Apple Streusel Coffee Cake with Vegan Caramel

FALL! My favorite time of the year BY FAR! Air is crisp, trees look like they are on fire, the ground is covered in the colorful leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows and apple cider are taking over grocery stores and everything apple cinnamon and pumpkin spice comes alive again. Nothing better.

It is so much fun to get in the kitchen and start baking things that not only make the house smell like autumn heaven, but taste absolutely divine as well! This Apple Streusel Coffee Cake with Homemade Vegan Caramel is just so dang good. And it can double as breakfast because crisp mornings are amazing with a cup of coffee and coffee cake! So go ahead and have cake for breakfast, it is totally allowed!

This pairs really nice with dairy free vanilla ice cream or even some vegan whipped cream! You can always make your own by whipping up the fatty part of coconut cream with a little bit of maple syrup and sticking it in the fridge. It is so simple and perfect for coffee cake or pie! I hope you love this one and let me know if you try it!


INGREDIENTS:

Cake:

• 3 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour, I used Arrowhead Organic Heritage Blend
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup vegan butter or coconut oil, I used my homemade butter
• 1½ cups coconut sugar
• 2 flax eggs (combine 2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp warm water and mix)
• 1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk, I used homemade Cashew Milk
• 3 red apples, cored, peeled and thinly sliced

Streusel:

• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 3 Tbsp cold vegan butter or coconut oil
• 1/2 cup organic gf oats
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc)
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon

Vegan Caramel:

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil spring form pan and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine gf flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, cream together the vegan butter and coconut sugar. Mix in the flax eggs.
4. Add dry ingredients and the plaant based milk to the creamed mixture until fully combined.
5. In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients.
6. Transfer the cake batter into your oiled pan and smooth out. Add all the apple slices to the top of that evenly and top with the streusel.
7. Bake 50-60 minutes. Since the apples and streusel are on top of the cake a knife will not come out completely clean when you check it. I found a bake time at around 55 minutes to be good. 
8. While the cake is baking, make  your caramel sauce.
9. In a small pot add in the coconut milk, coconut sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk it well until the sugar is incorporated into the milk. Put the heat up to medium and bring it to a boil, stirring frequently.
10. Once it has a good boil on it, bring the heat down to medium low so it simmers for about 20 minutes, continuing to stir often so it doesn't burn. You can test out the thickness by putting a small amount on a spoon and sticking it in the freezer for a couple minutes. If you need it thicker, keep simmering.
11. When you reach your desired consistency, add in the vanilla and mix. Pour into a mason jar and put it in the freezer to thicken up for about 30 minutes or until you eat your cake.
12. ​When the cake is done baking, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the outer part of the spring form and drizzle with a generous amount of vegan caramel!
13. You can store the cake in the fridge or on the counter in an air tight container for up to 4-5 days. Since it is gluten free it tends to dry out faster so I personally like leaving it out of the fridge, on the counter covered. 
14. Store any leftovers of the caramel sauce in the fridge up to 2 weeks.​