Blueberry Coffee Cake – Without Dairy or Eggs

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This blueberry coffee cake is a delicious treat that’s easy to make! Enjoy the flavors of cinnamon and brown sugar, just right for a coffee break. I wanted to create a recipe that I loved as much as a box mix crumb cake…sooo good but unfortunately quite sweet and not the healthiest option around.

This cake has the beautiful color and sweet flavor of blueberries. Unlike most cakes, it is: vegan, lower in sugar, higher in fiber, and lower in fat and saturated fat. You may have noticed that this is in fact the first cake recipe I have shared on this blog. Why? Cakes are delicious but become trickier to make when trying to make a healthier recipe. Ingredients like fat and sugar add moisture and flavor to cakes, so this took me quite a few trials to ensure it tasted great.

And while this blueberry coffee cake is baked in the oven as a standard coffee cake is, I have also made it in an Instant Pot. I explain how in the recipe notes. This is a great option if you want to bake on a hot summer’s day.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• All-purpose flour – I suggest using unbleached flour. Whenever baking, spoon the flour lightly into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife. If you have a scale, weight the flour instead of using measuring cups for better accuracy
• White whole-wheat flour -this is lighter in texture and flavor than regular whole wheat flour. Another possibility is whole wheat pastry flour, although this blueberry coffee cake recipe hasn’t been tested with that type of flour.
• Brown sugar – helps with the texture of the cake and streusel. Look for USDA organic brown sugar for vegan sugar.
• Plant-based milk – I made this with vanilla soy milk. I imagine other plant-based milk alternatives would be equally good, but have not tried them in this recipe.
• Applesauce – this is used to add moisture and help with replacing eggs. I use my Homemade Honeycrisp Applesauce, which is made with no added sugar.
• Ground flaxseed – mixed with warm water, this also is used to help replace eggs.
• Blueberries – I made this with fresh blueberries, but you can just as easily use frozen ones. The frozen blueberries do tend to warm up quickly and shed their juice. I would place these right from the freezer into the dry ingredients and mix them to try to keep them separated. If you wind up with blue streaks in the coffee cake, no worries – it will look cool and taste just as good!
• Plant-based butter substitute – I used a rather firm one that comes in a tub. Nonetheless, it melts much more quickly than dairy butter. be sure to use it right from the refrigerator. If it warms up too much, you will have more of a cinnamon frosting than the crumbs of a streusel (which still tastes amazing).
• Ceylon cinnamon – I just found this type of cinnamon, which has a bit of a different and lighter flavor than the “regular” cassia cinnamon you may be used to. It is a little pricey, but this is just the right type of recipe to highlight it’s more delicate taste. You can read more about it in this article from Bon Appetit.

How to Make Blueberry Coffee Cake

1. Make sure to lightly spoon flours into a measuring cup and level them off with a knife – or better yet, weigh them. Otherwise, using too much flour can result in a tough batter.
2. In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a whisk.
3. In a medium bowl, add the plant-based milk, applesauce, olive oil, water, and ground flaxseed. Mix well with a whisk.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir just until mixed with a large spoon. Add the blueberries and fold them in, being careful not to break them.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. If using a regular pan, spread a little olive oil on the bottom and sides of the pad with a paper towel.
6. In a separate small bowl, add the streusel ingredients: brown sugar, all-purpose flour, plant-based butter, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the plant-based butter into smaller pieces with a pastry blender or 2 knives.
7. Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel batter on top. Spread the rest of the batter on top of the streusel layer, and finish by sprinkling the rest of the streusel on top.
8. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Check doneness with a cake tester or toothpick: when inserted into the center it should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool. Unclasp the pan ring, slice the cake, and serve.

Instant Pot Directions

Use a 7″ nonstick springform pan. Don’t grease the pan. Layer half of the batter, half of the streusel, the rest of the batter, and the rest of the streusel topping. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Place the steamer rack into the liner of a 6-quart Instant Pot. Add a cup of water. Then place the foil-wrapped pan on top of the steamer rack. Try to make sure it is flat. Close the lid and make sure the pressure release valve is in the middle float position.

Set on pressure cook – high for 45 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Then release any remaining pressure by turning the valve to the open position. Open the lid and let the pan cool until it can be handled. Carefully remove from the liner with potholders. Unwrap the foil, and allow the blueberry coffee cake to cool before unclasping the pan ring, removing the cake from the bottom, and slicing it into pieces.

This is what the Instant Pot version looks like:

Storage

Store this cake in a covered container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or store wrapped in foil or in a container in the freezer for up to 2 months. To defrost it, pull it out of the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for a few hours.

Related Recipes You May Enjoy

• Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies – Instant Pot Recipe
• Healthy Blueberry Smoothie with Almond Butter
• Kiwi Pineapple Sorbet (only 4 ingredients!)
• Vegan Banana Bread with Dark Chocolate Chunks
• Chocolate Mocha Nice Cream

Blueberry Coffee Cake – Without Dairy or Eggs

Melissa Altman-Traub MS, RDN, LDN

Delectable and satisfying – try this coffee cake fresh and warm from the oven. Made with fresh blueberries and light and fragrant Ceylon cinnamon. A delicious and lighter vegan treat!

5 from 13 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 251 kcal

Equipment

• 8½" round springform pan (oven) or 7" nonstick springform pan (Instant Pot)
• 1 medium sized mixing bowl
• 2 small bowls
• Pastry blender or 2 knives
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups or scale
• Wooden spoon

Ingredients

  

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Batter

• 1 cup (125 gm) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (110 gm) white whole-wheat flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup plant-based milk
• ⅓ cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 4 tablespoons warm water
• 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 1¼ cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Streusel

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons plant-based butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably Ceylon
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir well with a whisk.
• In a medium bowl, add the plant-based milk, applesauce, olive oil, water, and ground flaxseed. Mix well with a whisk.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir them with a wooden spoon just until mixed. Add the blueberries and fold them in, being careful not to break them.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. If using a regular pan, spread a little olive oil on the bottom and sides of the pan with a paper towel (this may not be needed for a nonstick pan).
• In a separate small bowl, add the stresusel ingredients: brown sugar, all-purpose flour, plant-based butter, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the plant-based butter into smaller pieces with a pastry blender or 2 knives.
• Spread half of the batter evenly in the pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel batter on top. Spread the rest of the batter on top of the streusel layer, and finish by sprinkling the rest of the streusel on top.
• Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Check doneness with a cake tester or toothpick: when inserted into the center it should come out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool.

Notes

The nutrition estimate is from Spoonacular, which is based mainly on USDA data.

Vanilla soy milk and plain almond milk have been used for recipe testing. Vanilla soy milk was used for the nutrition estimate

Fresh or frozen blueberries can be used. If using frozen blueberries, don’t defrost them first.

I suggest Ceylon cinnamon for a nice, light cinnamon flavor, but regular cinnamon is very good in this recipe too.

Lift the cake off of the bottom of a springform pan using a spatula.

This recipe was also tested using a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo pressure cooker.

Instant Pot directions:

Use a 7″ nonstick springform pan. Don’t grease the pan. Layer half of the batter, half of the streusel, the rest of the batter, and the rest of the streusel topping. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

Place the steamer rack into the liner of a 6-quart Instant Pot. Add a cup of water. Then place the foil-wrapped pan on top of the steamer. Try to make sure it is flat. Close the lid and make sure the pressure release valve is in the middle float position.

Set on pressure cook – high for 45 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes. Then release any remaining pressure by turning the valve to the open position. Open the lid and let the pan cool until it can be handled. Carefully remove from the liner with potholders. Unwrap the foil, and allow the blueberry coffee cake to cool before unclasping the pan ring, removing the cake from the bottom, and slicing it into pieces.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 251kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 5gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 359mgPotassium: 110mgFiber: 3gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 208IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 110mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Blueberry, Cake, Coffee cake, Vegan

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