Coffee Cake

You know how you have one or two family recipe's that are known by names like, "Aunt Clara's Jello Salad" and "Grandma's Sweet Potato Surprise"? Well, my family has "Aunt Linda's Coffee Cake."

My Aunt Linda made it once and and we all liked it so much, we named it after her. I grew up eating this on Christmas morning. About five years ago I found out the recipe is from a Better Homes & Garden's bread cookbook. I know because after weekend visit with cousin B (one of Aunt Linda's offspring) where the two of us polished off an entire coffee cake, B sent me a used copy of the cookbook for Christmas. I also found out the version my mom made was not authentic. She made it up based on what was in it.

Granted, it isn't a complicated recipe. It has Bisquick, cream cheese, butter, milk, and raspberry jam. Then it's drizzled with powdered sugar frosting. But it looks super complicated, and it impresses people.

Back in Ye Olde College Town I made Aunt Linda's Coffee Cake once a year for a friend's annual New Years Day brunch. It was always a hit. But my favorite memory was my granola hippie/tattooed friend who would hover over it, eating half a piece at a time. It's not something she would make at home because it was full of processed flours and such... but out of the house? Game on.

I thought of Aunt Linda's Coffee Cake often since going vegan. I wondered if I could just swap out the dairy for the vegan equivalent. After talking to someone who regularly converts Midwestern comfort food to being vegan friendly by doing just that, I decided to give it a try.

Bisquick is vegan, so that was all good. I used Tofutti "cream cheese" and Earth Balance for the cream cheese and butter and soy milk (the Organic Valley brand--it is organic and tastes better than Silk). The frosting is powdered sugar, soy milk and vanilla. And you know what? It turned out pretty damn good. So good I ate enough of it to give myself a tummy ache.

Veganized Aunt Linda's Coffee Cake. The blurriness at the top left is my fingernail.