This vegan and gluten free spiced gingerbread coffee cake is topped with a buttery pecan streusel and a vanilla bean glaze. It's tender, moist, perfectly spiced and absolutely delicious!
If had to choose one breakfast pastry to make all winter, it would 100% be this gingerbread coffee cake. (Yes, even over cinnamon rolls or donuts!)
It's so, SO good. It's really hard not to eat the whole pan in one day.
The cake is packed with warming gingerbread spices. It's perfectly tender and not too sweet, so it's perfectly acceptable as breakfast. The streusel topping adds a crunchy, nutty, buttery component, and the sweet vanilla glaze ties everything together.
I'm already so excited to wake up on Christmas morning and enjoy a slice of this gingerbread coffee cake (or maybe half of the pan 😉) and a few cups of coffee or hot cocoa!
Gingerbread spices
There are a few essential spices you'll need to make this gingerbread coffee cake:
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg: I love using freshly grated nutmeg – it has so much more flavor –but pre-ground is perfectly fine, too.
- Ground ginger
- Ground cloves
- Optional: a pinch of allspice or cardamom
- Molasses: not a spice, but molasses is an essential ingredient for that spiced gingerbread flavor!
Instructions
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. You can spray/lightly coat the bottom and sides of the pan with oil or butter to help keep the parchment paper in place.
Make the flax "eggs" by stirring together 2 tablespoon flax meal and 5 tablespoon water. Let sit for 15 minutes to thicken.
Make the streusel: add flour, pecans, cinnamon, ginger and salt to a mixing bowl. Stir well, then add maple syrup and coconut oil and stir well to form streusel.
Make cake batter: Sift gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the almond flour and sugar.
Whisk together applesauce, molasses, coconut oil, vanilla and flax eggs. Add in dry mixture and stir well with a spatula until combined (or use an electric hand mixer to combine). Add in nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar and whisk/beat just until the batter comes together.
Pour batter into parchment paper-lined pan. Spread evenly, then top with streusel in an even layer.
Bake for 30-32 minutes. Insert a toothpick to test doneness – it should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.
Make glaze: While cooling, whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth. Once cooled, drizzle with glaze, slice and enjoy!
Recipe notes
- Apple cider vinegar is an essential ingredient, as it reacts with baking soda to create a rise in gluten free and vegan baked goods. NOTE: wait to add the apple cider vinegar until right before you bake this cake, otherwise the reaction will occur too early in the baking process.
- Wondering what on earth a flax "egg" is? The short explanation: it's a simple mixture of ground flax meal and water, which forms a gelatinous substance that acts as a binder in vegan baking recipes (just like real egg). Read more about flax eggs here!
- Feel free to substitute pecans in the streusel with finely chopped almonds, walnuts, or even sunflower seeds for a nut free option.
- Gluten free flour recommendation: we used our favorite Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour.
- Nondairy milk recommendations: we prefer using nondairy creamer, which is thicker and creamier than most nondairy milks. A few brands we use: Nutpods, Oatly, Forager Project, Califia Farms.
- Vanilla bean paste adds so much flavor to the glaze, but you can also use regular vanilla extract or the seeds from one vanilla bean pod.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezer storage: store sliced cake in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, microwave individual slices for about 30 seconds on high, until fully warmed.
More vegan holiday recipes:
- Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies
- Pecan Snowball Cookies
- Spiced Citrus Mulled Wine
- Vegan Peppermint Mocha
- Vegan Linzer Cookies
If you make this vegan and gluten free gingerbread coffee cake, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.
Print
Gingerbread Coffee Cake
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This vegan and gluten free spiced gingerbread coffee cake is topped with a buttery pecan streusel and a vanilla bean glaze. It's tender, moist, perfectly spiced and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free all purpose flour (or regular AP flour)
- ½ cup fine almond flour
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp fine kosher salt
- ¼ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
- ¼ cup unsulphured molasses
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp flax meal + 5 tbsp water)
- ¾ cup nondairy milk or creamer (oat, cashew, etc)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Streusel:
- ⅔ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup finely chopped pecans or almonds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
Vanilla Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp nondairy milk
- ¾ tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper. (Spray/lightly coat the bottom and sides of the pan with oil or butter to help keep the parchment paper in place)
- Make the flax "eggs" by stirring together 2 tablespoon flax meal and 5 tablespoon water. Let sit for 15 minutes to thicken.
- Make the streusel: add flour, pecans, cinnamon, ginger and salt to a mixing bowl. Stir well, then add maple syrup and coconut oil and stir well to form streusel.
- Sift gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the almond flour and sugar.
- Whisk together applesauce, molasses, coconut oil, vanilla and flax eggs. Add in dry mixture and stir well with a spatula until combined (or use an electric hand mixer to combine). Add in nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar and whisk/beat just until the batter comes together.
- Pour batter into parchment paper-lined pan. Spread evenly, then top with streusel in an even layer.
- Bake for 30-32 minutes. Insert a toothpick to test doneness – it should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.
- While cooling, whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth. Once cooled, drizzle with glaze, slice and enjoy!
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or, store in freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat a slice in microwave for about 30 seconds on high.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 298
- Sugar: 22.4 g
- Sodium: 298.2 mg
- Fat: 10.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.4 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 3.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Chantel says
I tried a different recipe and the science failed. I am so happy I found your recipe! I made it on Christmas Eve so that we could reheat it and eat it for Christmas morning. The family loved it!! I am diabetic, so I subbed coconut sugar for the sugar. Delicious!!
Lexi says
So glad you enjoyed!! We had it for Christmas morning too 🙂 Really appreciate your comment!
Marc says
Thanks! Worked out great. And good with a cup of Nespresso
Lexi says
Perfect, glad to hear it!
Marc says
Can you sub something for apple sauce? Thanks
Lexi says
Hi Marc! You could sub 1/4 cup of ripe, mashed banana. Other than that, there's really no other substitute that I can guarantee will work. You could try another flax egg (or regular egg), but it still might not turn out quite the same. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Vicki says
Thank you Lexi Merry Merry!!
Vicki says
This looks so amazing for Christmas morning!! Can this be made ahead of time and if so, would you make the entire cake or wait and put the icing on the day of serving? Would you recommend reheating day of too? How ahead can this be made? Thank you very much!!
Lexi says
Hi Vicki! Yes, you can make the entire cake ahead of time! If you want to eat it warm, I would wait to add the icing until just before serving. You can either warm it in the oven or reheat an individual slice in the microwave for 10-20 seconds. You can make this probably up to 3 days in advance as long as it's covered when stored. Thank you and hope you enjoy! We will be making it for Christmas morning, too!
Michele says
Could you use oat flour in this? What amount would you recommend?
Lexi says
Hi! You could probably use oat flour instead of almond flour, but I would still use the all purpose flour if you can. I'm not sure it would be the right texture with all oat flour. Hope you give it a try!
Linda Waters says
I can’t have coconut oil. What is a good sub? Thank you—love your recipes.
Lexi says
Hi! Any neutral oil will work (vegetable, canola, etc).
Colleen says
Can you use regular eggs instead of flax eggs?
Lexi says
Yes, you can use 2 regular eggs!
Kate says
If you use all purpose flour, do you still need the apple cider vinegar - looks like its just needed for gluten free flours?
Lexi says
Hi Kate! Should work fine without the ACV. Hope you enjoy!