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.
Hi, I’m new to cake making but just wanted to ask why isn’t there any coffee in it. As I love coffee cake. 😅
Coffee cake does not usually contain coffee, it is supposed to be enjoyed alongside a cup of coffee.
Absolutely hit the spot this morning! Thank you for a great recipe and clear directions – I halved the recipe and it is perfect. I bet it’ll be even better this afternoon with a hot cuppa by the fire. Thank you!
This is my FAVE coffee cake. I make it for our Christmas brunch every year!
Hi Nora, I’ve made this recipe a few times and love it! I was wondering if it was possible to make into muffins? I was going to surprise my husbands work friends with secret vegan treats and thought muffins would be easier to put into a gift box. If not no worries
Hi! Looking to make this for Christmas morning. Two questions! Can you use olive oil? And, for leftovers, best way to store and reheat before serving again? Thank you so much!
You could probably use olive oil though you may taste it in the cake. I just store it covered on the counter, you can reheat leftovers in an air fryer if you have one, or the oven for just a few minutes to warm if you want.
Thank you so much! Merry Christmas!
Hi, everyone —
Does the milk have to be soy milk, or can it be any non-dairy milk. We normally use oat milk.
Thanks!
No, it does not have to be soy milk. You can use any non-dairy milk you want. This is almost always the case, I use them interchangeably. Though for baking I prefer something creamier, like soy milk, oat milk or even creamy almond/cashew milk. Enjoy!
Made this deliciousness this morning to share at yoga. So easy to whip up and that cinnamon aroma is just aahhhh ☺️ Thanks for another great recipe Nora!
You bet, Karen! Sounds like a yummy morning! Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback!
So tasty!
hi i haven’t made it yet but do you think i could use melted vegan butter instead of the oil?
Yes, you can use melted vegan butter. Enjoy!
Nora, thank you again for this recipe. It’s always a success! Love your cinnamon rolls too!
You are welcome, Patrick! I’m so glad loved the coffee cake! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback! Happy cooking!
Can I use a bunt cake pan for this?
You probably could, but I haven’t tried it myself. The bake time may be a little different, it might need a little longer in the oven.
Delicious! I agree that the batter is quite thick and can be challenging to spread (I did not use coconut oil), but just trust the process, because the outcome is amazing. Brought it to a fundraiser at work and everyone loved it/would have never guessed that it was vegan 🙂
(I also subbed vegan sour cream for the applesauce & didn’t use all the cinnamon sugar because it just looked like too much)
Hi Adelaide. Thank you for sharing your recipe experience and stellar review! I’m really glad the cake turned out wonderful and was a hit at the fundraiser! Wishing you happy cooking!
Would love to give this a try for my partner’s birthday this weekend – has anyone tried baking ahead of time and freezing it? TIA! X
Hi Mary. Happy birthday to your partner! Yes, this cake freezes well! Enjoy!
Question can I add fresh apple pieces and if so what would be the best approach? For example cook the apples first or can I just dice them and add them in uncooked?
Thank you so much 😊
Hi Alina. I think that that would work. Just dice the apples and add them. No need to cook them first. You may also enjoy my apple cake recipe. Wishing you a happy cooking!
I have made this recipe too many times to count. As I write this, I am making it right now. I’ll even halve it, so I can just make it for myself. The better can be thick for me sometimes, no coconut oil, but I just use a spatula to spread it out and it always works out. Such an easy recipe and always is a big hit!
Hi Shelby, I’m so glad you love the coffee cake! Thank you for taking time to share your recipe experience and stellar review! Wishing you a happy cooking!
We added sprinkles for fun. So delicious. The batter was thick, but I just used my hands to spread it out and it was fine. The cake is so fluffy and cinnamony.
Hi Nora! I just read your response to another comment where the reviewer mentioned the batter was very thick and difficult to spread. You said if the milk is cold and you use coconut oil, the cold temp of the milk can cause the coconut oil to firm up again – I think this is exactly what happened to me! It seems so obvious now, but I was confused at first!
I used our homemade almond milk we keep in the fridge for coffee, and coconut oil because we were out of canola. The batter did get super thick, but in the end everything tasted great, as usual with your recipes!
Next time I’m definitely going to use a room temp milk fresh out of a box with canola oil and see if that makes a difference.
PS – my husband and I love your recipes and anytime we try something new that turns out great we say “another Nora hit!” You’re our go-to gal for any dish that we know needs to be a crowd pleaser. Appreciate you!!
Hi Carina. I am so encouraged by your kind words! I appreciate you supporting me by using my recipes! I’m thrilled that you loved the vegan coffee cake! Thank you for sharing your glowing review and feedback! Wishing you lots and lots of happy cooking!
This batter was way too thick to spread into 2 layers (and no, I did not use coconut oil). I was able to manipulate the batter to cover the bottom layer but the top layer ended up in little mounds. Pretty disappointing.
Hi! I want to make this for my daughter’s birthday this weekend. Can I make it a day ahead or is it best day of? I’m planning to keep the recipe as is, using coconut oil and spelt flour maybe because I like it a lot. Thought? Thank you!
It should work okay with those, but it might be thicker or a different consistency. If you like it, then you should enjoy the coffee cake with spelt flour. Enjoy!
This looks amazing!
Can you substitute pumpkin with the applesauce ? Also, what type of plant butter is your favorite for this? Thx!
Sure! I use a variety of brands, not one in particular. Earth Balance, Country Crock, Miyokos most often.
Any other great substitutions for applesauce?
JUST Egg liquid, Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, vegan yogurt all work well. Or a few flax eggs.
This is a wonderful recipe. I am often disappointed with the time and effort put into vegan baking, but this is a great recipe!
I’m so glad you loved the coffee cake, Brenda! Thanks for your stellar review and feedback!
Subbed Forager yogurt for applesauce & it was SO GOOD. Brought this to dance and everyone raved & wanted me to double the recipe!
Hi Caraline. How thrilling that the cake a hit! Thanks for sharing your stellar review! Very fun!
I just made this with gluten free flour and it was absolutely delicious! My 4 year old says it’s better than the bakery we usually go to. That’s a definite win!!
I also just made it with gluten free flour tonight! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 in the blue bag I think. It came out so good! It doesn’t have that “gluten free texture” that is hard to avoid sometimes.
This was delicious! The batter was thicker than I expected and wasn’t really pourable so I spread it to the edges of the pan and wasn’t able to cover as much of the pan with the second layer and didn’t use all the sugar mixture because it seemed like too much for the amount of batter I had. I was a little worried but shouldn’t have been because your desserts are always the best. Seriously so good! Everyone (vegan and non) loved it.
Hi Melissa. I’m so glad the cake turned out wonderful for you even though it sounds like the batter was thicker than it should be! 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? As you experienced, the top layer doesn’t need to be perfect for it to turn out! Thanks for sharing your glowing review and recipe experience!
I made this multiple times for my coworkers & it’s always well received & doesn’t last long! Nothing makes me happier than impressing a group of non vegans with a killer vegan dessert!
Hi Amy. This is a well loved coffee cake, and I’m glad your co-workers love it as well. Thanks for sharing your glowing review and feedback! Wishing you happy baking!