The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.
Along with my 1 Hour Vegan Cinnamon Rolls and Vegan French Toast Casserole, this Vegan Coffee Cake should be at the top of your list to make for holiday mornings!
It’s such an easy recipe with no fuss at all! It’s moist, fluffy and full of cinnamon streusel goodness.
How to make vegan coffee cake
The full recipe is at the bottom of the post, but let me show you how easy it is.
- Make the coffee cake batter, and pour half into a lightly greased cake pan. It doesn’t have to be exactly half, just estimate half.
- Make the streusel (it’s just combining cinnamon and brown sugar). Sprinkle half of it on the batter, then pour the rest of the cake batter on top. It won’t cover the streusel completely, and that’s okay.
- Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of melted vegan butter on top of the streusel, then bake for 40-45 minutes.
That’s it! The vegan butter may still look wet, but it will get crunchy with the brown sugar/cinnamon in just a couple of minutes of cooling. Serve warm with a cup of coffee!
Special Tips & Substitutions
- This recipe makes a lot (about 16 servings) so if you don’t want that much, cut the ingredients in half and make it in an 8 x 8 inch pan.
- Oil free option: Replace the oil with applesauce in the cake, and leave out the vegan butter drizzle.
- Whole grain: Use white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour.
- Gluten free: Use a quality gluten free all purpose flour blend.
Want more vegan holiday breakfast ideas?
- 1 Hour Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
- Vegan Caramel Monkey Bread
- Vegan Blueberry Scones
- Easy Vegan Quiche
- Vegan French Toast Casserole
- Cinnamon Sugar Vegan Donuts
- Best Ever Vegan Waffles
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Vegan Coffee Cake
The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil OR melted coconut or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cinnamon Streusel
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
For drizzling on top
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
- Combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir a little, then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar with a large spoon until well combined.
- To the bowl with the dry ingredients, pour in the milk/vinegar mixture, oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir until combined. Pour half of the batter into the prepared cake pan.
- Make the Cinnamon Streusel: In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together.
- Sprinkle half of the cinnamon streusel over the batter in the pan, then pour the rest of the cake batter on top. Sprinkle with the rest of the streusel.
- Drizzle with melted vegan butter.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. The vegan butter may still look wet in places, but it will harden as it cools and add a nice crunch to the cake.
- Serve with a cup of coffee, if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- May substitute a different milk such as coconut, almond, cashew or oat milk.
- This recipe makes enough for a crowd, so feel free to cut the ingredients in half and make it in a 8 x 8 inch pan if you'd like.
- Oil free: I don't think it tastes great with no oil at all, but if you must you could use all applesauce in place of the oil, and leave out the vegan butter drizzle on top.
- Gluten free: I haven't tried it, but I think a quality gluten free all purpose flour should work quite well. Simply subbing almond or coconut flour will not work.
Nutrition
Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 157mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 106IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!
is it okay to use olive oil?
If it is very light tasting it should be okay. Strong flavored olive oil might come through in the cake.
Nora can I use vegan yogurt instead of apple sauce?
Yes, that should work just fine.
I can not bake and yet the 2 times I have made this it has come out perfect. It is also the best coffee cake I have ever had. It has become a favorite in my house. Thank you for the recipe. ?
You’re so welcome!
This is absolutely delicious- thank you!
Has anyone tried using a different plant milk, and coconut sugar instead?! Interested on your results!
I made this last night, stressed out by the current “Quarantine” and needed the solace of baking and the warm comfort food. . . this did NOT disappoint! I made it exactly per your recipe, and it was perfect! Lovely, moist and tender crumb, with gooey/rich sugar-cinnamon filling, delightful! So easy to make but the taste is WOW! Love the fact it’s made with simple ingredients that most of us have on hand!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for the great comment!
Made it this morning for the first time. DELICIOUS. I did make some adjustments which may appeal to others. I used up an overripe banana which I added along with the applesauce. It measured just under 1/2 cup, which allowed me to reduce the oil to 3.5 tablespoons. Then I folded in some frozen blueberries from our harvest last summer. In spite of mistakenly using a pan that was a little too large, the coffee cake turned out great!
I’m glad it turned out great!
This is the best coffee cake I’ve ever made, hands down. I didn’t have apple sauce at home, so I just put an apple in the blender and blended it until it was the texture of apple sauce, and that worked really well. I also used avocado oil. So good. I will make this again and again!
So glad it was good!
So good to hear, thank you!
Oh, man… I can’t stop eating it! Nora, your recipes never fail to impress. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed!
Delicious! I just recently transitioned from vegetarian to vegan and I was worried that I would never have any good desserts again. This recipe has convinced me otherwise! Can’t wait to try others!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Made this for a work breakfast get together (without doing a test run) and got multiple compliments! Everyone really liked it and was surprised it was vegan! Used coconut oil and soymilk, thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome! Glad it was a hit!
Hello,
I was wondering if cake can be made in a Bundt pan instead of a 9 x13 inch cake pan?
Thank you 😉
I’ve never tried it, but it probably could yes! That sounds wonderful. It may need a little extra baking time. Thanks!
Fran, I was wondering the same thing. A 13×9 pan is 14 cups/3.3 liters. A regular size Bundt pan is 12 cups/2.8 liters. Therefore, I’m thinking you’d have more batter than you’d want to use for the Bundt. If you try it, can you kindly update with how it turned out?
Mine is in the oven baking right now. I used a dark, 13×9 baking pan to bake this and at almost 40 min, it’s bubbling at the top, smells amazing, but is still super watery. Doesn’t look how a cake should look after 40 min in the oven.
Still, I’m optimistic! Hopefully another 5-10 will bake it well and it’ll start to rise. Will keep you updated!
So easy and delicious! This is a big hit with my family! The cake is perfectly sweet and moist. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
You’re so welcome! Glad your family loves it.
Hi there. Love your recipes. I’d like to know what I can substitute applesauce with as it isn’t an easily available item in Malaysia. Thanks in advance.
You could probably just use more oil, or perhaps coconut milk instead. Hope that helps!
Nosh, do you have access to any apples in Malaysia? If you do, applesauce is thrillingly easy to make: cut/core apples, throw them into pot w/a bit of water with or without peels over medium heat, for perhaps 40-50 minutes. Check/stir/mash periodically; it should be good for baking when apples have lost all structure.)
I make this as a loaf in a loaf tin, it’s delicious
Could you make this the night before and bake it in the morning?
I think that would work just fine! Thanks.
Hello, why is it called coffee cake when there is no coffee included in the recipe?
Coffee cake is a cake that is usually served with a cup of coffee, it does not usually contain coffee. Thanks!
Hi Nora,
I really enjoy your recipes (especially that chocolate cake omg)! I was wondering if you think that this would convert to cupcakes well? I would think it would probably be fine as long as I adjusted the cooking time to be a bit shorter. Like maybe start toothpick checking after 25 minutes?
My friends loooooves cinnamon so I’m thinking she’d love this more than a conventional cupcake.
Thanks!
Courtney
I haven’t tried it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! I think your plan is just right, start checking around 25 minutes. Hope she enjoys!
Perfect sweet treat
This was very moist and flavorful! I like it better than some other “regular” coffee cakes I’ve had in the past. The only modification I had to make was putting a cookie sheet underneath the pan while it was baking, because it started to bubble over a little.
Thanks Elana! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the coffee cake!
I made this last night for company today. It is delicious and so easy. Thanks for another winner!
Your comment makes me happy. Delicious and easy. That’s what I’m always shooting for!
Hi Nora,
I just made this coffee cake and the batter was quite thick, any idea why? It didn’t quite “pour” out; it came out as a big ball, and I had to smooth it with my spatula, which didn’t work very well for the top layer. Any suggestions? Thanks!
I wonder if you happened to use coconut oil? Sometimes if your non-dairy milk is really cold even if you melt coconut oil it will firm up when mixed with the milk and thicken the batter. I’m not sure why else it would be really thick unless your measurements were off somewhere? Again, the top layer doesn’t need to be perfect for it to turn out, but the batter shouldn’t be too thick.
Same thing happened to mine ?Measurements seemed to be fine. Baking right now, I hope the result is okay.
Any suggestion of best gluten free flour for baking?
Thanks
Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour is the best one I’ve heard of. Thanks!
If using GF flour do I need to add xantham gum?
Not if your mix has it, but if not you may want to. Sorry I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t be sure!
I’m looking forward to making this, this weekend! Can you substitute almond milk for soy milk? Thank you
Yes, no problem at all! I hope you enjoy it!
What does apple cider vinegar do to the recipe, can we omit, we really don’t enjoy it!
Thank you!
You can leave it out or substitute lemon juice or white vinegar. It creates the vegan “buttermilk”, adding to the overall taste of the coffee cake and moisture.