Before we talk about mouthwatering, moist, crumbly, fruity, cinnamony coffee cake, a note on food identities…
(I know, I know—but it’ll be fun! Trust me.)
I was raised vegetarian and throughout my life have also called myself vegan, raw, pescatarian, and now omnivore. I say omnivore because I’m a stickler for accuracy and I don’t currently place any limitations on what I do or don’t eat—other than what my body and palate are asking for at any given moment. So even though most of my culinary inclinations are plant-based, I love savoring a perfect ahi (or steak) tartare now and then.
I’m no longer an extremist when it comes to food, but I learned something from each food identity I tried on. And I’m grateful for the wisdom that each brought to my current palate.
This coffee cake comes from the time in my life when I was a hardcore vegan. It’s based on a lemon blueberry muffin recipe from the lovely Renée Loux (who has a killer raw chocolate mousse recipe you should have in your back pocket at all times, p.s.), which I decided I like far better in the form of a coffee cake.
You can use any fruit for this, really—as long as it’s fresh and flavorful, it will perfectly complement the brightness of lemon zest and juice, the richness of the almond streusel, and the roundness of cinnamon and cardamom.
Perfect for breakfast, brunch, dessert, or snacking throughout the day. I like serving it with a honey cardamom yogurt sauce. Preferably concocted with the most local orange blossom honey you can find.
Ingredients
Batter
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoons + 1/8 sea salt
- ¼ cup + 1/8 + 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup + 1/8 honey
- ¼ cup + 1/8 maple syrup
- ¼ cup + 1/8 almond milk or water
- 3 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups mix of sliced apricots and peaches cut about ¼ inch thick, and halved as you see fit (it’s ok to have some chunks; be free with your fruit!)
Almond Streusel
- ¼ cup + 1/8 raw almonds
- 1 1/8 cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon + 1/8 sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 3 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
Honey Cardamom Yogurt
- 1 cup whole milk yogurt (cow sheep, or goat)
- 1-2 teaspoons honey I like raw orange blossom
- sprinkle of ground cardamom
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Brush a 9” pie dish with coconut oil.
- Mix dry batter ingredients with a whisk in a medium bowl. Beat wet ingredients and lemon zest with a whisk or electric mixer in a larger bowl, and add dry to wet, mixing just until smooth. Don’t over mix!
- Gently fold in the apricot and peach slices. Pour the batter into the prepared pie dish.
- In a food processor or blender, grind the raw almonds until they’re a fine meal. Mix in a medium bowl with the other dry streusel ingredients. Then add the coconut oil, honey, and maple syrup, and mix until fully incorporated—it should feel like a pebbly sand.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter.
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick or knife in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Check at 40 minutes to make sure you don’t overbake, but make sure the toothpick comes out clean before you take it out.
- While baking, prepare the Honey Cardamom Yogurt in a bowl for topping. Simply drizzle the honey over the top of the yogurt, and swirl slightly with a spoon or chopstick—I like it best not fully mixed so you get random hits of honey bliss. Sprinkle with ground cardamom.
- Let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
