Blackberry Coffee Cake

Vegan Coffee Cake

Blackberries in my hometown (Quito) are almost a daily thing, they are so rich on antioxidants and go well in any meal from a bowl of yogurt or oatmeal to a fresh salad and even better if we use them in desserts, maybe this last one is just my big inclination towards desserts but I am sure there is possibly a 2% out there that won’t like blackberries and that’s okay, blackberries don’t like you either HA!

In general they aren’t very sweet, well at least when I was a little girl I used to eat them topped with honey and occasionally I still do; the pacific northwest the season is quite short and lasts about max about a month so some of us might be able to still find a few at our local farmers markets, here in Seattle you can also find heaps of them in every corner (mixed with mulberries) but sadly most of them are sprayed with pesticide by the city so our best option are the markets.

Coffee Cakes are such a common thing here in the States, the first time I heard of one was when I worked at Starbucks while going to college, and when I tasted I said “I can’t taste the coffee here” and everyone laughed and then I understood okay they all seem to have a sort or crumble or frosting aside from being such a rich spongy cake; this is the very first ever coffee cake I make and probably not the last one since turns out I love the combination of the crumble and of course the spongy cake so I hope you enjoy the sharing and eating.

Blackberyy Coffee Cake

Vegan

Makes: 10 servings

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 1 hr 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh blackberries*
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 Tbsp flaxgel**
• 2/3 cups non-diary unsweetened yogurt
• zest of 2 medium lemons
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, soft at room temperature
• 1 ¼ cup AP flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
CRUMBLE
• 1 1/3 cup AP flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, solid and cubed

Instructions:

1. For the crumble mix all the ingredients but the cubed butter, add the butter and mix until you have medium sized lumps and set aside in the fridge until is time to use it; depending on your mold you will have leftover crumble and if so freeze for a future coffee cake
2. To make the sauce (to form the swirl) simply blend the fresh berries and maple syrup and set aside reserving half of it for final serving purposes. Prepare your mold and preheat your oven at 350F
3. With an electric mixer start by creaming both sugars and coconut oil until you have a pale color cream like
4. Add the flaxgel, yogurt, zest and vanilla extract and mix for a few minutes until you have a more cohesive thick cream like
5. Finally add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mix for a couple more minutes until everything is thoroughly mix avoiding to over-mix. Pour half of the batter in the pan alternating with the berry syrup and top it with about half the crumble
6. Bake for approximately for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until tested with a toothpick it comes out
7. Let rest for 10 minutes in mold and then let cool in a cooling rack; top it with the rest of the berry syrup and fresh berries and enjoy!

*You can use frozen blackberries or any berry you have in your fridge

**To make the flax gel you simply need to soak overnight 2 tbsp of flax seeds in 1/2 cup of water; the next morning drain and reserve the very viscose gel from it which resembles exactly an egg white.