake is a fluffy and sweet treat with an irresistible cinnamon sugar crumble topping and filling. The perfect dessert or sweet breakfast to pair with a cup of coffee or tea! Vegan, Nut-Free.
This Vegan Coffee Cake Recipe puts a dairy- and egg-free twist on the classic dessert or breakfast treat. It’s moist, fluffy, and easy to make with plant-based baking staples. Topped and layered with a brown sugar cinnamon crumble, this cozy treat is a must-have next to your coffee in the morning or for dessert.
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Cozy Cake for Your Coffee Break
If you’re looking for an excuse to eat cake for breakfast, this Vegan Coffee Cake Recipe is for you. Featuring a fluffy vanilla-scented crumb, a cinnamon sugar crumble topping, and a sweet and gooey cinnamon swirl in the middle, it’s the ultimate treat to pair with a cup of coffee or tea. I can’t think of a better way to start the day!
The funny thing about coffee cake is that it isn’t actually made with coffee. It’s only called that because its warm and cozy flavors complement coffee, tea, and espresso so well. This makes it the perfect dessert to serve with the after-dinner tea and coffee or a sweet treat to enjoy with your latte in the morning.
Ingredients for Crumb Coffee Cake
Typically, you need eggs, butter, and sour cream to make a classic coffee cake recipe. But just like my Carrot Cake Coffee Cake, we’re using simple substitutions to make a vegan dessert that’s just as moist and delectable as the traditional! Here are the key items you need:
- Flour: all-purpose flour is all you need to make a light and fluffy coffee cake.
- Vegan Butter: melted salted vegan butter adds moisture to the crumb and helps the cinnamon crumble on top and in the middle melt in your mouth.
- Sugar: both cane sugar and brown sugar are needed to sweeten the cake and crumble.
- Applesauce: it’s a substitute for eggs that keeps the cake light, moist, and sweet.
- Cinnamon: because it wouldn’t be a coffee cake without cinnamon. It’s what makes it taste almost like coffee!
How to Make Vegan Coffee Cake
- Combine the soy milk and vinegar in a glass measuring cup to make the “buttermilk”. Set it aside to curdle.
- Use a fork to mix the flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl for the crumble. Place it in the fridge.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Create a well in the center, then pour in the wet ingredients. Gently stir to combine.
- Transfer half of the batter to the baking pan and sprinkle 1 cup of the crumble on top. Pour in the remaining batter, then top with the remaining crumble.
- Bake the coffee cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set it aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, whisk the icing ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle it over the cooled coffee cake, then slice and serve.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- A baking scale will be your best friend in the kitchen: Measuring cups are okay, but they’re nowhere near as precise as a scale. Plus, it will leave you with fewer dishes to clean up! If you don’t have a scale, spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level off the excess with a knife. This is the second best way to avoid adding too much flour to the batter.
- It’s okay if there are lumps in the batter: By only gently stirring the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until there are no dry flour streaks left behind, you’ll end up with a moist, light, and fluffy cake.
- Divide the batter into two bowls: I like to divide the cake batter into two bowls to make layering easier, but you don’t have to do this!
Serving Suggestions
The whole reason it’s called “coffee cake” is because it pairs so well with coffee and tea. This means you’re almost obligated to enjoy a sweet slice for breakfast! No worries if you aren’t a sweet breakfast person, though—you can’t go wrong with a slice (or two) for dessert instead.
If you’re looking for more comforting vegan cakes to serve with coffee, you’ll also love this Wholesome Vegan Apple Cake, this Healthy Carrot Cake, and these Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops!
How to Store Leftover Coffee Cake
The leftover coffee cake will stay moist and fresh for up to 3 days at room temperature, 1 week in the refrigerator, and 2 months in the freezer.
Before storing, wait for the cake to cool completely. I recommend keeping the cake or individual slices in an airtight container if you’re storing it at room temperature or in the fridge. If you plan on freezing the cake, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap before storing it in a freezer-safe container or bag.
Transfer the frozen cake to the fridge or the kitchen counter to thaw before serving.
Substitutions and Variations
- Salted Butter Substitution: Use unsalted butter or refined coconut oil (it’ll make the cake slightly drier) instead. If using these substitutes, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon in the cake batter and add a generous pinch to the crumble.
- Non-Dairy Milk Substitutions: Soy milk is the best option when making vegan buttermilk because its higher protein content helps it curdle well. If you don’t have soy milk, almond milk or oat milk may work instead, but the cake may not rise as much.
- Gluten-Free Option: I haven’t tested this recipe with anything other than all-purpose flour and cannot recommend any alternatives. Let me know if you give it a try with a gluten-free flour blend instead.
- Applesauce Substitute: While I haven’t tested it, one mashed ripe banana should work well as a substitute for the applesauce.
- Optional Mix-Ins: Fold up to 1/3 cup of walnuts, pecans, almonds, raisins, or chocolate chips into the batter after the wet and dry ingredients are just combined.
Recipe FAQs
Nope! It’s only called coffee cake because its warm and comforting flavors help it pair so perfectly with coffee and tea.
Absolutely. Just make sure to bake the cake in a 9×13” baking pan and increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
Cold temperatures dry out the cake faster, so store it at room temperature to keep it moist and fluffy. Also, keep the cake whole rather than slicing it.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Incredible Vegan Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup soy milk*
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cup 2 tbsp all purpose flour, 197g total
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup salted vegan butter*, melted
- 2/3 cup cane sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Crumble
For the Icing Drizzle (Optional):
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon soy milk
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease and then line a 8” square pan or a 9” round cake tin with parchment paper, leaving a little paper hanging over two opposite sides to create flaps. Mix the soy milk and apple cider vinegar together in a small glass to create a buttermilk; set aside to let sit for at least 5 minutes.
- Make the Crumble: Use a fork to mix the melted butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl until a crumbly mixture forms. Place the crumble in the fridge while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Create a well in the center of the bowl.
- Wet Ingredients: Add the melted oil or butter, prepared buttermilk, sugar, applesauce, and vanilla to the center of the bowl and slowly incorporate it into the dry ingredients until a mostly uniform dough forms (a few lumps are ok).
- Assemble: Note: I like to divide my batter into two separate bowls for better results, but you can also just eyeball it. Transfer half of the batter to the prepared baking pan and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly across the base. Measure out 1 cup of crumble (it should be slightly less than half of the mixture) and use your hands to evenly sprinkle it over the batter. Use a spoon to dollop the remaining batter over the top of the crumble, then spread it out into an even layer with a spatula. Top the second layer of batter evenly with the remaining crumble.
- Bake: Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake cleanly. Set aside and let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
- Icing Drizzle (Optional): While the cake is cooling, whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together in a small bowl until evenly combined. Drizzle over the coffee cake before slicing.
- Serve & Store: Slice the coffee cake into 9 even squares in the pan, then carefully lift out of the pan using the parchment paper slaps. Serve warm, or let cool completely before serving. Store leftovers at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Soy Milk: I recommend using soy milk because it has a higher protein content than other dairy-free milks and will create a better “buttermilk”. You can substitute the soy milk with another dairy-free milk of your preference, but the cake may not rise as much.
- Salted Butter Substitutions: You can also make this recipe with unsalted butter or refined coconut oil (slightly drier cake). If you are either, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon for the cake batter and add a generous pinch of salt to the crumble topping.
- Icing Drizzle: The icing drizzle adds a fun decorative element to the cake, but the cake itself is already sweet enough as it is! If you do not enjoy overly sweet baked goods I would skip the drizzle.
- Doubling or tripling the recipe: If you double this recipe you can also make it in a 9×13” baking pan, but you will need to increase the cook time by 5 to 10 minutes to make sure the center of the cake is fully cooked. If you are tripling the recipe I would recommend making it in 3 separate 8” pans or 1 9×13 pan and one 8” pan.
Before I try this I have a question: Can you use all the batter at once and then add the crumble to the top only? I assume yes but just want to be sure. Thanks!
I don’t see why not!
This cake is amazing! I had to bake mine for a fair bit longer than stated but it came out beautifully. I will absolutely be making this again!
So glad you enjoyed!
I made it tonight and it was incredible! Moist and delicious. I made it without the drizzle and the sweetness level was perfect. Best coffee cake ever. My husband loves it too. Can’t wait to have it tomorrow morning with coffee 😀
Makes me so happy!
Hi, can I use brown sugar or any other sugar than regular?
Hi Emma! Yes – you can swap the brown sugar for coconut sugar or date sugar if you’d like, the cake will be slightly more dry. I don’t recommend using only cane sugar in this recipe as the brown sugar adds a nice caramel flavor. However, if you only have cane sugar on hand you can easily make your own brown sugar by mixing it with a little molasses!
I love coffee and cake so this is perfect combo!!!
I’d have to agree!