This vegan lemon blueberry coffee cake features an ultra-moist, citrusy cake layered with juicy blueberries and topped with a buttery almond crumb. Perfect for brunch, afternoon tea, or bringing along to a summer cookout, it’s a bright, crowd-pleasing treat that everyone will love.
This blueberry lemon coffee cake is like sunshine in your mouth. It's bright, cozy, just plain delicious, packed with juicy blueberries, and topped with the dreamiest almond crumb and lemon glaze. It’s perfect for brunch, afternoon tea, or honestly, just sneaking a slice with your morning coffee. (Yep, guilty here!)
If you’re into this kind of thing, you might also like my vegan coffee cake, blueberry buckle, or blueberry bundt cake — they’ve all got a similar vibes!
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There's a lot to love about this recipe, not the least being it's how simple it is. No fancy steps or hard-to-find ingredients — just classic flavors that really shine together. The combination of lemon and blueberry is always a winner, and it can be dressed up or kept casual. This cake is perfect for everything from special dinners to weekend brunches.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Flour. The recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but I've also successfully made this cake with whole wheat pastry flour, so feel free to substitute that if you'd like.
- Brown sugar. Use organic brown sugar to ensure that the recipe is vegan.
- Cinnamon.
- Salt.
- Vegan butter. You can grab this from the refrigerated case at most grocery stores.
- Sliced almonds. Prefer pecans or almonds? Use them! Have a nut allergy? Skip the nuts altogether.
- Blueberries. This recipe works best with fresh blueberries, but frozen can be substituted in a pinch.
- Maple syrup. You can use a different vegan liquid sweetener if you'd like, such as agave or coconut nectar.
- Vegan yogurt. Pretty much any variety of vegan yogurt will do — soy, almond, cashew, coconut, or any other! Just make sure it's unflavored and unsweetened.
- Sugar. Just like with the brown sugar, this needs to be organic.
- Vegetable oil. You can use any neutral oil you typically bake with here.
- Lemon juice. Use freshly squeezed juice for the best lemony flavor.
- Vanilla extract.
- Lemon zest.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Salt.
- Powdered sugar. This needs to be organic, too!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Make the topping. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, then cut in cold vegan butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the almonds, then stick it in the fridge to chill.
Make the filling. Just combine the blueberries and maple syrup in a small bowl. Set this aside for a few minutes while you make the batter.
Combine the wet ingredients. Beat the yogurt, sugar, oil, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest together in a large bowl.
Add the dry ingredients. Start adding the flour, a bit at a time. Sprinkle the baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon over the last addition of flour, then beat everything together.
Assemble the first layer. Pour half of the batter into a greased springform pan, then top it with the blueberry mixture.
Assemble the top layer. Spread the rest of the batter over the berries, then distribute the topping evenly over the batter.
Bake the cake. It's finished when the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Finish the cake. Let it cool on a cooling rack, then remove it from the pan. Make the glaze by combining powdered sugar and lemon juice, then drizzle it all over your cake. It's all ready to enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day, in the fridge for up to four days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
Variations
- Use different berries. Not a fan of blueberries? Make this cake with raspberries, blackberries, or cherries!
- Powdered sugar topping. Skip the glaze, and instead simply dust your cake with powdered sugar.
- Lemon poppy seed blueberry coffee cake. Add a tablespoon of poppy seeds to the batter.
Frequently Asked Questions
I haven't tried making a gluten-free version, but based on my experience with similar cakes, I think an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend should work.
Absolutely! Use them straight from the freezer — no need to thaw!
A 9-inch round cake pan will work, as long as it's deep enough to accommodate all of the ingredients. Removing the cake from the pan could be tricky. Line it with parchment paper to make it a bit easier.
More Vegan Blueberry Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping
- â…” cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup organic brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- â…“ cup vegan butter, chilled
- ½ cup sliced almonds
For the Vegan Coffee Cake
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups unflavored and unsweetened vegan yogurt
- ¾ cup organic granulated sugar
- â…” cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Glaze
- ½ cup vegan powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Crumb Topping
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the vegan butter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the almonds. Place the bowl in the fridge and let the topping chill while you proceed with the recipe.
Make the Vegan Coffee Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease the inside of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Stir the blueberries and maple syrup together in a medium bowl. Set this aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer at high speed to beat together the yogurt, sugar, oil, lemon juice, vanilla, and lemon zest, just until combined.
- Begin beating the flour into the batter, about a half cup at a time. Sprinkle the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt over the last half cup addition before beating it in. Stop mixing the batter once the ingredients are fully combined.
- Spread half of the batter in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Sprinkle the batter evenly with the blueberry mixture.
- Spread the remaining batter over the blueberries, then sprinkle the topping over the top layer of batter.
- Bake the cake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean of batter, about 55 to 60 minutes, although this time can vary a bit in different ovens.
- Remove the cake from oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool completely before removing it from the pan.
Make the Glaze
- Once the cake has cooled, stir the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl. Add more powdered sugar if the mixture seems too thin, or more lemon juice (or water) if it seems too thick.
Finish and Serve
- When the cake is cool, remove it from the springform pan and drizzle it with the glaze. Slice and serve.
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This was delicious!
I love this recipe! I don’t use refined oils so I subbed almond butter for the coconut oil in both the streusel topping and the cake. Wasn’t working out of my own kitchen and didn’t have an electric mixer, but decided that people still baked before electric mixers existed so I just creamed the almond butter and sugar as well as I could with a spoon and fork. I didn’t have a springform pan either so I lined a 8 or 9 inch square glass baking dish with parchment paper and it all worked just fine. Served several weeks ago to non-vegan friends who enjoyed it also. This recipe is a keeper and I’ll be making it again today!
Do you think oat milk would work in place of cashew milk? This looks amazing!
It will work just fine! I hope you enjoy this!
A y suggestions on whey kind of gf flour to use as a substitute!
Thanks
I haven't tried any with this recipe, but I think an all-purpose blend like Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur's would work best. Enjoy!
Gah! This looks AH-MAY-ZING! I have been thinking about experimenting with making "coffee flour" out of the coffee I roast at Cafe do Paraiso. That would put a whole new "coffee" into this kind of "coffee cake".
Sounds delicious!
If I wanted to use vegan butter instead of the coconut oil... How much would I use? Also..if using vegan butter, would I still add in the almond butter? This recipe looks really delicious! :)
I haven't tested the recipe with vegan butter, but I think if you just replace the coconut oil with the same amount (1/2 cup) it should work! And yes, you'll still need the almond butter. :)
Sooo looking forward to trying this out!! Question...can I use all purpose flour or non whole wheat pastry flour?
Also, while grocery shopping last night and realized Blue Bonnet (in the plastic container) is vegan if you're ok with palm oil. Not healthy by any means but about 1/3 of the price of Earth Balance or Miyokos...
I think all-purpose flour would work fine, but I'm not sure about pastry flour. And I think Blue Bonnet will also work - I had no idea it was vegan! Good luck and enjoy!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I had a get together this weekend that included a vegan friend, and even though I've never baked without dairy or eggs before, I wanted to give it a try. I went on the hunt for a good, vegan coffee cake recipe and I'm so glad I found yours. It was a big hit with everyone--vegan and non-vegan--and it looked gorgeous, too.
Yay! I'm so glad it was a hit! Thanks so much for letting me know!!
This looks great, and I can't wait to try it! I don't have lemon extract on hand... would you recommend substituting for more zest or lemon juice?
You could probably get away with another citrus fruit like a lime or orange, but the flavor will probably be a bit different. I'd love to hear how it works if you try it.
I didn't have lemon extract either, so I boiled lemon juice with ginger, lemon peel and maple syrup and reduced it. turned out great. I used it as a lemon extract
Great idea! I'm so glad it worked out!
I just posted a coffee cake a couple days ago! I love the addition of blueberries in yours. Something about the beginning of Spring that calls for a coffee cake ;)
I agree - I think it's all the brunchy spring holidays. :)
It looks so delicious! I need to give this recipe a try!
I hope you enjoy it!
Such a pretty cake! And looks delicious, too!
Thank you!