This gluten-free coffee cake is everything you want in a sweet treat—light, fluffy, super tender, and full of warm cinnamon flavor. It's made with simple ingredients and topped with a crunchy, buttery cinnamon crumble that’s hard to resist.
You’d never guess it’s gluten-free, and it’s sure to be a hit with the whole family!
This post was originally published on January 13, 2023. It was updated with new recipe information on February 5, 2024.
Recipe Highlights
- Texture: This cake is soft, fluffy, moist, and no one has ever guessed that it's gluten-free! And paired with the crunchy topping—absolutely delicious.
- Simple ingredients: No need for a special grocery run! You probably already have most of what you need in your kitchen.
- Easy: No fancy tools or tricky steps. Just mix, layer, and bake.
- Perfect for any occasion: Whether it’s brunch, a coffee break, or dessert, this cake fits right in.
Ingredient Notes
This gluten-free sour cream coffee cake requires simple, easy-to-find, and mostly pantry ingredients. Here are a few things to note:
Gluten-free 1-to-1 flour: I prefer using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour, but any cup-for-cup all-purpose GF flour blend that includes xanthan gum should work. Here's a post on gluten-free flours where I give more information.
Cornstarch: Helps to get a light, fluffy, and fine crumb consistency.
Butter: You can use regular butter or vegan butter sticks.
Milk: Whole milk would add the most flavor but unsweetened non-dairy milk will work just as fine.
Sour cream: The acidity helps to activate the leavening and also results in a more tender consistency. Feel free to use an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt or your favorite mayonnaise instead!
Expert Tips
- Don’t rush the resting step. Gluten-free flour needs time to properly hydrate. If you try popping the batter directly in the oven, it’ll end up having a grainy texture. Nobody wants that!
- Let the cake cool completely. Gluten-free cakes will continue to cook through as they cool, so don’t slice the cake open prematurely! If you do, you’ll find that the cake is mushy, and the moisture we worked so hard to create will steam away through the cuts and leave you with a dry cake.
Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1⅓ cup gluten-free 1-to-1 flour
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅓ cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Filling
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
Crumb topping
- ⅓ cup butter
- ⅔ cup gluten-free 1-to-1 flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
Filling
- In a small bowl, combine the ground cinnamon and brown sugar to make the filling. Set it aside.
Crumb topping
- In a medium bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter and work it into the flour using your hands or a pastry cutter.
Cake
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and granulated sugar. Add the softened vegan butter and work it into the flour until the mixture looks like sand.
- In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Stir in the milk until a smooth batter forms. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Once the batter comes together, continue mixing the batter for 2 more minutes. Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
- While the batter rests, preheat your oven to 340°F (170°C) and grease and line an 8x8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Put ⅔ of the rested batter into the pan and spread it out evenly.
- Sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar filling so it's an even layer, and spread the remaining cake batter on top.
- Smooth the surface and add the crumble topping on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes. Let it cool completely before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Storage Instructions
Storing: Baked coffee cake will last for up to 3 days in an airtight container on the countertop, but after that, it starts to get dry.
Freezing: It can also be frozen for up to a month if it is well-wrapped in several layers of plastic wrap before being placed in a freezer-safe airtight container or zip-top bag. Defrost overnight in the fridge before serving.
FAQs
So long as you follow the recipe as written, your coffee cake will turn out fluffy and moist AF.
To KEEP it that way, make sure to store it in an airtight container at room temperature for no more than 3 days. Any longer than that and the environment will start to dry it out and make it crumbly.
Coffee cake is so named because it’s usually served with coffee or tea as a morning or afternoon snack. While I’m sure there are some recipes that do include coffee, my particular recipe doesn’t include any coffee, coffee-flavoring, or coffee grounds.
No. This recipe requires eggs to give the cake structure, and without them you'll end up with a mushy cake.
More Gluten-Free Breakfast Favorites
- These gluten-free banana pancakes are so moist and delicious! Add chocolate chips to make your morning a little sweeter.
- Love muffins? My gluten-free banana muffins and cranberry orange muffins are both some of my favorite muffins to have with my morning cup of tea!
- If you're more of a quickbread person, my gluten-free banana bread, gluten-free pumpkin bread, and lemon poppy seed cake are all so delicious and easy to make!
- This gluten-free waffle recipe is so easy to make, and they have the most perfect crisp and fluffy texture!
- Gluten-free granola is perfect for anyone who loves a fuss-free easy breakfast. Make a big batch on the weekend and have it last throughout the week!
- If you need something indulgent and impressive at brunch, make my gluten-free pineapple upside down cake or my gluten-free chocolate cake!
Rachel says
I made this gf coffee cake yesterday with Better Batter (original blend). It is already gone! I chose this recipe because of the delicious looking pictures. Mine turned out exactly the same, and tasted as good as it looked.
Ai says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment and rating Rachel! So glad you enjoyed my coffee cake recipe😊
Heidi says
This looks delicious! If I add fruit to the cake batter will I need to adjust baking time?
Ai says
Hi Heidi! I haven't tried it myself, but I would assume that you may have to adjust the baking time by a couple minutes. Start with the recommended baking time, and check it with a toothpick inserted into the center. If it's still wet, bake for another 2-3 minutes. Let me know how it works out!
Heidi says
Thanks Ai, I am planning on trying it with fresh peaches. Your recipe sounds so delicious. I’ll let you know how it turns out :).
Ai says
Yum! Peach coffee cake sounds absolutely delicious!!
Abra says
I can't wait to make this recipe, thank you for all of the helpful tips!
Ai Willis says
Hope you like them, Abra!
Simone says
This was a bit of a labor of love to make and I had very high expectations. Unfortunately the crumble sank to the bottom of my cake. 🙁
I followed the recipe exactly, but my bottom layer of batter ended up being more than 2/3. The top layer was very thin. This is the only thing I can think of that might have caused the cake to collapse. It’s still tasty and I’ll probably try to make it again sometime, but I’ll definitely put half the batter on the bottom and half on top just to be safe!
Ai Willis says
Hi Simone! Sorry to hear that your cake didn't meet your expectations. When you say the crumble sank to the bottom, is it the cinnamon filling that goes in between the two layers of cake, or the crumb topping that's sprinkled on top before baking? If you do end up trying it again with pouring half the cake batter at the bottom instead of 2/3, please let me know how it goes! Fingers crossed for you!!