This apple cinnamon coffee cake muffin is moist, crumbly and all the good things that coffee cake has to offer. I love having something sweet for breakfast, and this recipe definitely hit the spot.
Traditional coffee cake is cut up and served by the slice, however, if you are in a rush or baking this for a crowd, muffins are the way to go. They are so much easier to serve individually, and you don’t have to worry about slicing and serving with a plate and fork.
This time around I wanted to make this recipe completely vegan and gluten free. I always get a little scared to use gluten free flour, however, these turned out great! I would highly recommend serving these warm because they tend to get a little hard as they sit out at room temperature.
This recipe doesn’t contain any actual apples (although you can add some if you’d like). Instead I incorporated some apple sauce to help sweeten things up and keep things moist as they bake.
Key ingredients for this apple cinnamon coffee cake muffin:
- Gluten free all purpose flour
- I like using gluten free flour instead of almond flour because it gives the muffins a more cake like texture. Almond flour is more dense so it tends to weigh down anything you bake with it. I love using this one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Coconut sugar
- This is my favorite granulated sweetener because it adds a rich deep flavor as well as color.
- Avocado oil
- I choose to use avocado oil for these muffins because I like that it has a fairly neutral flavor. You can also use coconut oil or vegan butter. I love using this one from Primal Kitchen.
- Apple cider vinegar
- This ingredient is mainly used to react with the baking soda to help create a lighter muffin.
- Apple sauce
- I subbed some oil for apple sauce to decrease the calories in each muffin as well as add a nice apple flavor. I like that it helps keep the muffins moist and sweet.
- Cinnamon
- I added a heaping teaspoon of this to the crumble topping! I love cinnamon because it kind of tricks your mind to think something is sweeter than it actually is!
- Vegan butter
- I highly recommend you use cold butter and mix it into the crumble ingredients with your hands. It creates a crispier top and, honestly, a better looking top.
Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup almond milk
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup apple sauce
Crumble Topping
- ⅓ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 4 tbsp cold vegan butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a small mixing bowl combine the ingredients for the crumble topping and mix together with your hands. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Now add the almond milk, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, apple sauce, and vanilla extract. Fold the dry ingredients with the wet until everything is well combined.
- Place muffin lines into a muffin tin, then scoop in batter 3/4 of the way full. Then top with a generous amount of the crumble.
- Bake the muffins for 20 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool and enjoy!
