Berry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This delicious berry cream cheese coffee cake has a creamy cheesecake like layer with juicy berries and a cinnamon-sugar crumb topping! Perfect dessert or sweet addition to brunch! It’s free of eggs and can also be made vegan friendly, gluten free, and refined sugar free as well!

If there’s a dessert that’s appropriate for just about any occasion, it’s a coffee cake. Whether you’re looking for a simple afternoon treat or dessert to serve company, this simple cake isn’t overly flashy, but it’s delicious and sure to impress. I added a layer of cream cheese and loads of fresh berries which takes the humble coffee cake to the next level!

This berry cream cheese coffee cake is egg free and can be made completely vegan, plus gluten-free and refined sugar free as well!

Egg-Free

Eggs bind cakes together and adds a bit of leavening, but are not always necessary. They can also cause dryness and a rubbery texture in cakes. The gluten in all-purpose flour, or starch and xanthan gum in gluten-free flour blends, provides enough structure to hold this cake together. Baking powder also gives this cake enough rise. Not having eggs actually makes this cake very tender!

Vegan Friendly

This cake doesn’t have eggs and can be made vegan by using all dairy-free ingredients. Use dairy-free butter or coconut oil for the streusel and dairy-free cream cheese in the cream cheese layer!

Gluten-Free

If you’re gluten-free, using a good gluten-free flour blend in lieu of all-purpose flour (along with a few extra gluten-free flours in the cake) is all that’s needed to make this cake gluten-free! I like and use King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour Blend but you can use your favorite gf flour blend that has xathan gum, or an equivalent binder.

Refined Sugar Free

This cake can be made with refined sugars by using the listed alternatives. I tested this recipe with both maple syrup/honey and organic sugar in the cake. They both worked well, the only difference is the slight taste of maple syrup and honey in the naturally sweetened cake. I also tested both coconut sugar and brown sugar in the crumb topping and they worked equally well!

Baking Pans

I used an 8-inch spring form pan for this cake, but a 9-inch spring form pan can also be used, the cake will just be a little thinner and take less time to bake. You could also use a regular cake pan with tall sides (at least 4-inches) or an 8″ or 9″ square pan. Just be sure to line with parchment paper if you’d like to remove it from the pan.

This cake would be a scrumptious way to begin the day or to end a meal! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 🙂

You may also enjoy these similar recipes:

• This Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake screams summer! It’s vegan friendly, refined sugar free, and can be made gluten-free as well!
• Blueberry Buckle is kind of like a blueberry muffin and coffee cake combined! It’s full of sweet blueberry and has a delicious cinnamon sugar crumble!
• Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cake combines melty bites of chocolate chips and yummy raspberries! Simple to make and so good!

Berry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

This delicious coffee cake has a layer of cream cheese and juicy berries, plus a cinnamon-sugar crumb topping! Perfect for dessert or sweet addition to brunch! It's free of eggs and can also be made vegan friendly, gluten free, and refined sugar free as well!

Author: Joscelyn Abreu

Serves: 10-12 slices

Ingredients

Crumb Topping:

• ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend
• ⅓ cup coconut sugar, brown sugar, or pure cane sugar
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3–4 tablespoons cold butter (regular or dairy-free) or solid coconut oil

Cream Cheese + Berry Layer:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened (regular or dairy-free)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or pure cane sugar (use more or less to taste)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice, optional
• Splash of milk of choice may be needed, depending on the cream cheese you use
• 2 cups berries of choice, fresh or frozen (I used mixed berries. Frozen may need longer bake time)

Coffee Cake:

• 2 cups (266g) all-purpose flour* (or for gluten-free: 1½ cup for cup gluten-free all-purpose baking flour blend + ½ cup almond flour + ⅓ cup coconut flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup almond milk or other milk of choice
• ⅔ cup maple syrup, honey, or pure cane sugar (I used a combo of maple syrup and honey)
• ½ cup vegetable oil or other oil of choice
• ⅓ cup regular or dairy-free plain unsweetened yogurt or sour cream
• Zest of 1 medium lemon, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8-inch spring from pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine streusel ingredients: flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in 3 tablespoons cold butter/coconut oil with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Add extra tablespoon of butter/oil if flour mixture is too dry and not very crumbly. I used 4 tablespoons of butter, but sometimes only need 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, depending on the weather. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese together with sugar and cornstarch. Depending on your cream cheese, you may need to add a splash of milk to make it spreadable. It just needs to be soft enough to spread across the batter. I used a soft vegan cream cheese, so I didn't need any additional milk. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour(s), baking powder, and salt. Whisk in milk, yogurt, sweetener, and oil, mixing just until smooth. Stir in lemon zest and vanilla.
5. Pour ⅔ batter into prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Top with dollops of the cream cheese, carefully smoothing to cover the top of the batter. It doesn't have to go all the way to the edges.
6. Top the cream cheese with an even layer of berries. Spoon the remaining ⅓ of batter over the berries and use a spatula to spread across the berry layer.
7. Sprinkle streusel topping over the top and place into preheated oven on the middle rack. Bake for 45–55 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean with just a few crumbs. Bake time will vary based on your oven and the pan you use. If you use a pan larger than 8", it may not take as long to bake. If you used frozen berries, it may take over 1 hour to bake.
8. Let cake cool completely on a wire rack before removing the springform edge. Run a knife or small offset spatula around the cake edge to help separate it from the pan.
9. Carefully transfer cake to your cake plate and serve. Makes 10–12 servings.
10. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.

Notes

*Be sure to measure flour correctly in order to prevent a dry cake. Fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, then level it off the top with the back of a knife. Don’t ever scoop flour into the measuring cup from the bag.

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