This soft and tender raspberry lemon coffee cake is bursting with juicy raspberries and has ripples of creamy dairy free lemon vanilla cream cheese and lemon curd throughout! No eggs and no dairy needed- shhh, it’s vegan!!

slice of bitten raspberry lemon coffee cake

The most “buttery” coffee cake you’d never believe is vegan…

If you’re looking for a soft, MOIST, tender and overall lovely coffee cake recipe to make in the summer, then this is it, my friend.

Let me introduce you to THE lemon raspberry coffee cake that will put all other summer berry cake recipes to the test. It’s actually a part of my viral coffee cake series, which kicked it off with this lemon blueberry version (and of course followed by a banana coffee cake, apple crumb cake, chocolate chip coffee cake, and almond croissant inspired coffee cake!).

It’s buttery and sweet with the perfect amount of bright zesty tang, and it’s LOADED with fresh berries (but yes you can use frozen!!). Plus this raspberry coffee cake ripples of silky cream cheese and lemon curd throughout.

slice of vegan raspberry coffee cake sliced

And did I mention that it’s all eggless and dairy free? 😉 Don’t worry, no one would guess that this coffee cake is vegan!! Trust me, as a vegan baking cookbook author who used non-vegans as some of her taste testers, this coffee cake is IT.

Okay, so what’s in this raspberry lemon coffee cake?

  • Soft lemon raspberry vanilla cake: This has to be my favorite coffee cake thus far. We have a zesty tart yet buttery sweet lemon vanilla coffee cake batter that’s studded with juicy raspberries folded throughout. It’s absolutely heavenly!
  • Creamy vanilla “cream cheese:” The signature to all of my viral coffee cakes is a ripple of sweet and creamy dairy free cream cheese throughout. It balances out the sweetness so nicely!
  • Eggless & dairy free lemon curd: This is my pride and joy- this dairy free eggless lemon curd is JUST like a traditional lemon curd in both taste and texture. And there’s NO coconut milk nor nut milk required. It’s so easy and takes just 10 minutes to make! This goes in the center just after the cream cheese filling.
  • Vanilla crumble: And to finish, because a coffee cake wouldn’t be a coffee cake without its crumb topping! This vanilla crumble is a simple mixture of flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and vegan butter. YUM!
slices of raspberry coffee cake on a plate

Overview: How to assemble a cream cheese swirled coffee cake:

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.

raspberry coffee cake batter
assembling the coffee cake
raspberry coffee cake before baking
baked coffee cake
raspberry coffee cake with drizzle on top
plates raspberry coffee cake

Is the lemon curd necessary?

You can totally omit if you’d like- personally I really like it because it adds even more zesty tart lemon flavor! However, it is an additional component to make, so if you’re short on time, skip the lemon curd, and you’ll bake the coffee cake for 12-15 minutes less.

bitten slice of raspberry coffee cake

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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Soft & Tender Vegan Lemon Raspberry Coffee Cake with 'Cream Cheese' Swirl bitten slice on a plate

Soft & Tender Vegan Lemon Raspberry Coffee Cake with ‘Cream Cheese’ Swirl

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  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 87
  • Total Time: 1 hour 57 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This soft and tender raspberry lemon coffee cake is bursting with juicy raspberries and has ripples of creamy dairy free lemon vanilla cream cheese and lemon curd throughout! No eggs and no dairy needed- shhh, it’s vegan!!

Ingredients

Scale

Vanilla Crumble:

  • 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour*, plus 1 tbsp for coating the blueberries
  • 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 & Lemon Curd Filling:

Raspberry Lemon Coffee Cake:

  • 1 pint (12 ounces) fresh or frozen raspberries
  • 3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour*
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 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

Vanilla Glaze:

  • 1 cup (140 g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp dairy free milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. 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 raspberries and pour into a small bowl. Add 1 tbsp of flour to them, and toss to evenly coat. This will prevent the raspberries from sinking.
  2. Prepare the vegan lemon curd: Follow along with the instructions linked in the “ingredients” section for the vegan lemon curd. Once made, set aside to cool while you make the other components.
  3. Make the crumble: In a medium bowl, use a fork to mix together the crumble ingredients until you get a sand-like texture. Then set aside.
  4. 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.
  5. Now make the raspberry 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,  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 raspberries until evenly distributed.
  6. Assemble the coffee cake: Spoon half of the raspberry 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, followed by the vegan lemon curd. Next, spread the remaining raspberry coffee cake batter on top to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the batter.
  7. Bake: Place the springform pan into the oven to bake for 85-87 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.
  8. Cool: Allow the coffee cake to cool in its pan for 1 hour.
  9. 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!
  1.  

Notes

Gluten free: I like using King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour blend. It’s great for gluten free.

Other berries: Feel free to switch in different berries or mixed berries if you’d like! I do have a vegan blueberry coffee cake that’s very similar, except it doesn’t have the vegan lemon curd.