This Vegan Berry Breakfast Cake is oil-free, made with whole grain spelt flour and oats for a healthier take on cake that can be eaten for breakfast! Made with fresh berries and a yogurt drizzle for a delicious, fresh flavor!
VEGAN BERRY BREAKFAST CAKE
Yes, you can eat this cake for breakfast! This Vegan Berry Good Breakfast Cake comes from Melanie McDonald and her new cookbook, “Vegan Comfort Cooking featuring 75 Plant-based Recipes to Satisfy Cravings and Warm Your Soul”.
Melanie is the creator of the blog, A Virtual Vegan. This is her first cookbook and it is fully vegan, of course. There are so many delicious and appetizing-looking recipes throughout and I originally planned on doing a savory recipe until this vegan berry breakfast cake caught my eye!
What I especially love about this cake is that it is made with whole grains like spelt flour and oats and has zero oil! Y’all know those are ingredients are my jam. Plus, I don’t do many fruit baked goods, so this was the perfect time.
The cake has an amazing hearty texture, thanks to the oats and was so easy to make! It reminds me of a baked oatmeal bar or a really, hearty muffin because of the texture! I really enjoyed the texture so much, as it really did feel like a breakfast, versus a traditional cake.
INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN BERRY BREAKFAST CAKE
- spelt flour
- rolled oats
- ground flaxseed
- coconut sugar
- baking powder
- baking soda
- unsweetened applesauce
- dairy-free yogurt
- blueberries
- cinnamon
- apple cider vinegar
- vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BERRY BREAKFAST CAKE
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients together.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients together. Combine the wet with the dry and stir until smooth. Fold in the blueberries, being careful not to overmix.
Step 3: Spread the batter into the greased cake pan and sprinkle oats on top.
Step 4: Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. It will turn a strong brown color from all the coconut sugar and baking soda.
Prepare the glaze and drizzle over the cooled cake.
MORE VEGAN CAKE RECIPES
- Vegan Almond Butter Cake
- Vegan Funfetti Birthday Cake
- Vegan Gingerbread Cake
- Vegan Gluten-free Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cake
- Vegan Pumpkin Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cake
- Vegan Wedding Cake
This Vegan Berry Breakfast Cake is reprinted with permission from Vegan Comfort Cooking by Melanie McDonald, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. You can get her cookbook here!
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Berry Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (173g) spelt flour
- 2 tablespoons (14g) ground flaxseed
- 1 cup (80g) rolled oats, plus a few more for the top
- 3/4 cup (150g) coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (23g) apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup (123g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain, coconut or vanilla vegan yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (148g) fresh blueberries, or 1 cup (155g) frozen
FROSTING
- 1/2 cup (130g) powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons (30-45g) plain, coconut or vanilla vegan yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Grease the sides of an 8-or 9-inch (20.5-or 23-cm) round cake pan with a little oil or vegan butter and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, ground flaxseeds, rolled oats, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; then stir well.
- In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla and stir together.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir gently to combine. Don’t overmix. The batter will be very thick. Fold the blueberries into the batter.
- Spoon into the prepared cake pan and sprinkle with a few more oats and blueberries. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove the cake, peel off the baking parchment circle and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Once the cake is cool, prepare the frosting: Put the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add the yogurt gradually, a tablespoon (15 g) at a time, stirring really well between each addition to smooth it out. Stop when you have a thick but drizzlable consistency.
- Drizzle all over the top of the cake, allowing some to spill over the sides. Store, covered, in the fridge. It will keep for 4 to 5 days.
Reprinted with permission from Vegan Comfort Cooking by Melanie McDonald, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Melanie McDonald.
You can purchase the cookbook here.
You make it look so good Brandi! I’m really pleased you enjoyed it and thank you for so much for sharing it on your website.
Thank you so much Mel! Thank you for allowing me to share this recipe from your book!
Could I replace the Spelt with AP flour (actually a GF AP flour)??
Hi Brad! This isn’t my recipe, but Melanie’s from her cookbook, but I really don’t know since I’ve only made the recipe as listed, if a gluten-free blend would work. This recipe does seem like it would be more flexible since the texture is more hearty/chewy and not like a traditional fluffy cake, so it might work! You can always experiment and see!
Thank you for sharing this. It looks good! Are most of the recipes in this new cookbook oil-free?
Hi Cathy! No, many of the recipes call for oil and vegan butter. There are some that don’t have oil or can be subbed with water in tiny amounts, but a lot of the recipes do have oil in them.
Delicious!! I eat oats most days. I feel like I am this morning too. I used half cranberries with the blueberries, pear sauce instead of applesauce, and substituted coconut cream for the yogurt in the frosting.
Wonderful Susan! So happy you enjoyed it! I also used coconut cream in the icing, that’s too funny!
I made this again this morning. It’s so yummy and totally satisfying. I’m going to make it for Christmas again! Thank you for the post
So glad you love the cake Joshua, yay!
What is the calorie count for the cake. It is very tasty.
Hi Jane, I do not know. This recipe is from her cookbook mentioned in the post, so I don’t do nutrition on others recipes, but you can always use a nutrition calculator online to plug in the ingredients.
Hi Brandi, please help! I just made this and something went completely wrong. It’s not edible. I followed the recipe to a T. It tastes as if I added in an entire cup of salt! What went wrong? Was it the one tablespoon of baking powder? I just don’t understand why it tastes so horrible. I’m so sad this didn’t work. 🙁
Hi Sherri! I’m so sorry to hear that! This isn’t my recipe, but Melanie’s from her cookbook, so I can’t vouch for how she wrote her recipe. When I made it, it was fine, but I did personally notice the strong baking powder taste as well, since there was so much of the baking powder and baking soda in addition, so I’m guessing that is what you tasted! It was still edible though. Did you by chance use the full tablespoon baking soda instead of baking powder on accident? Honestly, I would try it with half the amount of baking powder if you were to try it again and double check you don’t have the amounts backwards for baking soda and baking powder.
Thanks, Brandi! I think y0u may be right. I may have accidentally used too much the baking soda instead of baking powder. 🙁
Hi! Can I use a sugar substitute? I’m trying to avoid adding any sugar.
HI Paul, I don’t use sugar substitutes so I can’t give advice on how they will taste, but if you have a favorite dry sweetener that you like to use, you can always experiment!
This is so delicious! I’ve been making it since January because I just can’t get enough of it! It has a hearty texture & isn’t too sweet. I cut the icing in half because the full amount is too much for me. I take it to work & it’s great cold or warmed a bit in the microwave. I ran out of blueberries at one point & tried it with cranberries & cherries as well. I also have had to use oat flour (at Brandi’s recommendation) & white sugar when the stores didn’t have coconut sugar & spelt flour, & the cake turned out good with the subs. Thanks, Brandi!
So happy you loved it, thank you so much Jen!
This breakfast cake is delicious- very hearty and satisfying, with the perfect amount of sweetness. I ended up subbing oat flour for the spelt flour, and full-fat coconut milk for the yogurt – for both the cake and the frosting – because it’s what I had. It worked great!