Vietnamese Coffee Cake: Gluten-free, dairy-free, sweetened with honey.

National Coffee Cake Day is one of our favorite food holidays! It combines two of our favorite things coffee and cake. This time we threw all of our favorites at it by sweetening it purely with honey and putting a Vietnamese coffee twist on it.  

Vietnamese coffee is a big favorite over here. If you’ve never heard of it, the drink comprises very strong drip coffee paired with a spoon or two of sweetened condensed milk. 

We’ve made the frosting dairy free with the help of our Manuka Honey Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk recipe. Since creating it, we always keep some on hand for our coffee and tea. 

However, in the true spirit of the drink, the cake is very heavy on the coffee. You’ll get a good caffeine buzz, but that’s half the fun, right?

Use decaf if your answer is a resounding no!

If your answer is YES, try cold brew, which is even higher in caffeine.

We love sheet pan cakes because they require practically no skill in the cake-baking or decorating arena. We can’t all be Katherine Sabbath. Fun fact, our recipe developer had never baked a cake before this one. It looks impressive, doesn’t it?! 

So, let’s hear it. Would you make this cake? If you do, show it off by sharing it on Facebook and tagging us @shoppri! 

Vietnamese Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 50 mins

Serving: 9 slices

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour, sifted (we used Bob’s Red Mill)
• ¾ cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 tbsp espresso powder, sifted
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
• 1 cup PRI Manuka Honey 60+
• ½ cup olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup coffee (make sure it’s boiling, this will bring out the flavor)

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups raw cashews (soaked overnight)
• ¾ cup coconut cream (refrigerated overnight, only use the cream scrape off the top). You will need two cans
• ⅔ cup manuka honey-sweetened condensed coconut milk
• ⅔ cup dairy-free cream cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp espresso powder (or more to taste)
• 1.5 tbsp lemon juice
• ⅛ tsp PRI Fine Sea Salt 

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F and line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, and espresso powder in a large bowl. Add baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until combined.
3. Combine eggs, almond milk, manuka honey,  olive oil, and vanilla extract in another bowl. Whisk until combined and honey is incorporated well.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well until a thick batter forms. 
5. Next, pour hot coffee into the batter and stir well. Don’t be alarmed if the batter is watery-thin.
6. Pour the cake batter into the parchment-lined pan and fill almost to the top. 
7. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes. Check periodically after the 45-minute mark with a toothpick until it comes out clean. Place aluminum foil over the top and lower the rack if the top begins to burn.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool before making the frosting, if using.
9. Place all the frosting ingredients into a food processor and blend until the mixture is smooth. If the batter is too thick, water it down with 1 tbsp of milk at a time, and if it’s too thin, add more cream cheese or coconut cream. Place it in the fridge to firm up, do not let it sit at room temperature, or it will begin to melt.
10. Frost the cake with icing after the cake has completely cooled, and top with sifted cocoa powder or espresso powder, coffee beans, or sprinkles of choice.
11. Enjoy!