Chocolate Chunk Streusel Loaf Cake (Vegan)
This Chocolate Chunk Streusel Loaf Cake is light, fluffy and moist with a cinnamon sugar spiced batter, lots of chocolate chunks and a crumbly golden streusel top. It is naturally egg-free, vegan and easily gluten-free.
I adore anything with streusel or crumble on top and Americans may know this as a coffee cake – but this cake doesn’t contain any real coffee. This may seem confusing, but know that it’s such a delicious cake, almost like a cross between a loaf cake, a chocolate chip muffin and a crumble dessert. You get a little bit of everything in each bite and it’s so delicious warm or cold, you can easily warm up slices, or toast them, and serve with vegan ice cream, or spread with almond butter, too.
Why will I love this cake?
This cake is amazing:
- Rich, moist, tender and fluffy
- Packed with warming cosy spices
- Has a cinnamon sugar swirl in the middle
- Packed with dark chocolate chunks
- Topped with golden crumbly streusel
- Easy to make in a few steps
- Great for feeding friends and family
- Delicious as it is or also very good toasted or warmed up
- Great for dessert or for afternoon tea
- Ideal any time of the year
- Chocolatey, cinnamon-y, sweet and “nutty”
- Naturally egg-free, dairy-free and vegan
- Made with wholesome ingredients
- Easily gluten-free and nut-free
If you already love the sound of this loaf cake then skip ahead to the recipe card below, or first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
The ingredients are listed in the recipe card with weights and you can see my favourites in the “shop the recipe” section, too.
For the streusel top and swirl middle:
- Plain or GF flour: either flour is great here.
- Coconut sugar: or you can use light brown or demerara sugar.
- Cinnamon: for flavour.
- Olive oil: or you can use vegan butter or coconut oil to make the “buttery” golden crumble.
For the loaf cake:
- Plant-based milk and apple cider vinegar: when mixed together, this curdles to form a buttermilk which binds this egg-free batter. You can use any dairy-free milk like almond, oat, soya or coconut (from the carton).
- Olive oil: for the moisture and softness. I use a light olive oil but you can also use another nut/seed oil like avocado, walnut or sunflower.
- Sugar: I use a mix of either white caster and golden/light brown sugar, or you can use all coconut sugar.
- Tahini or almond butter: this adds moisture and tenderness to the cake. Make sure the tahini or almond butter is runny and smooth (use tahini to keep it nut-free).
- Vanilla and salt: for flavour.
- Plain or GF flour: this keeps the loaf cake light and fluffy and if the cake needs to be gluten-free, use your preferred gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum.
- Baking powder: for the rise.
- Spices: cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger combine for a gorgeous cosy bake.
- Dark chocolate: I use the dark orange and ginger chocolate from Divine for this recipe and I love to chop it into chunks, but you can also use chocolate chips or buttons. I also love to add a drizzle of dark chocolate on top, before serving.
Is this gluten-free and nut-free?
This cake is easily gluten-free, as long as you use gluten-free flour throughout the recipe. To make this nut-free, use tahini or sunflower seed butter in the loaf and also check all of your other ingredients, too.
How do I make this?
This cake is ready in a few steps:
- Make the crumbly top: stir all of the ingredients together.
- Stir the cinnamon sugar together: for the middle.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients for the cake: until smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients: and stir again.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks: and combine.
- Pour half of the batter into a lined loaf tin: sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar.
- Top with the rest of the batter: and swirl the sugar.
- Add on the streusel crumble: and press down lightly.
- Bake for 50 minutes: or until an inserted skewer comes out clean and it’s well-risen.
- Allow to cool: first in the tin and then on a wire rack.
- Drizzle with more melted chocolate: and enjoy.
How long will this last?
This cake will keep for 2-3 days in a sealed container, or 3-5 days in the fridge, covered well. You can also freeze the cake for 1 month and allow to defrost before eating.
What else can I make?
If you are looking for more bakes:
- Apple Cinnamon Streusel Blondies
- Double Chocolate Orange Courgette Loaf Cake
- Chai Orange Chocolate Chip Streusel Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
- Bakery-Style Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Muffins
Chocolate Chunk Streusel Loaf Cake (Vegan)
This Chocolate Chunk Streusel Loaf Cake is light, fluffy and moist with a cinnamon sugar spiced batter, lots of chocolate chunks and a crumbly golden streusel top. It is naturally egg-free, vegan and easily gluten-free.
Ingredients
For the Streusel Top:
- 25g plain or GF plain flour
- 20g light brown or coconut sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the Cinnamon Sugar Middle:
- 50g light brown or coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
For the Loaf Cake:
- 240ml plant-based milk + 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 60ml light olive oil
- 50g caster sugar
- 50g light brown sugar
- 45g (3 tbsp) tahini or almond butter
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 280g plain or GF plain flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- Spices: 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp mixed spice, ¼ tsp ground ginger
- A pinch of salt
- 90g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
For Serving:
- Melted dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180ºC and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- For the streusel: stir together the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and pour in the olive oil. Rub together with your fingers to form a crumble.
- For the cinnamon sugar: stir together the ingredients in a small bowl.
- Make a buttermilk: stir together the plant-based milk and vinegar or lemon juice in a jug and leave for 5 minutes to curdle.
- For the loaf cake: add the buttermilk to a large bowl with the olive oil, both sugars, tahini and vanilla. Whisk until combined and then sift in the flour, baking powder and add the spices with a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth and then fold in most of the chocolate chunks, saving some for the top.
- To prepare: pour half of the batter into the tin and smooth over. Cover evenly with the cinnamon sugar and pour over the remaining batter. Smooth over the top and then lightly drag a knife or end of a spoon through the batter to swirl the cinnamon. Smooth over the top again and sprinkle over the streusel.
- To bake: place in the middle of the oven for 47-50 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out basically clean (some small specks are OK as long as it’s not wet) and the loaf is well risen and springy. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then lift out to cool fully.
- To serve: drizzle the loaf with melted chocolate and slice into pieces.
- Enjoy straight away or keep leftovers in a sealed container for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 3-5 days, allowing the loaf to rest at room temperature before eating. You can wrap up the loaf and freeze for 1 month before defrosting.
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Stay in touch
I look forward to hearing what you think of this Chocolate Chunk Streusel Loaf Cake so please let me know in the comments below and leave a star review above. If you do make this, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With streusel love x
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