Strawberry Coconut Almond Coffee Cake

When strawberries are in season, let them shine in your favorite recipes, such as a simple coffee cake. Beyond eating them fresh and sliced over cereals, baking with strawberries is also delicious. These super sweet berries offer natural sweetness, so you can trim the sugar in baked goods. This vegan Strawberry Coconut Almond Coffee Cake is an example of how you can use strawberries to lighten up your baked goods, making them healthy enough for breakfast!

Packed with antioxidant-rich strawberries and whole grains, this recipe is light in fat, sugar, salt and completely plant-based, thanks to the magic of aquafaba. So, if you’ve got a tub of fresh strawberries on hand, give this easy recipe a try. Or use frozen strawberries in the off season. It’s all good!

This recipe comes to us from Sharon Palmer, MSFS, RDN, The Plant-Powered Dietitian.

Serves

Ingredients:

Cake:

• ½ cup aquafaba* (the amount of liquid found in 1 15-oz can of beans, such as chickpeas, white beans, or kidney beans)
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup plant-based milk, plain, unsweetened (i.e., coconut, soy, or almond)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil (melted and cooled)
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch salt (optional)

Topping:

• 2 cups fresh sliced strawberries
• 2 tablespoons soft margarine, dairy-free
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup oats
• ¼ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
• ¼ cup slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Place aquafaba in a mixer bowl and beat for about 2 minutes, until stiff peaks form. Remove from mixer and gently fold in coconut palm sugar, vanilla, plant-based milk, and oil.

3. Gently fold in whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt (optional), until combined.

4. Spray a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with non stick cooking spray.

5. Spread batter in the bottom of the dish.

6. Arrange sliced strawberries over the batter.

7. In a small bowl, mix margarine, sugar, cinnamon, oats, coconut and almonds together with a fork to create crumbly texture.

8. Sprinkle crumbs over strawberries and place in the oven. Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until fork comes out clean and surface is golden brown.

9. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Slice into 16 squares.