Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake

A streusel-topped coffee cake is a thing of beauty, and when you stuff it with blueberries, you seriously won't be able to stop at one piece. From the buttery, crumbly topping that's spiked with cozy cinnamon to the swoon-worthy fluffy crumb, this gluten free blueberry coffee cake is absolutely worthy of celebration. It's super adaptable, too, so you can play around with the spices and berries, and even easily make it dairy-free if needed. Let's get to it!

Make sure to try my gluten free blueberry bread, gluten free blueberry cake, and gluten free bakery-style blueberry muffins, too!

Lots to Love

• Soooo fluffy: This is a gluten-free cake that you'd hardly know was gluten-free. And aren't the best gluten-free bakes the ones where you can't tell? This soft and buttery cake bakes up gorgeously fluffy and fork-tender.
• The blueberries: I love a simple coffee cake, and this one takes it a step further by throwing in a generous handful of blueberries for color, texture, and flavor.
• Easy: I've outlined the ingredients for you below - you'll find that it's a short list and composed of simple ingredients.

Ingredients Needed

Here's an overview of what you'll need for this recipe. The full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Granulated sugar - Or use brown sugar
• Oat flour - Whole grain oat flour is a natural choice for this gluten-free recipe
• Ground cinnamon - Try ground ginger for a flavor twist
• Salt - I always use fine sea salt in my recipes!
• Butter - I prefer to use unsalted butter
• Oat flour - Naturally gluten-free oat flour creates a bouncy, sturdy crumb
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Granulated sugar
• Butter - Again, use unsalted butter!
• Egg - Use a large egg
• Milk - I prefer to use whole milk for richness
• Blueberries

Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?

Fresh or frozen blueberries are a great choice for this recipe and both perform the same. If you use fresh blueberries, make sure to give them a rinse and a gentle pat dry before you add them to the cake batter.

For frozen blueberries, there's no need to defrost them - simply fold them into the batter as the recipe instructs. You can also use wild blueberries if you can find them in the freezer section. Use an extra ½  cup of wild blueberries because they're a bit smaller than regular blueberries.

Why Use Oat Flour?

Oat flour is my favorite gluten-free flour to use in baking recipes. In many recipes, you can do a straight 1:1 swap if you measure the flour by weight (I've included both weight and cup measurements to keep things easy for you in the recipe card.) In this blueberry coffee cake, the whole-grain sweetness of the oat flour complements the juicy blueberries perfectly. The cake bakes up beautifully and doesn't have the denseness or grittiness you may find in baked goods that rely on a gluten-free all-purpose flour substitute.

Learn how to make oat flour and see my ultimate guide to baking with oat flour for more oat flour recipes!

Tips & Substitution Suggestions

As always, a few best practices can help your gluten-free bakes turn out perfectly! I've outlined a few tips and ideas below:

• Use room temperature ingredients. This is a suggestion that carries over from gluten-free to gluten-baking. Bringing your ingredients to room temperature for a bit before you add them to your batter or dough will help them incorporate better, resulting in a better final product.
• Rest the batter. Make sure to rest the cake batter while the oven heats. I find that this is just about the right amount of time for a gluten-free batter to hydrate.
• Make ahead: You can prepare the cake the night before if you wish. Make the batter and place it in the pan - do NOT add the streusel. Cover the cake batter tightly with plastic and put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, make and add the streusel, then bake for 55 to 60 minutes. The cake will need a slightly longer baking time because the batter and pan will be cold.
• Serve from the pan. Streusel-topped cakes can be difficult to remove from the pan without all of the streusel falling off! Go ahead and slice and serve the cake straight from the pan.
• Oat flour substitute: Substitute sorghum flour by weight, or use 2 cups of gluten-free all-purpose baking flour or all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour.
• Make dairy-free: Use your favorite non-dairy butter and non-dairy milk in place of the butter and milk.
• Refined sugar-free: Swap coconut sugar for the granulated sugar.
• Try other fruit. Use this blueberry coffee cake recipe as a jumping-off place to incorporate other berries, such as huckleberries, raspberries, or a combination.

Serving Suggestions

This gluten free blueberry coffee cake is amazing served soon after it's been baked, especially when it's still a bit warm. But it keeps well too and tastes just as good on the second or third day.

You can serve blueberry coffee cake at brunch, as a mid-morning snack, or as a sweet breakfast along with a hot cup of coffee. To justify serving it for dessert, sift a little powdered sugar over the top before cutting slices, and/or top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It's also lovely with a dollop of homemade lemon curd or honey lemon curd.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

There are several options for how to store leftover cake:

• Counter - Place the cake in an airtight container and store it on the counter at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• Fridge - Storing the cake in the fridge will help it last longer! Place the cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can eat it hot or cold.
• Freezer - Wrap the whole cake or individual slices in plastic then store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge before serving.
• To Reheat - Cover the cake with foil and place the pan in the oven at 350°F for about 5 -10 minutes, until heated through. You can also microwave individual slices in the microwave in 30-second increments until warm.