This delicious vegan coffee cake is made with a tender vanilla base, swirled with cinnamon and brown sugar, and topped with a decadent streusel topping. The perfect indulgent treat for enjoying with a big cup of coffee!
Who out there could use some sweet vegan comfort food right about now? Oh, and who could use a baking project to kill some time? Well, good news, because this recipe gives you both of those things!
I decided to switch up my posting schedule in light of recent events.
Okay, that's totally accurate. I had to switch up my posting schedule. I had some dinner recipes planned, but I couldn't get what I needed at the store, and now isn't exactly the time to run all over town for ingredients, which is what I'm used to doing.
So I decided something in the baking comfort food category might be appropriate.
What I didn't consider was that I can't invite friends over for a dinner date or send the leftover cake to work with my husband, like I usually do when I have an overabundance of dessert on hand. So be warned: if you make this one any time soon, you're probably going to be stuck at home with an entire cake to deal with.
What is Coffee Cake?
I need to get this out of the way first, because I know somebody is going to ask why this is called a coffee cake, when it doesn't contain any actual coffee!
Coffee cake means different things in different parts of the world. In the United States, where I live, coffee cake is a cake that's normally served with coffee. It doesn't actually have any coffee in it!
(If you came here looking for a cake with coffee in it, check out my mocha chocolate layer cake.)
What it does have is a base of vanilla cake with a swirl of cinnamon sugar through the middle and a streusel topping. A drizzle of vanilla glaze on top is optional!
How to Make Vegan Coffee Cake
Grab a few bowls, because this cake has multiple that each need to be mixed together separately.
Start by mixing up your filling ingredients in one bowl: brown sugar, vegan butter, and cinnamon. Mix your streusel ingredients in another bowl: flour, brown sugar, vegan butter, and a bit of salt. I like to use a pastry cutter for this one, but a fork or a couple of butter knives will work as well. Set the filling aside and stick the streusel in the fridge.
Now it's time to make the batter. Grab an electric mixer and beat together some vegan yogurt, oil, sugar, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar. Now start beating in flour, a bit at a time. When it's time to add the last of the flour, sprinkle some cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on top. Now beat the batter one last time.
Spread half of the batter into a round springform pan. Sprinkle half of the filling on top — you can gently distribute it with a spoon if you'd like. Now spread the remaining batter over the filling, then another layer of filling. Top everything with the streusel.
Pop the cake into the oven and bake it until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean — a few crumbs sticking to it are fine, but uncooked batter is not.
When the cake has finished baking, transfer it to a cooling rack and let it cool completely. Before taking the cake out, be sure to run a knife along the edges to break up any caramelized filling that may stick to the pan.
You can serve your coffee cake as is, or top it with a drizzle of vanilla glaze for a super indulgent treat!
Vegan Coffee Cake Tips & FAQ
- Storage: Store your cake in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Slicing your coffee cake: this is going to sound like a weird tip, but start your slice by inserting the tip of a knife into the side of the cake where you want to make your cut. Why? Some of the filling will probably have met with the inside of your pan and hardened. This part can be a little tough to cut through, so I like to break it up first with my knife to avoid mangling the whole slice while cutting.
- Can this cake be made gluten-free? I'm not sure! If you'd like to try it, an all-purpose gluten-free blend like those made by Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur Flour would be your best bet.
- Why does the sugar need to be organic? In the United States most granulated sugar is processed using animal bone char, so it's not considered vegan. Organic sugar is processed differently.
- How is coffee cake served? I like it best with a (surprise!) a big cup of coffee, but it also goes great with tea, fresh fruit, and vegan vanilla ice cream.
- Variations: To switch things up, try adding extra spices to the filling (like ginger, cloves, or cardamom), or including some nuts (like pecans or walnuts) in the topping.
- Can this cake be made in a square pan? I'm sure it can, as long as the pan is deep enough. My cake came out pretty thick (see the photos — it's about 2 inches). You may need to adjust the bake time, though I'm not sure by how much, so keep a close eye on it.
Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!
Cinnamon Swirl Vegan Coffee Cake
This delicious vegan coffee cake is made with a tender vanilla base, swirled with cinnamon and brown sugar, and topped with a decadent streusel topping. The perfect indulgent treat for enjoying with a big cup of coffee!
Ingredients
For the Streusel Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup organic brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan butter, chilled
For the Filling
- ¾ cup organic brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegan butter, softened (almost but not quite melted)
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the Batter
- 1 ½ cups unflavored vegan yogurt
- 1 cup organic granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Glaze (Optional)
- ½ cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F and oil the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
-
To make the streusel, stir the flour, brown sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Add the butter and cut it in using a pastry cutter or a couple of butter knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place the streusel into the fridge to chill.
-
To make the filling, stir the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon together in a small bowl, until uniform. Set it aside.
-
To make the batter, begin by beating the yogurt, sugar, oil, vanilla and vinegar together in a large bowl, using an electric mixer at high speed. Beat the mixture for 1 full minute.
-
Begin beating in the flour, ½ cup at a time, fully beating in each addition before adding the next. After adding the final ½ cup, sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt over the flour, then beat everything together, just until mixed.
-
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, distributing it evenly with a spatula.
-
Sprinkle half the filling over the batter. You can use a spoon or spatula to even it out a bit, if needed.
-
Spread the remaining batter over the filling, smoothing it out with a spatula.
-
Sprinkle the remaining filling over the top layer of batter, followed by the streusel topping.
-
Bake the cake for about 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, with just a few crumbs attached.
-
Remove the cake from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool.
-
While the cake cools, mix the glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl, adding a bit extra milk if it seems too thick, a bit extra powdered sugar if it seems too thin.
-
When the cake is cool, run a knife along the outer edge to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan, then drizzle it with glaze.
-
Slice and serve.
Alisa
Can I use coconut cream instead of vegan yogurt?
I have used vegan sour cream for a coffee cake before...
It worked ok, I had to bake it about 10 minutes longer! It is awesome!
Thanks!
And I did make it gf
Hi Janey! I wouldn't recommend it. Coconut cream has a much higher fat content, so it can mess with the texture of baked goods.
I used coconut milk, it cream, sorry
We made this yesterday with coconut yogurt and Earth Balance for the vegan butter. It was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up great post.
Nailed it! Made it twice. The first one was gone the next day.
Everyone loved it.
This one will be gone tonite.
Love your recipes.
Making this today. Could I sub plant milk for the vegan yogurt? Thank you!
You might be able to, but I really can't say for sure without having tried it myself. I'd love to hear how it turns out if you do!
Made this today, and it's probably the most delicious dessert I've ever baked. The recipe was super easy to follow. I used vanilla oat milk yogurt and baked it in a glass pan, and it came out perfect. Thanks for a great recipe! I'll definitely make this again!
I don’t have a springform pan. Will a regular cake pan work? I worry it won’t be high enough.
The height should be the only issue. My cake came out to be about 2 inches high, so as long as your cake pan is a little higher than that you should be fine. You could also try a 9 x 9 square pan if you have one of those. Keep an eye on it because the cook time might be a bit different!
Just tried making this today - it turned out delicious! Didn't have any coconut yogurt though so I substituted it for 1 cup apple sauce and half a cup vanilla almond milk. Worked out just fine. Thanks!
Tried to make it twice, it wouldn't bake through and caramelized on the top in places, burned in others. I'm not sure what I did wrong. :/ I followed the recipe exactly and didn't make any substitutions.
Edit for my original comment: The second cake actually did turn out good! I was confused by the toothpick not coming out clean, but I think now it was just the filling part making it seem like there was uncooked batter. My husband "forced" me to keep it and bring it to the gathering the next day anyway, and when we cut into it, it was actually completely cooked.
As for the top, I'm still not completely sure what happened but it may be that my springform is slightly larger than the recipe says, and so the filling bubbled out from the side on part of the cake, and caramelized/hardened a bit too much. Next time I'll just increase amounts by 1.5 and see what happens.
Everyone loved the cake that tried it. I will definitely make it again.
This is so tasty! I cut out a 1/4 cup of sugar in the batter and omitted the icing as I don't like terribly sweet stuff and it was perfect 😋
Made this for the first time. Thought I would comment. I did not have a springform pan. I used a deep dish pie pan that is ceramic. Worked fine. Didn’t need more than 55 minutes. I did not have yogurt. I used what the other reviewer recommended one cup applesauce and a half cup nondairy milk. Worked perfect. I also used probably a few tablespoons under the full amount of required oil to make up for the more liquidy milk. everything was perfect. However, the filling, is not enough really to cover enough expanse in the center of building the coffee cake. I actually doubled the filling and it worked out better and gave it more flavor inside. Also I ran out of brown sugar so half of my crumble topping was brown sugar and half was coconut sugar. My inside filling was entirely coconut sugar because I saved the brown sugar I had left for the top. Couldn’t tell any difference. Coconut sugar though if you use that in the crumble topping does burn faster. I recommend putting a piece of foil over the coffee cake when you have about 15 minutes left. and I agree you have to put in a sharp Tip knife three or four different places to really test for done this and keep in mind the filling is meant to be gooey in some patches. You’re looking more for yellow batter. Not the dark brown filling on the knife. Also I added cinnamon to my glaze for a cinnamon glaze and it was delicious. You can also add a drop of maple extract.. be sure the coffee cake has been cooling several hours before you do the glaze because if there’s any warmth at all it will melt it and turn it invisible on top.