Vegan coffee bundt cake

My mother, unlike me, is a woman of tradition. Throughout the years we see the same dishes again and again, for better or for worse (much as I’d like to try a new flavor of pizza every night), and naturally a few of the same desserts. She has her favorite dark chocolate brownies and her favorite wheat pancakes and, as you can see, her most beloved and frequently-made coffee bundt cake.

Yep. Just coffee cake. Simple enough. Found in the December 2005 edition of Cooking Light, that rather deceptively-named magazine, it has passed through our kitchen too many times to count, being made several times during the holiday seasons as gifts for anyone with a mouth. We always reserve one for ourselves, of course. The use of cake flour makes it tender and light and I can’t believe I’m using those adjectives, but you have to believe me when I say them—that’s the only way to describe how addictively delicious this cake is.

So of course I had to make a vegan version. Once again, very simple. Sub out the eggs for flaxseed (not having any tofu on hand) and the butter for coconut oil and the sour cream for coconut milk yogurt (which is, unlike margarine and such things, pretty natural if you ask me). The result is a slightly different color but a remarkably similar taste. 

Not that my shitty photography could tell you that.

In the spirit of the holiday season, I made (sometime last year...yeah I’m a wee bit behind on posting lately) a nice little bundt cake using the Christmas tree-shaped pan we recently bought. It’s a nice one, pretty festive. Even if you have no powdered sugar on hand and can’t sprinkle delicious fucking edible snow on there.

Which is why I use Photoshop.

The streusel filling is what makes this cake not just another yellow cake but a truly brunch-worthy coffee cake—it’s nutty, it’s sweet, and it’s far from any claims of “health” that the magazine Cooking Light likes to promote. Nay, it’s such a heavy load of filling that even my mother, who likes her butter and eggs (slap of shame, slap of shame), is inclined to use about half or even a third of it.

Not me. I go all out. Just dump all that shit in the batter. As we ‘Muricans like to say, go big or go home.

Just like this big bundt here. Now have a look at the recipe.

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Vegan coffee bundt cake

Adapted from Cooking Light, December 2005

Ingredients

Cake batter

16 grams • ground flaxseed • 2 ½ tablespoons

120 grams • warm water • ½ cup

300 grams • granulated sugar • 1 ½ cups

56 grams • coconut oil, softened • ¼ cup

300 grams • vegan yogurt • 1 ¼ cups

4 grams • vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon

284 grams • cake flour • 2 ¼ cups

8 grams • baking powder • 2 teaspoons

2 grams • baking soda • ½ teaspoon

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

Streusel filling

15 grams • all-purpose flour • ¼ cup

80 grams • light brown sugar • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons

2 grams • cinnamon • 1 teaspoon

2 grams • salt • ¼ teaspoon

7 grams • coconut oil • ½ tablespoon

20 grams • chopped nuts • 2 tablespoons

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan and set aside.

Make streusel first. Place all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Using your fingers, crumble in coconut oil until mixture has the texture of coarse sand. Stir in nuts.

To make cake batter, start by whisking together flaxseed and water in a small bowl. Let sit until somewhat thickened.

Place coconut oil and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat until fluffy. Add flaxseed mixture and beat for another minute. Add yogurt and vanilla extract; beat until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, spoon in flour mixture and mix just until combined.

Pour half of the batter into bundt pan, streusel sprinkle on top, and pour on remaining batter. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top is browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Slice and munch.

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Ain't that soothing? That golden-brown look?

You may notice that half the cake is gone in the pictures. You would be correct. You would also have not June but my family to blame. They like their cake too.

In a similar vein of thought, some other brunch-worthy cakes and breads.

Butternut squash bread with cheesecake swirl. Truly dessert for breakfast.

Pumpkin coffee cake with rosemary, cornmeal, and cinnamon streusel. It’s intensely flavorful and even more intensely delicious. Almost dangerously so.

Apple bundt cake with brown sugar glaze. If it’s a bundt, it’s good for the AM.

Maraschino cherry quick bread. It’s pink, goddamit! How can you not love that?