This fluffy and MOIST chocolate chip coffee cake is so tender with dairy free sour cream and studded with melty chocolate chips and a dairy free cream cheese swirl! This is the easiest coffee cake recipe- the batter is made in just one bowl, and there are no eggs, no dairy, and you’d never know!

slice of coffee cake on a plate with a bite taken

Life changing sour cream chocolate chip coffee cake – and it’s VEGAN!

Of all of my coffee cake recipes, this sour cream chocolate chip coffee cake has to be my absolute favorite.

And I’ve made quite a few coffee cakes in my time. Of course we have classics, like this vegan coffee cake and vegan pumpkin coffee cake.

But lately, I’ve been adding a cream cheese swirl to my coffee cake recipes (see my almond croissant coffee cake, banana bread coffee cake, apple crumb cake, and lemon blueberry coffee cake!), and my goodness. My friend, this is a game changer.

sliced vegan chocolate chip coffee cake on parchment paper

The result? A fluffy, tender, and deliciously rich browned butter vanilla coffee cake studded with molten semi-sweet chocolate chips, and layered with a creamy silky cream cheese swirl, more chocolate chips, and a vanilla chocolate chip crumble on top.

A mouthful, and it’s a good one.

What’s even better? This chocolate chip crumb cake uses just a whisk to make the batter, and it all goes in one bowl! No stand mixer nor needing to separately whisk the dry ingredients. 

Oh and the unbelievable part: this chocolate chip coffee cake is entirely VEGAN. Yep, no dairy, no eggs, and you’d absolutely never know. 

This crumb cake is LOVELY as a holiday brunch treat, or even just with a strong good cup of coffee 😉 You’re going to love it!

sliced coffee cake with lights in the background

How is this coffee cake vegan?

You might be wondering how the heck we can achieve such a fluffy and light texture without any eggs nor any butter (nor milk!). 

The key is in learning how to swap in the dairy free and vegan ingredients correctly. I’ve already done the heavy lifting for you on that part, so it’s quite easy!

For the eggs- we’re swapping in dairy free sour cream. Sour cream can act as an egg replacement, and it’s my favorite one for cakes and cookies (just check out my vegan vanilla cake here and my better than Tollhouse vegan chocolate chip cookies!). 

For the milk- Any dairy free milk here will work. We’re making the vegan buttermilk from scratch (don’t worry, it takes all of 5 minutes), so you can use soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.

For the butter- I love using Miyoko’s vegan butter- it literally tastes identical to dairy butter, it’s amazing. And the results are SO incredible, you’d never know what you’re baking is dairy free.

slice of vegan coffee cake on a plate

Overview: how to make chocolate chip coffee cake step by step:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

crumble in a bowl
First we’ll start by making the crumb topping. Simply combine all of the crumb topping ingredients in a bowl, and set aside.
vegan cream cheese swirl in a bowl
Next, we’ll make the cream cheese swirl. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream cheese ingredients together and set aside.
chocolate chip coffee cake batter
Finally, we’ll make the batter. You can do this again in one bowl. Simply whisk the wet ingredients, followed by pouring in the flour and the vegan buttermilk, then fold in the chocolate chips.
assembling the coffee cake
Now we’ll assemble. Pour half of the batter onto the bottom of your prepared springform pan, followed by the cheesecake swirl. Spread both to touch the edges of the pan.
assembling the cheesecake coffee cake
Then pour on the remaining batter, followed by the chocolate chips.
crumb cake before baking
Top with the crumble topping, and bake for 70 minutes.
baked chocolate chip coffee cake
Once baked, allow the coffee cake to cool for 1 hour before slicing and serving.
sliced coffee cake
Then slice, serve, and enjoy!

Can I omit the cream cheese layer?

Yes definitely- if you just feel like making this a sour cream chocolate chip coffee cake, not a problem!

Simply omit the cream cheese layer, and allow the coffee cake to only bake for 55-60 minutes. Check with a toothpick to test doneness. 

Can I make this coffee cake gluten free?

Absolutely! I love using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour. If you’re using any other gluten free flour blend, make sure that the blend uses xantahn gum. Otherwise, the cake won’t work!

chocolate chip coffee cake bitten

Different pan options:

If you don’t have a 9″ springform pan, you can use a 9″ square pan or even a 9×13″ sheet cake pan.

Alternatively, you can also use a bundt pan (a 10-cup sized bundt pan will do). To make this crumb cake as a bundt cake instead, follow the same pattern of layering half the batter with the cream cheese swirled, etc. 

Baking time will be around the same time, but check with a toothpick around the 55 minute mark!

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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slice of coffee cake on a plate with a bite taken

Moist Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 70
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

This fluffy and MOIST chocolate chip coffee cake is so tender with dairy free sour cream and studded with melty chocolate chips and a dairy free cream cheese swirl! This is the easiest coffee cake recipe- the batter is made in just one bowl, and there are no eggs, no dairy, and you’d never know!

Ingredients

Scale

Chocolate Chip Crumble:

  • 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour*
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 g) light brown sugar
  • 5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted  vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Cream Cheese Filling:

  • 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
    1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake:

  • 2/3 cup (180 g) vegan buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (113 g) vegan unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
  • 
1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) dairy free sour cream or vegan Greek yogurt, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 
2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 
3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour*
  • 1 cup vegan mini chocolate chips, divided

Glaze:

  • 1 cup (150 g) powdered sugar
  • 2–3 tbsp dairy free milk, like oat milk or soy milk

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a 9″ springform pan with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients. Prep the vegan buttermilk.
  2. Make the crumble topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the crumble ingredients, except for the chocolate chips. Once the mixture is crumbly and well mixed, add in the chocolate chips, and mix to evenly distribute. Set aside.
  3. Make the cream cheese filling: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the vegan cream cheese, brown sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla extract until combined. Then set aside.
  4. Brown the vegan butter: This step is optional, but if you’d like to brown the butter, you can add the vegan butter to a medium saucepan, and heat on medium heat until melted. Once melted, allow the butter to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continually and you’ll see light brown specks forming. Some vegan butters will foam as they heat, so it’s important to remove the butter briefly from heat to see if the specks are forming. Once the aroma is slightly nutty and you see the light brown specks, remove the butter from heat.
  5. Make the chocolate chip coffee cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the browned vegan butter, sugar, brown sugar, dairy free sour cream, and vanilla extract until evenly combined. Then add in the sea salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and whisk again until evenly distributed. Then add in the flour and pour in the vegan buttermilk as you whisk the flour into the wet ingredients. Whisk JUST until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients.
  6. Fold in the chocolate chips: Pour in 2/3 cup of the chocolate chips, and fold just until evenly distributed.
  7. Assemble the coffee cake: Pour half of the chocolate chip cake batter into the pan, and spread the cake batter to the edges of the pan. Then pour in the entire cream cheese filling mixture, and spread the filling to the edges of the pan. Pour the remaining half of the chocolate chip cake batter, spreading to the edges of the pan. Then sprinkle on the remaining chocolate chips, followed by the crumble topping.
  8. Bake: Place the coffee cake into the oven to bake for 70-72 minutes, or until the crumble is light brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven, and let the coffee cake cool for 1 hour.
  9. Make the glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar and dairy free milk, and drizzle on top of the coffee cake. Carefully remove the springform pan from the coffee cake, plate and serve.
  10. Serve and enjoy! Slice and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container and in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

Flour: To make gluten free, swap in gluten free measure for measure baking flour (such as King Arthur Measure for Measure). The blend needs to have xanthan gum in it to avoid ruining the cake!