Vegan Coffee Cake (Gluten-Free)

A soft and tender vegan coffee cake with cinnamon crumble topping! This delicious and easy-to-make crumb cake will satisfy your cravings for a ‘buttery cake’. It’s perfect for breakfast or dessert and the recipe is plant-based (dairy-free, egg-free), gluten-free, and can be made refined sugar-free.

I love all kinds of vegan crumble desserts like streusel apple pie, streusel apple muffins, or raspberry crumble bars. Now it’s the turn for this delicious vegan coffee cake with a gluten-free cinnamon streusel topping.

What is a coffee cake?

A coffee cake is a soft and moist cake that is topped with a sweet streusel topping, similar to a German coffee cake (Streuselkuchen). The topping is a crumble, often containing cinnamon, sometimes nuts and occasionally also fruit like apples). The crumb cake is served in the afternoon or morning with a cup of coffee (or tea), however, the cake actually doesn’t contain coffee (even though you can add it).

The Ingredients

This gluten-free coffee cake only contains simple ingredients, which you probably already have at home. Below are the ingredients and their substitutes that you will need for the vegan coffee cake recipe.

• Oat flour – Use regular oat flour or gluten-free oat flour if you are a celiac. You can also make your own oat flour from rolled oats in a blender or electric coffee/spice grinder.
• White rice flour – Brown rice might work fine as well. You can most likely also use 1:1 gluten-free flour (or regular all-purpose flour if you’re not gluten-free) instead of oat flour and rice flour. I haven’t tried these combos, though.
• Cornstarch – Arrowroot flour or potato starch might be used instead of cornstarch.
• Erythritol – Use Erythritol for a refined sugar-free coffee cake. However, you can use regular sugar instead.
• Applesauce – You can probably also use mashed banana instead or pumpkin purée.
• Vegetable oil – I used coconut oil, but canola oil is fine too. If you want to make the vegan coffee cake oil-free, I would suggest increasing the amount of applesauce. The texture will be different, though. Oil or vegan butter is also needed for the crumble topping, however, you could try replacing it with vegan cream cheese or nut butter.
• Dairy-free milk – Any non-dairy milk is fine. Some examples are almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, etc.
• Coconut sugar – You could also use brown sugar for the cinnamon streusel topping.
• Almond flour – To make the recipe nut-free, simply use ground shredded unsweetened coconut.
• Baking powder, baking soda, apple cider vinegar – They will help the cake rise.
• Cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt – Used for flavor.

All ingredients AND measurements are listed in the printable recipe card below! There you will also find the nutrition facts (calories).

How To Make Vegan Coffee Cake?

You don’t need a food processor, hand mixer, or blender to make this dairy-free coffee cake. All you need is two mixing bowls, a whisk, and a baking dish. Here are the step-by-step instructions.

STEP 1: First, line a baking dish with parchment paper with an overhang on all sides (for easy removal). My pan measures 6×9 inches (ca. 15×23 cm).

STEP 2: Start with the cinnamon crumble topping. Simply, add all dry ingredients for the crumble to a bowl, stir with a whisk, then add the wet ingredients. Use your fingers to combine everything until the mixture is slightly crumbly. Set aside and preheat oven to 350 °F (ca. 180 °C).

STEP 3: Add all dry ingredients for the gluten-free coffee cake batter into a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk. You could also add the dry ingredients to a food processor and blend for a couple of seconds.

STEP 4: Next, add the wet ingredients and stir with a whisk.

STEP 5: Pour about half of the batter into the prepared pan. Then sprinkle half of the cinnamon streusel over the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top of the streusel and finally add the remaining streusel.

STEP 6: Bake in the oven for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the crumb cake comes out almost clean (it can be crumbly but shouldn’t be wet). The baking time can be a few minutes less or more, depending on your oven and the size of the pan. Let cool completely, then optionally drizzle with icing/ sugar glaze (I use powdered Erythritol mixed with a little dairy-free milk) or top with a little cashew cream.

Helpful Tips And Variations

• Vegan apple coffee cake: Add a small, chopped apple and spread it over the second layer of the batter, then add the final crumb layer (streusel).
• Add more spices: You can add other spices like allspice, a pinch of ground cloves, or nutmeg for a deliciously spiced vegan coffee cake.
• Make coffee cake muffins: Simply use a muffin pan instead of a rectangular (or round) baking pan. Reduce the baking time by about 10-15 minutes (I recommend making a toothpick test) after 22-25 minutes.
• Add nuts: You can add chopped walnuts, almonds, cashews, or other nuts of choice to the batter.

How To Store Coffee Cake?

Store the vegan coffee cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Let it thaw overnight in the fridge or for a few hours at room temperature.

More Vegan Cake Recipes

If you love healthy, dairy-free cakes, make sure to check out my other delicious gluten-free and vegan cake recipes:

• Vegan Gingerbread Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Marble Bundt Cake
• Lemon Sheet Cake
• Upside Down Plum Cake
• Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
• No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake

Should you give this tender vegan coffee cake recipe a try, please leave a comment and rating below and tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with #elavegan @elavegan.

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