So, donuts. I was going to make donuts but I had no luck. I first tried to bake them years ago in the special donut pan I bought for the occasion. They were a dense disaster and I gave away the pan to another sucker. When I recently approached the idea of making donuts I was more optimistic as I had found a recipe for donut holes. Okay, I can do this, I thought. But no, massive failure again. Hence today’s post on coffee cake. I’ll save donuts for another day when the frustration dies down.

I had never made coffee cake before but I figured I’d give it a go. I’d also never baked with gluten-free flour, but I decided to attempt that as well. I’ll just say that gluten-free baking is also something I’ll save for another day. However, the coffee cake was a success and it smelled great while it baked.

For the coffee cake, I based it on several recipes. I used the cake portion of the gluten-free recipe I tried and combined it with different topping and filling ideas. Some changes were to sour the milk with the apple cider vinegar first – this makes a “buttermilk” that works as a leavener in vegan baking. For high altitude I reduced the baking powder and increased the flour. And because I love cinnamon and wanted a delicious filling, I used a smaller cake pan so I could layer cake and filling and then cake and topping.

Coffee Shop Coffee Cake by The Decadent Vegan Baker
topping
1/2 cup organic sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 TBS ground cinnamon
3 TBS vegan margarine, melted
filling
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
cake
3/4 cup + 1 tsp soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup organic sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 TBS canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ round cake pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the paper. Start the cake by stirring together the milk and vinegar. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted margarine and stir with a fork until well combined. Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Finish the cake by sifting together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the sugar. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the soured milk, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.
Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the filling. Use a knife to gently swirl the filling through the batter. Crumble the topping over the batter. Bake until it’s dark golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 33-35 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Until next time, happy baking!