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    Home » Cakes and Cupcakes

    Vegan Coffee Cake

    Published: Mar 15, 2021 Updated: Mar 15, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Coffee Cake

    Insanely delicious vegan coffee cake. This isn’t just a cake to eat with your coffee, this is a decadent coffee flavored cake!

    Slice of coffee cake on a cake lifter.

    It was a bit of a surprise to me when I found out that folks in America call something a coffee cake when it’s meant to be eaten alongside your coffee. It doesn’t necessarily have any coffee in it.

    Whereas in the UK (and South Africa, where I’m from), a coffee cake is a cake flavored with coffee.

    So this vegan coffee cake, is a coffee flavored cake. Just in case you were thinking it’s one of those ‘eat with your coffee’ kind of cakes, not flavored with coffee at all.

    This isn’t one of those. But you CAN eat this with your coffee of course and the coffee flavor is just fabulous! If you love cakes then also check out the most amazing vegan chocolate cake and our awesome vegan biscoff cake.

    The Coffee Flavor

    I was vaguely considering going the route of using filter coffee in this, but decided against it because I’ve tried that before in a cake and the flavor doesn’t come through strongly enough.

    So this coffee cake has 3 tablespoons of instant coffee powder, and the flavor is there, it’s sooo there.

    And this way you don’t even have to put on a pot of coffee, you just have to spoon it in, it’s too easy.

    What You Need For The Cake:

    Photo of the ingredients to make vegan coffee cake.

    Ingredient Notes

    • Instant coffee powder – we used instant espresso powder which worked great but any instant coffee will do perfectly.
    • Canola oil – can be replaced with any vegetable oil.
    • Apple cider vinegar – can be replaced with distilled white vinegar. This reacts with the baking soda and causes the cake to rise.
    • Soy milk – can be switched for any non-dairy milk.

    What You Need For The Frosting

    Photo of ingredients for frosting.

    Frosting Ingredient Notes

    • Vegan butter – ideally choose a vegan butter that is as firm as possible. It can either be sticks or tub-style vegan butter, but the firmer the better. Very soft buttery spreads sometimes don’t work as well in frostings as they tend to be too soft.
    • Coffee liqueur – you can use any coffee liqueur. We used kahlua. If you don’t want a boozy frosting then you can replace this with non-dairy milk.
    • Instant coffee powder – this can be any instant coffee, we used instant espresso powder.
    Slice of coffee cake on a cake lifter.

    How To Make Vegan Coffee Cake

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Sift all purpose flour into your mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and instant coffee powder. Mix together.
    Two photo collage showing dry ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed together.
    • Add soy milk, vanilla extract, oil and vinegar and mix into a batter. Don’t overmix.
    Collage of two photos showing wet ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed into a batter.
    • Divide the batter evenly between two 8-inch cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom).
    • Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before removing them from the cake pans and placing onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    Collage of two photos showing coffee cake before and after baking.
    • Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, coffee liqueur, instant coffee powder and vanilla extract to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth.
    Collage of two photos showing ingredients for frosting added to stand mixer and mixed together.
    • When the cakes have cooled completely, frost them.
    • Place the frosted cake into the fridge for an hour for the frosting to set.
    Two photo collage showing cakes cooling on wire cooling rack and then the frosted cake on a white cake stand.

    Recipe Tips

    Measure the flour correctly. Either weigh your flour on a food scale (for complete accuracy) or use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup.

    Don’t over-mix your batter. Mix the batter until just mixed. Over-mixing the batter can affect the texture and the rise of the cake.

    Bake immediately. When the batter is mixed, transfer to your cake pans and bake right away. Don’t let the batter sit for any length of time or it can affect the texture and rise.

    Adapt for different cake pans. You can also make this cake in two 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes.

    Slice of coffee cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    Recipe FAQ

    Can you make it gluten-free?

    You can switch the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity.

    Can you make cupcakes?

    This recipe makes 18-24 cupcakes. Or you can check out our vegan coffee cupcakes recipe.

    How to store it?

    Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week.

    Can you freeze this cake?

    You can freeze the frosted or unfrosted cake for up to 3 months.

    Slice of coffee cake on a white plate with a bite removed.

    More Vegan Cakes

    1. Easy vegan chocolate cake 
    2. Vegan Vanilla Cake
    3. Vegan White Cake
    4. Vegan Lemon Cake
    5. Vegan Banana Cake
    6. Vegan Carrot Cake 

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Slice of coffee cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    Vegan Coffee Cake

    Insanely delicious vegan coffee cake. This isn’t just a cake to eat with your coffee, this is a decadent coffee flavored cake!
    4.97 from 91 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Baking, Cakes, Dessert
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 591kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups All Purpose Flour (375g)
    • 1 ½ cups Light Brown Sugar (300g)
    • 1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
    • 1 tsp Cinnamon
    • ¾ tsp Salt
    • 3 Tbsp Instant Coffee Powder or Instant Espresso Powder
    • 1 ½ cups Soy Milk (360ml) or other non-dairy milk
    • 3 tsp Vanilla Extract
    • ¾ cup Canola Oil (180ml) or Vegetable Oil
    • 1 ½ Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

    Frosting:

    • 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
    • ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
    • ¼ cup Coffee Liqueur (60ml)
    • 1 Tbsp Instant Coffee Powder or Instant Espresso Powder
    • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 8-inch* cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper. 
    • Sift all purpose flour into your mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and instant coffee powder. Mix together. 
    • Add soy milk, vanilla extract, oil and vinegar and mix into a batter. Don’t overmix. 
    • Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared 8-inch cake pans and smooth down. 
    • Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean. 
    • Let the cakes cool for a few minutes before removing them from the cake pans and placing onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting. 
    • Add powdered sugar, vegan butter, coffee liqueur, instant coffee powder and vanilla extract to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed, gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. 
    • When the cakes have cooled completely, frost them and then place the frosted cake into the fridge for an hour for the frosting to set. 

    Notes

    1. Measure the flour correctly. Either weigh your flour on a food scale (for complete accuracy) or use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. 
    2. 9-inch cake pans: You can also make this cake in two 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes. 
    3. Coffee Liqueur: You can use any coffee liqueur. We used kahlua. If you don’t want a boozy frosting though you can replace this with non-dairy milk. 
    4. Gluten-Free: You can switch the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose baking blend in the same quantity. 
    5. Cupcakes: This recipe makes 18-24 cupcakes.
    6. Storing: Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where it will last for up to a week.
    7. Freezing: You can freeze the frosted or unfrosted cake for up to 3 months. 
    8. This recipe was first published in November 2017. It has been updated with new photos and the recipe itself has been increased to fit larger cake pans and adjusted for simplicity. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 591kcal | Carbohydrates: 93g | Protein: 4.3g | Fat: 21.7g | Saturated Fat: 3.1g | Sodium: 416mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 65.8g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lee says

      August 12, 2023 at 9:29 pm

      Genuinely couldn’t even tell it’s vegan! It has the taste and flavour of a regular cake which is AMAZING! My mum is vegan and struggles to find things like cakes that she likes in stores, so I bake things for her! I’ve made this to surprise her (and obviously I had to take a sample) and WOW. Honestly speechless! I’ll 100% be using this recipe in the future 🙂5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        August 14, 2023 at 8:29 am

        So happy to hear you and your mom loved the cake Lee! Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    2. Rosemary says

      July 05, 2023 at 9:33 am

      Super delicious! Thanks for another great recipe, Alison.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine says

        July 05, 2023 at 12:20 pm

        So glad you enjoyed the recipe Rosemary! Thanks for you review!

        Reply
    3. Suki says

      June 28, 2023 at 2:33 pm

      Hi, I’m sure this will be fantastic just like all your other recipes! Can i add chopped walnuts to the mix? And can I add coffee (liquid) to the icing instead of liqueur or milk for non-alcoholic coffee flavour? Thanks!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 05, 2023 at 1:43 pm

        Hi Suki! That should be fine! Thanks for your review! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Hayley says

      March 27, 2023 at 2:06 pm

      I added chopped walnuts to mine and a few on the top to finish it off to make Coffee and Walnut cake (my mum’s favourite) for Mother’s Day. She loved it and so did I! I’ve been vegan for 5 years but this was my first successful cake recipe! I’m delighted, it worked very well and was nice and light. Absolutely no heaviness in the sponge whatsoever. Now I’m excited to try more of your recipes! I didn’t have instant coffee so used ground instead which gave a nice, decently strong flavour but next time (and there’ll definitely be a next time!) I’ll use instant coffee to give a more intense flavour. Thank you, Alison.

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 9:59 am

        Thank you so much for sharing and I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! The addition of the walnuts sounds delicious!

        Reply
    5. J says

      March 19, 2023 at 10:51 pm

      Made this and it was delicious. I didn’t have instant coffee or butter for the icing, so I made a strong shot of espresso coffee and added that and added a little less milk so it wasn’t too much liquid.
      For the icing I found a vegan no butter icing on line and added another shot of espresso too that. It really worked and came out delicious! Thank you!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 10:00 am

        So glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for your review!

        Reply
    6. Anna says

      March 09, 2023 at 1:17 pm

      Hi, I haven’t yet made this recipe but just from reading it I can tell it will be good. I was wondering if the apple cider vinegar can be substitute for lemon juice, I have read that as it’s acidic like ACV that it would work perfect as a substitute. Apple cider vinegar is hard to come by here and is very expensive when you can find it. I also can’t stand the smell of vinegar, one whiff makes me sick so I would prefer to use something non-vinegar based. That’s why I think lemon juice should work but I was wondering your opinion and if you might have any other suggestions! Can’t wait to try this! Haven’t had a good coffee cake since going vegan so I really can’t wait! Lol

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 10:01 am

        Lemon juice should work just fine Anna!

        Reply
    7. Hannah says

      March 08, 2023 at 12:09 pm

      hi there, I’ve made this cake twice now, but the actual cake just doesn’t taste like coffee at all? it tastes like cinnamon, but I honestly can’t taste even a hint of coffee, what am I doing wrong??! help me!

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 10:03 am

        Hi Hannah, maybe it’s the instant coffee powder? Have you tried experimenting with a different brand of instant coffee powder?

        Reply
    8. Jameelah Salahuddin says

      February 19, 2023 at 1:58 am

      The best coffee cake ever! Non-traditional, but it is delicious5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 10:01 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
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