The best Vegan Coffee Cake ever, and it’s SO easy to make! Moist, fluffy, and layered with a sweet cinnamon streusel, it’s perfect for holiday celebrations or weekend breakfasts.
Want more vegan cake recipes? Try my Apple Upside Down Cake, my Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake, and my 1 Bowl Vegan Carrot Cake next.
Put the coffee on because we’re making Vegan Coffee Cake! This is such an easy breakfast or dessert recipe with no fuss at all. Even better, it’s moist, fluffy, and full of cinnamon streusel goodness.
This is the BEST vegan coffee cake ever because it’s made with not one but two layers of cinnamon streusel (in the middle and on top), a sweet vanilla glaze, and the fluffiest cake. To me, there’s no better dessert or breakfast to pair with a hot cup of coffee.
Along with my 1 Hour Vegan Cinnamon Rolls and my Vegan French Toast Casserole, it should be at the top of your list to make for holiday mornings!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Made it a million times – incredibly delicious, a big hit with non-vegans, and tastes like the middle part of a cinnamon roll to me!” – Daria
Why you’ll love this coffee cake recipe
- Twice the cinnamon streusel – I wanted double the cinnamon streusel goodness here, so I layered it in the middle and on top of the coffee cake. Every slice tastes just like a cinnamon roll.
- Easy breakfast or dessert – It’s so easy to make! Whisk the batter, layer it with the cinnamon streusel, and bake.
- Serve with coffee or tea – The moist and fluffy cake and warm cinnamon spices make this the best treat to pair with a mug of coffee or tea. ☕
If you love this coffee cake, you should try my Pumpkin Coffee Cake or my Blueberry Coffee Cake next!
How to make vegan coffee cake
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Make the cake batter: Stir the milk and apple cider vinegar together. Set aside.
Next, stir the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl. To the same bowl, add the milk/vinegar mixture, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir to combine.
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 streusel over the cake batter in the pan.
Pour the remaining batter over top, then top with the rest of the streusel.
To finish, drizzle melted vegan butter all over the top.
Bake the coffee cake: Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the vanilla glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, vegan cream/milk, and vanilla together until smooth.
Decorate and serve: Once the coffee cake is cool, drizzle the vanilla glaze all over the top.
Slice and serve the cake with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
Despite its name, coffee cake surprisingly contains no coffee. It’s called coffee cake because the warm spices and sweet flavors go so well with a cup of coffee (or tea).
I haven’t tried it myself, but you should be okay to replace the all-purpose flour with a quality gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
16 servings of cake is quite a lot, so if you don’t want that much, cut the ingredients in half and assemble the cake in an 8 x 8 inch pan instead.
Sure. Assemble the cake in the pan (without the melted butter on top) and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 1 day. Drizzle the butter on top before baking.
To keep it from drying out, store the leftover coffee cake on the kitchen counter (covered) for 2 to 3 days. The streusel won’t be as crisp after sitting, but the cake will still be moist and delicious.
Yes! Wrap the baked and cooled cake in a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil to prevent freezer burn, then freeze for up to 2 months.
Vegan Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 1 1/2 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
- 3/4 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, before baking
- 4 tablespoons melted vegan butter
Vanilla Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegan cream or soy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.
- Combine the 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 spoon on the rest of the cake batter, spreading it gently with a spoon. The batter may not reach the edges or cover all the streusel, and that is okay. Sprinkle with the rest of the streusel.
- Drizzle with the melted vegan butter, then place in the oven and 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.
- Make the Optional Vanilla Glaze: Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar, vegan cream/milk, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the slightly cooled 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.
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!
Beth did you try with coconut sugar? I’m curious….
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!
Am I going crazy? I can’t see coffee anywhere in the ingredients list
The full recipe is in the Recipe Card near the bottom of the post, there is also a Jump to Recipe button at the top of each page that will take you directly to the complete, printable recipe. Thanks!
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
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.