As someone who is more and more in love with coffee cakes as time goes by, I can tell you that this one is simply divine. It is crumbly, but it pairs perfectly with a cup of strong coffee, as it is intended to.
A few simple ingredients, a few moments of time, a bit of baking, and it is ready to be enjoyed. It truly shows how even the simplest ingredients can produce something wonderful.
The date syrup gives it that signature deep caramel flavour and it also keeps the cake moist for quite a few days, actually, especially if kept in a sealed container, which is something I always recommend. And whether you serve it with some icing sugar on top and additional peanuts or a scoop of good vanilla ice cream, I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Ingredients
For the coffee cake
120 grams plain flour50 grams roasted peanuts, plain, ground
50 grams roasted peanuts, salted, ground
100 grams date syrup
20 millilitres neutral oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
130 millilitres carbonated water
For the crumb topping
30 grams granulated sugar50 grams vegan block butter, melted
50 grams plain flour, sifted
Preparation
Start by making the crumb topping. Whisk together the flour and sugar, add in the melted butter, and mix and stir to create a rough crumb. Place the bowl into the refrigerator while you prepare the cake batter.
Let the oven preheat to 180°C and line a deep, small rectangular cake pan (12x12 cm), bottom and sides. Set the pan aside.
To make the cake batter, whisk together the date syrup, oil, vanilla, and carbonated water. Separately mix the sifted flour, baking powder, and baking soda with the ground peanuts, making sure they are distributed well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix until just combined.
The cake is intended to be crumbly, but overmixing will make it dry.
As soon as the batter is done, pour it into the prepared pan, add on the chilled crumble topping, and bake in a nicely preheated oven, at 180°C, for 40-45 minutes. Check it for doneness early, so it does not dry out.
Take the baked cake out of the oven and let it cool completely in the pan. As soon as it has cooled enough for your preference, serve it in modest slices, either with a dusting of icing sugar, or a scoop of ice cream. Yields 8 servings.
