Healthy and delicious vegan banana coffee cake studded with blueberries and topped with a crunchy streusel. Made without eggs, butter, or milk!
Banana bread meets coffee cake with a springtime twist in this blueberry banana coffee cake. I took my all time favorite quick bread, my favorite spring fruit, and an American breakfast classic and combined them to make this insanely delicious treat! And no, there isn’t actual coffee in American coffee cake. But it does go perfectly with a fresh cup of coffee in the morning!
Key Ingredients
- Bananas ⟶ Make sure they are very ripe! They should be soft with lots of brown spots.
- Almond Butter ⟶ Instead of oil or butter, I like to use nut butter in my banana bread for extra flavor and nutrients.
- Whole Wheat Flour ⟶ While whole wheat flour can often make baked goods dense, this banana cake is still delightfully tender and moist, with a slightly nutty flavor from the whole wheat flour. Just make sure you use a good quality flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill*).
- Oat Flour ⟶ I like to use oat flour in the streusel to make it more crunchy, but you can try whole wheat or all purpose flour for a slightly softer streusel.
- Blueberries ⟶ Fresh or frozen. If using frozen, don’t thaw. Add them into the batter frozen just before baking.
Tips for Success
Rest batter ⟶ Letting the batter rest gives the flour time to hydrate, leading to a softer, fluffier cake. This is especially important when using whole grains (like whole wheat flour or oat flour). Don’t add the baking soda or blueberries yet though.
Add baking soda after resting ⟶ Baking soda will start reacting with the acid in the batter as soon as it’s mixed in, so don’t add the baking soda until just before baking. You may be wondering why this cake uses baking powder and baking soda. Baking powder is purely for leavening. Baking soda acts as a leavener and also helps the edges of the cake brown.
Use gram measurements ⟶ Get a kitchen scale* and always bake with gram measurements for most accurate results!
Blueberry Banana Coffee Cake FAQ
Can I make this gluten-free?
I haven’t tested this with a gluten-free flour, but if you’d like to try, I recommend using a gluten-free all purpose blend (like Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour*) or light buckwheat flour*.
Can I make this oil-free?
There is just one tablespoon of oil (or butter) in this coffee cake, used in the streusel. You can replace it with more almond butter, but your streusel will be a bit drier.
Can I use all purpose flour?
I always make this with whole wheat flour and it’s delicious, but all purpose flour should work too.
Can I substitute the almond butter?
You can swap the almond butter for another nut butter like peanut butter or walnut butter. For a nut-free option, try tahini or sunflower seed butter (you may want to omit the baking soda if using sunflower seed butter, since it can turn the cake green due to a reaction between the chlorophyll and baking soda – increase baking powder to 2 teaspoons instead).
How do I store blueberry banana coffee cake?
This cake is very moist due to all the fresh fruit and doesn’t contain a lot of natural preservatives (i.e. salt and sugar). It can be left out at room temperature in an airtight container the day it’s made, but if you are storing leftovers overnight, place them in the fridge. They will last in the fridge for about 5 days. You can also freeze slices for up to 3 months.
More Sweet Breakfasts
- Best Healthy Banana Bread
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Zucchini Oatmeal Muffins
- Blueberry Lemon Okara Bread
- Carrot Cornmeal Banana Bread
- Japanese Sweet Potato Bread
- Vegan Anpan
If you make this blueberry banana coffee cake, don’t forget to leave a comment/rating down below and tag me in your photos on instagram @ellielikes.cooking. I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
Vegan Blueberry Banana Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Streusel
- ½ cup (60g)
oat flour* - 3 tbsp (36g) brown sugar
- 1½ tbsp (22g) almond butter
- 1 tbsp (13g) oil or vegan butter
Cake
- 360 grams very ripe banana, 3-4 medium bananas
- 2½ tbsp (30g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60g) almond butter
- ¼ cup (60ml) soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp miso, or pinch of salt
- 1½ cups (180g)
whole wheat flour* - 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
After Resting
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Make streusel: Whisk flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add almond butter and oil and use a fork to stir and mash them into the dry ingredients until you get large crumbles. You can also use your fingers to pinch the mixture together. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: Mash bananas in a large mixing bowl, then whisk in brown sugar, almond butter, soy milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and miso or salt.
- Fold in dry ingredients: Sift whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg over the wet ingredients. Fold the dry and wet ingredients together just until there is no dry flour left. Be careful not to overmix.
- Rest batter: Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving excess parchment paper on the sides to make removing the cake easier.
- Add baking soda and blueberries after resting: Uncover the mixing bowl and sift baking soda on top. Add blueberries and gently fold into the batter to distribute.
- Bake: Transfer batter to your lined baking pan. Sprinkle streusel on top and gently press the streusel into the batter so it sticks. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool: Place the baking pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the coffee cake (grab the sides of the parchment paper) and place directly on the wire rack to finish cooling.
- Store: The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature the day it's made. Any leftovers for the next day should be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
*Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, but the price remains the same to you. Thank you for supporting Ellie Likes Cooking!
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