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Slice of coffee cake on a white plate with a cake fork.
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4.96 from 102 votes

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!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Baking, Cakes, Dessert
Cuisine: Vegan
Diet: Vegan
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

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