Vegan Coffee Crumble Cake

I had a friend from America who visited me in Tangier a while back. We were making plans with another friend of mine and while on the phone with him, I said "So are you still in the coffee?" My friend looked at me funny and said "Excuse me, what did you just say?"

"I asked if he was in the coffee- that's normal, right?"

Apparently I've forgotten how to speak english. Because here in Morocco, are you in the coffee is a perfectly acceptable way to ask if you are at a cafe.

And let me tell you- the cafe culture here is huge. Somedays, I wake up and leave my apartment around 9am and while walking past the cafe just next door, see an old man in his kandora with a glass of cafe au lait in front of him and a smoking cigarrette nestled in the ash tray. I go out, do my thing around the city, and coming back around 4 or 5pm, see the same man with what appears to be the same glass of coffee and the same cigarette, still burning at the same length.

At night, instead of overflowing bars and clubs, you'll find hundreds of chatty cafes filled with teens drinking cappuccinos, juices and hot chocolate. Sometimes on particularly social weekends, instead of bar-hopping like I would do in University, I find myself cafe-hopping to see different friends. I kind of love it.

Needless to say, I drink a lot more coffee here than I ever have in my life. And as if drinking loads of coffee wasn't enough, why not consume it in an edible form as well? This is not just coffee cake as in you-eat-it-with-a-cup-of-coffee cake. This is coffee-infused deliciousness.

Cinnamon Coffee Crumble Cake
vegan

makes 1 loaf cake

100 ml soy milk
150 ml strong coffee- cooled
60 ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
225g granulated sugar
210g flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp flour
50g brown sugar
30g cold vegan butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180º C and grease a loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix together the soy milk, coffee, oil, vanilla, lemon juice and sugar. Sift in the remaining dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Don't over-stir! Pour the batter into your pan and stick in the oven- it will bake for about 30-40 minutes total or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

Make the crumble topping as soon as you put the cake in, by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl with your fingers. After the cake has been in the oven about 20 minutes, take it out, sprinkle the crumble on top and let it bake the remainder of the time. If you put the topping on right away, it will sink into the cake and, granted, still taste great, but won't look as pretty. Let the cake cool, slice, and enjoy with more coffee!