This easy Gluten Free Coffee Cake is a quintessential breakfast treat. A buttery, vanilla flavored cake is swirled with a cinnamon roll filling and topped with a crunchy, cinnamon crumb topping. It's a simple treat that is warm, buttery, ready in under an hour, and also dairy free!
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- The Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake
- Why You'll Love This Gluten Free Recipe
- Ingredients In Gluten Free Coffee Cake
- How To Make A Gluten Free Coffee Cake
- Tips For Working With Gluten Free Flour
- Coffee Cake Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Did you make this recipe?
- Gluten Free Coffee Cake
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The Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake
There's nothing better than starting your day with a big piece of gluten free coffee cake. A tender, buttery cake with a thick, crunchy, cinnamon flavored streusel on top is quite simple, irresistible.
It's a simple recipe made with a few pantry staple ingredients that bakes in less than 40 minutes. Served best along side a hot cup of coffee (or matcha), this gluten free breakfast dessert is a fantastic recipe to make for weekends or holidays.
Looking for more gluten free breakfast treats? Try these gluten free blackberry muffins, strawberry banana crumb cake, or crispy oat flour waffles.
Don't want a huge coffee cake? Try this small batch recipe instead- it's also gluten free!
Why You'll Love This Gluten Free Recipe
- This cake is both gluten and dairy free
- It's simple to make and ready in under 1 hour
- The flavor is perfectly balanced and not too sweet
- It's covered in a THICK gluten free crumble topping
- This coffee cake is the best treat to make for a holiday brunch
- Everyone will love it, and won't even be able to tell that it's gluten free!
Ingredients In Gluten Free Coffee Cake
- Gluten free flour: This recipe is designed to use a gluten free all purpose flour, NOT a naturally gluten free flour like almond or coconut. I personally prefer to use Bob's Red Mill brand flour.
- Brown sugar: The brown sugar adds a greater depth of flavor due to the molasses, but in a pinch regular white sugar or coconut sugar will both work
- Dairy free butter: I like using the Melt Organic dairy free butter sticks, but any will work. If you're not dairy free, regular butter is great too!
- Eggs: You'll need 2 large eggs to make this gluten free coffee cake, and do not substitute these with anything else.
- Vanilla: The vanilla extract adds a subtle sweetness, so I highly suggest adding it
- Almond milk: In order to keep this cake dairy free, I like to use almond milk. However, and non dairy milk will work.
- Vinegar: Vinegar reacts with the baking soda and helps the cake to rise
- Spices: I use both cinnamon ( a classic coffee cake flavor) and nutmeg to elevate the flavor profile
- Leavening agents: This cake needs both baking soda and baking powder in order to bake up light and fluffy
How To Make A Gluten Free Coffee Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray an 8x8 inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients
- Next, add in the sugar, vanilla, eggs, melted butter, and almond milk into the dry ingredients, mix well, and set aside
- In a small bowl combine the cinnamon swirl ingredients and set aside
- Pour half of the gluten free coffee cake batter into your prepared pan, evenly sprinkle over the cinnamon swirl, and then top with the remaining cake batter
- In a medium size mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt for the crumb topping. Pour over the melted butter and mix well until you have a texture resembling wet sand
- Evenly distribute the gluten free crumb topping over the cake
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10-15 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
- Carefully pull the coffee cake out of the oven and let cool at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving
Tips For Working With Gluten Free Flour
- Don't pack the gluten free flour into the measuring cup. Spooning and leveling is the way to go
- This recipe is designed to be made with a flour blend that includes xanthan gum. If yours doesn't have it in it, you'll need ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum for every cup of flour
- Use a gluten free all purpose flour. This recipe will not work with almond, oat, or coconut flours
- If you have time, let the cake batter rest for 10 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate
Coffee Cake Variations
I really like this gluten free coffee cake as is, but if you want to customize it, here's a few ideas:
Not dairy free: If you don't need to be dairy free, regular butter and whole milk will work well to replace their non-dairy counterparts
Chocolate chip coffee cake: Stir ⅓ cup of dairy free mini chocolate chips into the coffee cake batter before baking
Glazed: I like to mix up a simple vanilla glaze made from powdered sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and almond milk and drizzle it over the top
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I have a section below on how to freeze it, so just keep scrolling for instructions.
I've always had a lot of luck working with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. My baked goods always come out moist and tender, and I like that Bob's certifies their products so there's no cross contamination.
A few tips on keeping a gluten free coffee cake moist are:
1. Don't pack your flour into the measuring cup. Over measured flour will cause the cake to turn out dry
2. You don't want to overbake the cake. When a toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs on it, it's done
3. Substitute the melted butter in the cake batter with a neutral flavored oil to really keep the gluten free cake moist
Storing and Freezing Instructions
STORING: Store any leftover coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
FREEZING: To freeze leftover gluten free coffee cake, wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and then again in aluminum foil. Place the pieces into a freezer safe bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?
If so, I would appreciate you leaving a comment and star rating down below. Also, follow me on Instagram and tag me or use #incoleskitchen so I can see what you made and share it.
PrintGluten Free Coffee Cake
This easy Gluten Free Coffee Cake is a quintessential breakfast treat. A buttery, vanilla flavored cake is swirled with a cinnamon roll filling and topped with a crunchy, cinnamon crumb topping. It's a simple treat that is warm, buttery, ready in under an hour, and also dairy free!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 40 Minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9 Servings 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups gluten free all purpose flour with xanthan gum ( I like Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Blend)
- ¾ cup lightly packed packed brown sugar (either light or dark brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons melted dairy free butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
For the cinnamon swirl:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
For the Crumb Topping:
- 1 ¼ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons dairy free butter- melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray an 8x8 inch square, metal baking pan with non-stick cooking spray
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- Then, pour the melted butter sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, almond milk, and white vinegar into the dry ingredients, mix well with a rubber spatula, and set aside
- In a small bowl combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon for the cinnamon swirl and set that aside
- Spread half of the gluten free coffee cake batter into the bottom of your prepared pan, then evenly sprinkle the cinnamon swirl over top, and then top with the remaining cake batter and use an offset spatula to spread it out evenly
- In a medium size mixing bowl combine the gluten free flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt for the crumb topping. Pour the melted butter into the bowl and mix well until you have a texture resembling wet sand
- Use your fingers to evenly distribute the gluten free crumb topping over the cake batter
- Bake your coffee cake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10-15 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
- Carefully pull it out of the oven and let cool at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving
Notes
- Use a gluten free all purpose flour- almond or oat flour will not work as substitutes
- You can use regular butter and milk if you're not dairy free
- Let the gluten free cake batter rest for 10 minutes if you have time
- Cover with aluminum foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking so the topping doesn't get too dark
- Cool the gluten free coffee cake for at least 20 minutes before slicing into it
- Drizzle with a simple vanilla glaze if desired
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days
Keywords: coffee cake gluten free, gluten free coffee cake recipe
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