I’ve been very surprised that my most popular recipe is one which I just threw together on a whim: Coconut Chai Breakfast Cake. The recipe is actually a complete overhaul of a coffee cake recipe that included (you guessed it) coffee. I didn’t want to use coffee; though I drink it, I don’t allow my daughter to, and I know that a lot of people who try to eat healthy don’t do coffee, so I came up with the idea of using chai instead and making it more of a spice cake (the original had a chocolaty taste). So that’s how the recipe was born, if you were wondering.
Today, in the comments for the recipe, someone asked about making the cake with stevia instead of sugar. I use stevia in moderation (in the aforementioned coffee) and have dabbled in using it in recipes, but I’ve never completely removed the sugar from a cake recipe and replaced it with stevia.
So, in order to give an informed answer to this question, I went back to the kitchen this morning and performed an experiment: I made the recipe exactly the same, but I left out the sugar. After the liquid and dry ingredients were mixed, I began adding stevia, tasting after each 1/8 tsp., until it tasted sweet enough to me. It seemed a little dry, so I added a little more apple sauce. And then I baked it in these cute daisy-shaped silicone molds:
Silly me: I forgot that when they were unmolded, the bottom, with its fancy design, would be on the top, so the sprinkle of coconut gets hidden on the bottom. So to make up for that, I ground up some more coconut in the blender and dusted it on the top of the inverted cake:
But the big question on everyone’s mind is not how it looked but how it tasted. In a word, okay. It was less sweet than the original because I was very careful with the stevia, not wanting to make it taste artificial or bitter. The good news is that I completely succeeded in that–it doesn’t taste fake-sweet, just a little less sweet than most people would like.
I will post below exactly how I made the recipe, but you may opt to add more stevia if you like things sweeter. I used KAL brand Pure Stevia Extract Powder, which contains 80% steviosides; if you are using another brand or form of stevia, your best bet is to do as I did and add it to taste at the end of the recipe. I found that it tastes less sweet after it’s baked, so add a little more (like 1/16th of a teaspoon) once it’s reached the desired sweetness.
Sugar-Free Coconut Chai Breakfast Cake
This lightly spiced, sugar-free vegan coffee cake gets its sweetness from stevia and its rich flavoring from chai. It's perfect for breakfast or anytime!
Ingredients
- 1 cup strong chai
- 1/3 cup uncooked quick oatmeal not instant
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger use more for a spicier cake
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup flaked coconut 2 tbsp reserved
- 3/4 tsp pure stevia extract adjust to taste*
Instructions
- Prepare the chai ahead of time by steeping two teabags (I used decaffeinated Tazo Chai) in one cup of boiling water until cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
- Combine the dry ingredients (oatmeal through ginger) in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the chai, applesauce, vinegar, extracts, and all but 2 tablespoons of the coconut. Mix well and add the stevia, adjusting it to taste.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the reserved coconut and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
*I use Stevia Select but you can use whatever brand you like, as long as you taste the batter as you add it.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go enjoy a piece of cake with my afternoon coffee.
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Amanda (La Végétalienne)
This looks lovely! I have ordered Stevia from the States, and I await it this week. I am superexcited!
Kenny
is it moist? i tried this all natural spice cake at this coffee shop and it seemed as if it was RAW because it was just super moist. Ive been trying to find a recipe and i just wondering if this cake taste super moist almost with a raw cooking texture.
SusanV
It’s moist, Kenny, but it doesn’t taste or appear raw. This has a texture more like a regular cake.
Wei
Do you think i can substitute the flours with spelt? Does it taste like the tea? Is it heavy? Do you think I can use agave instead of stevia? Sorry for so many questions. I’m not allowed to have cane sugar or oil. I just found your site and I’m in love with your recipes 🙂 Thank you!
Barbara Gabbe-Harris
Susan – I like the sound of your coconut breakfast cake recipe and plan on trying it. However, I don’t use stevia. I will substitute either agave or maple syrup or maple sugar for the sweetener. Date sugar or even natural cane sugar are good alternatives. To me, stevia has an aftertaste and I don’t like that it resembles splenda and the packaged sweeteners. Thanks for the recipe – it looks good. Oh – I will probably add nuts too. Barbara
SusanV
Barbara, did you see my original, non-sugar-free version? https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/03/coconut-chai-breakfast-cake.html
VB
This was utterly delicious!!! I substituted buckwheat for whole wheat, as I’m on a gluten free diet. It came out moist and deliciously spicy, utterly wonderful. Thanks very very much, another success 🙂
vasu
What on earth is chai tea? chai is tea. so what is chai tea?
SusanV
It’s a spiced tea packaged and sold as “chai” here in the U.S., either as tea bags or sometimes as a concentrate that you mix with milk. This recipe refers to the tea made from the tea bags.
Marian Hamilton
Hi, Susan! 🙂
I’ve got this sugar-free version in the oven NOW! I’ll post again after I taste it!!
SusanV
Hope you like it! I just took a cherry coffee cake out of the oven and am waiting for it to cool. At least it smells good!
Marian Hamilton
It’s is VERY good – so good I ate TWO pieces……. I’m going to freeze the rest so I don’t eat all NINE slices in one day – LOL! Next time I’ll bake it using sugar tho – the Stevia does leave an aftertaste on my tongue. I used the Trader Joe’s Pure Stevia Extract powder because that’s what I had on hand. THANK YOU for all you do for us blog followers, Susan! <3
Brittany
Looks delicious! But, I used my Weight Watchers calculator with your nutritional information and it came out to 3 points and not 1.5.
Susan Voisin
Brittany, this was calculated using the old Points. Thanks for letting me know the current points.
Joseph
I made this cake a little over a year ago and I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9×13-inch pan and replaced most of the applesauce with canned pumpkin puree (not the canned pie filling) and made up the difference with applesauce. I did that because I had canned pumpkin leftover from Thanksgiving that year and it was delicious 🙂