Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake is just as delicious as its traditional counterpart: think moist and fluffy, fragrant coffee-infused sponge, rich and creamy frosting, and earthy walnuts.

What is the difference between British and American coffee cake?

American coffee cake does not contain coffee. It is called coffee cake because it is a cake that is often eaten with coffee. American coffee cake consists of a vanilla sponge, which is traditionally made extra moist and fluffy by the addition of sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt or cream cheese, topped with a cinnamon-infused crumble (streusel) topping. A mixture of cinnamon and sugar is also often added to the middle of the sponge to create a swirl effect. My Vegan Coffee Cake is an example of this.

This recipe is a British coffee cake. In Britain, coffee cake means a round cake that is made with a coffee-infused sponge and coffee-infused buttercream frosting with chopped walnuts mixed into the frosting, or used to decorate the top of the cake.

What is chicory powder?

Obviously you will have to add some coffee flavour to the sponge and the frosting. I try to stay away from coffee, so I actually used chicory powder.

Chicory powder is made from ground chicory root and has a bitter, coffee-like flavour, so much so that it used to be known as ‘poor man’s coffee’. It also boasts numerous health benefits.

You can, of course, use coffee instead.

Where can you buy chicory powder?

You can buy it in local health stores or online, and maybe at your local supermarket.

Why you’ll love this Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake:

• it’s undetectably vegan and gluten-free
• it’s fragrant and aromatic
• it’s earthy from the walnuts
• it’s moist and spongy 
• it’s covered in a delicious coffee cream
• it’s refined sugar free 
• it can even be made without coffee
• it’s easy to make
• it’s made in one bowl!

How to make ground walnuts

This recipe calls for ground walnuts – here’s how to make them!

• Place the walnuts in a food processor.

• Whizz until they form a fine powder.

Tip: Make sure not to over-blend, otherwise you’ll end up with nut butter!

How to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe including measurements and full instructions.

• Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.

• Transfer the mixture to two 18 cm / 7 inch sandwich baking tins.

Tip: Line them with greased baking paper to make the sponges come out easier.

• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

• Leave the sponges to cool down on a cooling rack once they’re out the oven.

• Make the frosting by using an electric whisk to whip up the coconut milk.

• Place one half of the cake on a cake stand or a plate and apply just less than half of the frosting onto it.

• Place the other half of the cake on top and apply the frosting on the top and sides of the cake – you can use a palette knife for frosting for this.

• Decorate the cake with walnut halves, if desired.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

• you can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil
• you can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc
• you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc
• you can substitute the ground walnuts with ground almonds (almond meal)
• for a nut-free version: substitute the ground walnuts with ground sunflower seeds or use 30g (¼ cup) coconut flour instead of 150g (1 ¼ cup) ground walnuts
• you can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free
• you can substitute the chicory powder with instant coffee.

How long does this Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake keep for?

This Coffee Cake tastes best when fresh, but keeps well covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

More vegan cake recipes:

• Red Velvet Cake
• Tropical Carrot Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Cake
• Cherry Bakewell Cake
• Chocolate Cake
• Black Forest Cake
• Strawberry Sponge Layer Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake
• Lemon Pound Cake
• Orange Pound Cake
• Gingerbread Loaf Cake

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake

This Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake is just as delicious as its traditional counterpart: think moist and fluffy, fragrant coffee-infused sponge, rich and creamy frosting, and earthy walnuts.

4.31 from 23 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, British

Keyword: gluten-free coffee cake, vegan birthday cake, vegan coffee cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cake:

• ▢ 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
• ▢ 200 ml (⅘ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 teaspoons chicory powder (or sub equal amount instant coffee)
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground walnuts * (or sub ground almonds/almond meal)
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

For the frosting:

• ▢ 400 g (14 oz) tin of full-fat coconut milk **
• ▢ 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chicory powder (or sub equal amount instant coffee)

To decorate:

• ▢ Walnut halves

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil)
• Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, coffee and ground walnuts
• Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda
• Divide mixture between two greased baking tins lined with baking paper (I used two 7inch/18cm baking tins)
• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes until risen slightly and an inserted skewer comes out clean
• Once out the oven, transfer cakes from baking tins onto a wired rack to leave them to cool completely before applying the frosting

For the frosting:

• You’ll need to keep your tin of coconut milk in the fridge overnight for the rich creamy bit to separate from the watery bit at the bottom. Make sure it is full fat coconut milk, otherwise this separation won’t happen and you won’t be able to make this cream!
• Open the tin upside down – the coconut cream will be at the bottom and you can just pour off the watery liquid (save this for adding to soups or smoothies)
• Place the thick, creamy part into a bowl
• Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and coffee
• Use an electric whisk (or a manual one and a lot of elbow grease) to whip up the coconut cream until light and fluffy

To frost and decorate the cake:

• Place one half of the cake onto a plate or cake stand, and spread just less than half of the frosting onto it
• Place the other half of the cake on top of that and use rest of the frosting to spread on top
• Decorate with walnut halves if desired
• Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days

Notes

*To make ground walnuts, place whole walnuts into a food processor and pulse briefly until you get a fine powder. Make sure not to over-blend as otherwise you'll get nut butter!

Instead of ground almonds/almonds meal, you can alternatively use almond flour

**You can alternatively use 200g (7oz) coconut yogurt

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Coffee Cake

Amount Per Serving

Calories 437 Calories from Fat 279

% Daily Value*

Fat 31g48%

Saturated Fat 17g85%

Sodium 77mg3%

Potassium 313mg9%

Carbohydrates 39g13%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 115mg12%

Iron 3mg17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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