So, about a month ago I embarked on a journey to make a vegan, gluten free coffee cake. Although the flavors were spot on, the texture was anything but. So, after eating my way through the rather gummy rendition of a coffee cake, I decided to give it a try once again. This time though I would focus on nailing the vegan part and then once I had those proportions down, I would work on the gluten free part. This, my friends, is vegan coffee cake–nailed!
I finally got the proportions right–the cake is almost muffin dense, but ever so moist. And you know, me being me, I had to do something a little different with it. I had poppy seeds in the cabinet, so I added those to the mix. And I wanted to highlight the beauty of summer fruit, so I made this a blueberry coffee cake. The lemon adds an unexpected element of freshness, zing, and vitality. Together, the cake is simply magical (especially the lemon!). Next time, I might double the amount of blueberries and use a wee bit of lemon extract in addition to the vanilla extract, but honestly, that’s just me being picky now. This cake is wonderful–for breakfast, as a snack, or in the middle of the night when you have insomnia.
AND it allowed me to concentrate on my blue and indigo chakras–effective verbalizing, devotion, balanced state of mind, inspiration, peace, calm, non-verbal messages, empathy, and trust in myself. Now, I’m not saying that you’ll have all of these things if you make and eat this coffee cake, but hey, it’s a start, no?
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake
Cake Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup Earth Balance–softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar–packed
- 1 cup vegan sour cream
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon egg replacer–dry
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 pint blueberries–washed
Topping Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar–packed
- 1/2 toasted pecans–roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 4 tablespoons Earth Balance
- 4 tablespoons spelt flour
- zest from 1 lemon
- dash salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
- Sugar for sprinkling–optional
Method:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add all of the topping ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until combined. Set aside in medium bowl. Lightly grease 8 x 8 pan. Set aside.
*In a large bowl, cream Earth Balance and sugars. Whisk in sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, egg replacer, and poppy seeds.
*Add wet ingredients and vinegar to dry ingredients. Whisk. Add half of the batter to the prepared pan. Add 1/2 of the blueberries to the batter and 1/2 of the topping to the batter. Top with remaining batter. Top with remaining blueberries and topping. Sprinkle lightly with sugar (optional). Bake 30-35 minutes. Let cool. Enjoy!!!