If you dream of eating dessert for breakfast, this vegan Cinnamon Cake is going to make you smile. It’s got a delicious layer of cinnamon sugar swirled between two layers of fluffy, moist cake. On top goes a yummy cinnamon streusel topping. And if all that isn’t enough, there’s a cinnamon vanilla glaze drizzled over the top. Vegan, soy-free recipe. Can be whole wheat.
If you’re looking to feed an army for breakfast — or dessert — or just yourself, you want to make this scrumptious Vegan Cinnamon Cake with a Cinnamon Streusel Topping and a Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze.
I know that’s a mouthful, but isn’t it a delicious mouthful?
My son, Jay, loves my vegan cinnamon rolls and would have them everyday if he could. It was for him that I came up with this recipe. It’s really like a cinnamon roll cake, and it’s less work for me. And while it’s probably too decadent for breakfast everyday, it works just beautifully for a weekend breakfast or for dessert.
The nice thing about this cake is that it is super easy to make and you don’t have to worry about unmolding it and then frosting it, etc. — the part about cake-making that is sometimes the most unnerving and intimidating. Instead, just bake up the cake in a big — and, if possible, pretty — pan, and you can serve it right from the pan.
How to make the perfect vegan cinnamon cake:
Start out by telling yourself, I can do it. Even if you’re not a seasoned cake-maker, there is no better recipe to start out with, and very little chance of messing it up if you follow instructions closely. Some of the things to keep in mind when you bake this cinnamon cake or any cake are:
- Don’t overmix the ingredients. When you stir your spatula through the batter one too many times, you help gluten form, and gluten — albeit a friend of bread — is not a friend of cake (unless you want your cake to have the texture of bread). When making cake, the golden rule is to mix your batter just until all ingredients are incorporated, and not a second more.
- Make sure you scrape down the sides and bottom of your pan several times while mixing. This is because ingredients like sugar have a way of sinking to the bottom and you don’t want to pour all of your batter into your pretty cake pan and find that the sugar is sitting at the bottom of the bowl.
- When making this cake, be bold with the cinnamon. It’s a cinnamon cake, see? You might be tempted to cut back on the amount of cinnamon, and I know it seems like a lot, but you really want cinnamon to be the star here.
Can I make this cake ahead and freeze it?
Yes, you certainly can. Make sure it’s tightly wrapped and in an airtight container. I’d advise waiting to pour on the glaze before serving.
In the refrigerator, the cake will last for a week, although if your family is anything like mine, it probably won’t.
Ingredients for Vegan Cinnamon Cake:
- Unbleached all purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour works too, and makes it better for you. Your cake crumb will be darker, but very tasty)
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Sugar
- Vegan butter
- Applesauce
- Aquafaba
- Nondairy milk
- Apple cider vinegar
- Pure vanilla extract
Looking for more vegan cake recipes?
- Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
- Vegan Orange Cake with Orange Marmalade Buttercream
- Vegan Rhubarb Ginger Upside Down Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake
- Vegan Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake
Vegan Cinnamon Cake Recipe
Vegan Cinnamon Cake with Cinnamon Streusel and Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze
Equipment
- Bowls for mixing
- Large baking pan or cake, any shape, about 3 1/2 to 4 quarts capacity
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups sugar (turbinado or vegan cane sugar)
- 8 tbsp vegan butter (1 stick. Softened to room temperature. You can also use vegetable oil here)
- 1.5 cups nondairy milk (I used almond)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (chickpea brine)
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the cinnamon streusel:
- 1/2 cup unbleached flour
- 1.5 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 tbsp vegan butter (softened to room temperature)
For the cinnamon vanilla glaze:
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup nondairy milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Make the filling:
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl and set aside.
Make the streusel:
- In another bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, butter and sugar until everything comes together. Set aside.
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a large baking pan (mine is a round one, about 11 inches in diameter, but a rectangular 9 X 13 inch pan would be fine).
- Mix the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Mix the nondairy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the sugar with the oil and applesauce using the whisk attachment until everything is well mixed, about a minute. Add the aquafaba and beat on medium-high speed for another two minutes. The mixture will look curdled but don't worry.
- Add the vanilla and nondairy milk to the bowl, mix, and then add the flour in three batches. Make sure everything is mixed well and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling over the batter and use a knife to gently swirl it into the batter. Now pour the remaining batter over the top of the filling. Scatter the prepared streusel over the top evenly.
- Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with crumbs sticking to it.
- Remove the cake from the rack and allow it to cool.
Make the glaze:
- While the cake is cooling, place all ingredients for the glaze– the cashews, the milk, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar — in a blender and blend into a very, very smooth paste.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Cut and serve the cake right out of the pan.
Nutrition
Do you think this recipe would work well with coconut oil in place of the vegan butter in the streusel? I don’t care for the taste of vegan butter (we used to call it margarine! yuck) but I know that coconut oil doesn’t always work the same way.
Yes, you can use coconut oil if you don’t mind the flavor. I love coconut oil in savory and Indian recipes, but don’t care for it much in desserts. 🙂
Hi Lisa, don’t know if you’ve tried them lately, but vegan butter has come a long way. Maybe try Miyoko brand. Cooks and tastes like butter.
I love Miyoko’s butter.
Sounds delicious but incredibly unhealthy with so much sugar and fat. Maybe for special occasions like Thanksviving. Adding it to my recipe collection!
It does, but it’s still way healthier than a non-vegan version and also it’s an occasional indulgence. 🙂 It’s the perfect breakfast for the holidays.
I’d like to make this for my Gluten Free friend. Do you think I can substitute GF Flour for the regular flour? Do you recommend a particular brand of GF flour to use? Thank you.
Hi Fifi, just use any all purpose gf flour — I usually use the King Arthur measure for measure. I’d probably add a couple of tablespoons or tapioca starch (in place of a couple of tablespoons of the gf flour) for better binding.
Hi,
Great cake recipe. Any substitute for the sugar, possibly???
Thanks
You could substitute stevia, but be sure to add some additional applesauce to make up for the lost moisture, because sugar acts as a wet ingredient in baked goods.
Hi there v
Is there a substitute for aquafaba as i have not had great success with it.
Thanks
Use two tablespoons of flaxmeal mixed with 6 tbsp water.
Hey thanks for the recipe! The cake looks simply delicious!