Blueberry Coffee Cake

There is a bakery in my hometown and they make the most delicious blueberry coffee cake. Any time I am a guest in somebody’s home, I always pick up a blueberry coffee cake to accompany our breakfast in the morning. Increasingly, as I find myself surrounded by people who are either gluten-free or vegan—and as I find myself increasingly eating according to those diets—I have been looking for an alternative to serve as my house warming treat in lieu of that delicious coffee cake from the bakery down the street. While there might not be anything that beats old fashioned blueberry coffee cake, just like nothing quite beats a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the summer or crawling into bed after a long day, this recipe comes pretty close. Topped with a crumbly oat topping, this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and free from refined sugar. Definitely, a coffee cake I wouldn’t mind waking up to.

Ingredients

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup apple sauce

1/4 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup gluten free flour (I use half oat flour and half almond flour but you can use any gf flour mix)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

1/2 cup blueberries

cinnamon crumb topping

1/2 cup oats (I use gf rolled oats but any oats will work)

2 tsp maple syrup

1-1/2 tsp coconut oil, melted

1-1/2 tsp cinnamon (more if desired)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a bread pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

2. In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup oats, 2 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp coconut oil and cinnamon. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, add coconut oil, maple syrup, almond milk, apple sauce and vanilla, whisk to combine.

4. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to bowl with liquids. Whisk until well combined. Fold in blueberries.

5. Pour batter into prepared pan and top with crumb topping. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out clean.