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.

Until next time, happy baking!

Print Recipe

Coffee Shop Coffee Cake

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. Let's just say that gluten-free baking is something I’ll save for another day. However, this coffee cake was a success.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Vegan

Keyword: Baking, Cake, Cinnamon, High Altitude, Recipe, Valentines Day

Servings: 8

Author: The Decadent Vegan Baker

Equipment

• 9" round cake pan

Ingredients

Topping

• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3 tablespoons vegan margarine melted

Filling

• 1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

Cake

• 3/4 cup + 1 teaspoon soymilk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup organic sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• 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.
• To finish the cake, sift 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 in the pan.
• Bake the cake until it's dark golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 33-35 minutes. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.