Vegan Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl
This moist & tender lemon blueberry coffee cake has a ripple of dairy free cream cheese throughout and is bursting with fresh lemon! Easy, dairy free, no eggs!
Why you need to try this lemon blueberry coffee cake:
If ever there was a cake to represent summer, it’s this lemon blueberry coffee cake with cream cheese swirl. Like my blueberry lemon cake, it’s bursting with bright lemon flavor from fresh lemon zest and sweet and juicy blueberries.
And like my banana bread cream cheese coffee cake, almond coffee cake, and chocolate chip coffee cake, we’re putting a spin on the traditional coffee cake recipe, and swapped out the cinnamon streusel (and streusel topping) for a cream cheese ripple and sweet crumb topping.
Oh, and this blueberry coffee cake is unbelievably vegan- no eggs, no dairy, and you’d never even know. PLUS, you only need a whisk to make the batter! How simple is that?! No stand mixer nor complicated reverse creaming method required.
Let’s talk about the components:
Soft lemon blueberry cake- This lemon blueberry cake base is moist, tender, and soft with only real lemon. Absolutely no lemon extract whatsoever! The cake is delicate, yet structured, thanks to using dairy free yogurt in lieu of eggs, and the fresh blueberries bring a refreshing sweetness to that tangy lemon flavor.
Silky lemon cream cheese filling- The cream cheese filling might actually be my favorite. Just a simple whisk together of vegan cream cheese, cornstarch, sugar, and a bit of lemon zest for a perfectly set, almost cheesecake-like texture in between two fluffy blueberry cake layers.
Sweet cinnamon crumb topping- Unlike traditional crumble topping, we’re omitting the brown sugar to leave this lemon blueberry coffee cake feeling lighter and brighter!
Vanilla bean glaze- Just a simple whisk of powdered sugar with vanilla bean paste and a drop of dairy free milk makes for a lush sweet glaze that’s the perfect complement to the zingy lemon flavor.
Honestly, this is the best summer version of coffee cake, and it’s perfect for a weekend brunch or fun breakfast treat with a cup of coffee! Add a batch of my easy vegan blueberry muffins, and you’re set 😉
How is this blueberry coffee cake vegan?
A traditional blueberry coffee cake recipe contains dairy and eggs. This crumb cake, however, is different.
Instead of eggs, we’re using my favorite vegan egg substitute, dairy free yogurt. Instead of butter, we’re using vegan butter, and instead of milk, we’re using dairy free milk (I LOVE this recipe with oat milk, but soy milk or almond milk also work!).
Oh, and the cream cheese? We’re using dairy free cream cheese (and you can even make your own vegan cream cheese too!).
You really can’t taste the difference- actually, many non-vegan readers comment that they like the vegan version even better 😉 That’s why I have a whole cookbook on how to make unbelievably delicious vegan and gluten free desserts. You’re going to love it!
Overview: How to make vegan lemon blueberry coffee cake:
Tips for success:
Use a larger springform pan- I recommend using at least a 9″ springform pan. Otherwise, you’ll be baking the blueberry coffee cake for far too long in the oven!
Make sure you’re using a kitchen scale- This will ensure that all of your ingredients are in the appropriate quantities. Too much flour, and you’ll yield a drier cake!
You can use frozen or fresh blueberries- I really like fresh blueberries, but when not in season, or if you’re out of fresh blueberries, you can absolutely use frozen! Still make sure to coat the blueberries in flour to prevent them from sinking in the cake.
Swap out the berries- If you have an abundance of strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries, feel free to swap those in instead!
If you just want a sugar crumble- You can omit the teaspoon ground cinnamon added to the crumble. I personally LOVE it, and that’s what makes it so reminiscent of a coffee cake, but feel free to omit! I know sometimes people are wary of trying cinnamon with blueberry, but it really goes well in my blueberry lemon cinnamon rolls, so I’d definitely give it a go here!
You can use a different shaped pan- If you don’t have a 9″ springform pan, consider a large rectangular baking dish (9×13) or a square 9×9 baking pan!
Can I make this blueberry coffee cake gluten free?
Absolutely! I like to use King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour blend. Add in a tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot starch to help with any grittiness in the flour, and honestly you won’t believe your vegan blueberry coffee cake is also gluten free then!
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Vegan Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Swirl
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 75
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This moist & tender lemon blueberry coffee cake has a ripple of dairy free cream cheese throughout and is bursting with fresh lemon! Easy, dairy free, no eggs!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Crumble:
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour*, plus 1 tbsp for coating the blueberries
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp (70 g) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake Batter:
- 1 pint (12 ounces) fresh or frozen blueberries
- 3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour*
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/4 cup (250 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (113 g) vegan unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 3/4 cup (170 g) dairy free yogurt or vegan sour cream, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) dairy free milk (like oat milk or soy milk), room temperature
- 60 mL (1/4 cup) lemon juice, about 1–2 lemons
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon zest, about 3 medium lemons
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Icing:
- 1 cup (140 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp dairy free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the rims of the springform pan. Rinse the blueberries and pour into a small bowl. Add 1 tbsp of flour to them, and toss to evenly coat. This will prevent the blueberries from sinking
- Make the crumble first: In a medium bowl, use a fork to mix together the crumble ingredients until you get a sand-like texture. Then set aside.
- Next, make the cream cheese filling: In another medium bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the cream cheese filling ingredients until the cream cheese is fluffy and the ingredients are integrated (about 1-2 minutes). Set aside.
- Now make the blueberry coffee cake batter: In a large bowl, add in the sugar and the lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers to help release the lemon oils. Then pour in the vegan butter, dairy free yogurt, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine. Then add in the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. As you’re whisking the dry ingredients, pour in the dairy free milk, followed by the lemon juice. Whisk just until the dry ingredients are incorporated with the wet. Then fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed.
- Assemble the coffee cake: Spoon half of the blueberry coffee cake batter into the pan, and spread it to the edges of the pan. Then spoon the cream cheese layer on top, and use an offset spatula to spread the cream cheese to the edges. Next, spread the remaining blueberry coffee cake batter on top to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the batter.
- Bake: Place the springform pan into the oven to bake for 75-77 minutes (it’s a long bake time, but don’t worry- it doesn’t dry out!). Remove the pan from the oven when a toothpick comes out clean and the crumble is lightly golden on top.
- Cool: Allow the coffee cake to cool in its pan for 1 hour.
- Serve: When ready to serve, whisk together the icing ingredients. Carefully remove the walls of the springform pan, and drizzle the icing on top. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Gluten free: I like to use King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour. It’s so easy and tastes delicious! You MUST use a blend designed for baking with xanthan gum- you cannot just use any gluten free flour (such as just almond flour or just rice flour). Add in 1 tbsp of cornstarch to help with the grittiness.
Hey! Me again!!
Can these be made as muffins? If so what would you change the cooking times to?
Hi Meera! Yes you can! I know a few readers have tested this out, I haven’t personally, but you should be able to yield about 12 large muffins (or 24 smaller ones). I would pipe the cream cheese into the muffins like in my pumpkin muffins, and bake for about 22-25 minutes, but check how they’re doing in your oven around the 18 min mark!
Hi I just wondered how many calories is Vegan Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake with Cream cheese Swirl please I need to know how many calories each slice? thanks
Hi Barbara- unfortunately, I don’t calculate calories for my recipes as it would be inaccurate since you might use different products than me, which have varying nutritional values. You can always plug my recipe into an online nutritional calculator and adjust for the products you use specifically!
Hii Britt, the recipe sounds amazing! I want to bake the cake in advance. How long can I keep the cake refrigerated/freezed for it to still taste fresh? I’m a bit anxious that the crumble will get soggy etc.. Thanks in advance!!
Hi Emma! So sorry I’m just responding! I would bake it a day in advance, let it cool, then cover and store it in the fridge overnight. Just make sure the cake is fully cool before covering to prevent a soggy crumble (and makes sure it’s wrapped tightly so that the cake doesn’t dry out!! The fridge is very good at that haha!). Enjoy!
Hey!! By granulated sugar do you mean white sugar or brown sugar? Going to make this this weekend! Can’t wait!
Hi Meera!! For the granulated sugar, it’s referring to white sugar 🙂 Make sure it’s vegan though! Enjoy!!
Can we just us normal ingredients and have it turn out good?
I can’t guarantee results as I have not tried it- you can swap in dairy ingredients for the df ingredients, as some readers have done with success, but I can’t guarantee because I haven’t personally seen the results!
I haven’t tried these yet, but I’m SO excited!
Delicious recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing. I cut sugar down a little bit and cake still has a lovely flavor. Definitely a coffee cake to make again!
This is wonderful!! Oh I’m so happy to hear it!! Thank you so much for the review 🙂 Enjoy!!
Loved it! It was a soft slightly moist cake and the crumble added some nice texture. Would definitely make this again.
That’s AWESOME! So happy to hear it! Thank you for the review 🙂 Enjoy!!
Hi! I am making this recipe tomorrow and I cannot wait!! I am a nurse and feed a lot of people at work. I want to make this recipe as cupcakes. Have you done that and if so, how did they turn out.
Any suggestions accepted and appreciated!
Hi Angela! Oh wonderful!! That’s so sweet of you 🙂 So I actually just did a similar version with my pumpkin muffins, and I believe it would work here too. The only thing is that I recommend piping the cream cheese into the middle, like how I did with the pumpkin muffins. The bake time will be a bit longer than the pumpkin muffins, as the crumble keeps everything super moist. They would probably need around 25-30 minutes to fully bake, but check with a toothpick how they’re doing around the 20 minute mark!
Making soon GF and vegan. Looks wonderful and reviews are grand. At beach no springform pan. what would you recommend?
You can use a square 9×9 pan, no issue! 🙂
I’m trying to make in a 13×9 dish since I don’t have a springform pan. How long would you suggest to bake it?
Oh no problem! It will most likely need about 35-40 min, but check to see how it’s doing around the 30 min mark using an oven light. It could take up to 45 minutes- I haven’t tried this as a sheet cake yet! But that would be what I would do if I was first making it!
This is the perfect recipe! It was so fun to bake and I’m blown away by the result. Perfectly moist with a crunchy top and a delicate balance of lemon and blueberry. No one would even be able to guess it was vegan!
This is so awesome!! So glad you loved it 🙂 Thanks so much for the review!!
Would you recommend after it’s baked and cooled down to storage it on the fridge if we are eating the following day?
If you’re going to eat it the next day, covered at room temperature is just fine! But you can definitely stick it in the fridge covered as well!
Hola! I found your video on Instagram and it made me soooo hungry! I am about the try this recipe on Saturday. Would love some advice if I were to use regular butter, normal milk (will the fat percentage affect?), normal yoghurt/sour cream and regular cream cheese. I am not vegan and would love to try this recipe, and will not be substituting anything for eggs, just switching vegan ingredients for regular ones. Will that be okay, what is your take Britt? I understand that you are fully vegan but would love your view 😀 Thank you in advance!
OMG! I discovered you on TikTok with this recipe and HAD to try it. I am so glad I did because it came out perfectly and is SO delish for being 100% vegan. I did use Greek yogurt because I already had some on hand, but it still came out perfectly. I also doubled the cream cheese filling part because I’m a sucker for cream cheese! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. 😘
Ah WELCOME!! I’m so happy you’re here!! And omgsh clutch move on doubling the cream cheese 🥹Honestly, I have to try that next time because ugh I love cream cheese too haha! Thanks so much for being here and coming back to review! Can’t wait to hear what you try next!
I tried turning this recipe to keto and it def didn’t work. My House was Smokey, not sure what I could have done.
Yes this recipe definitely cannot be made keto. Keto baking is VERY different than traditional baking, vegan baking, and even gluten free baking. I wouldn’t recommend making any recipe keto unless you’re getting it from a keto baking blog.