Gluten Free Coffee Cake

This fluffy gluten free coffee cake features a cozy cinnamon swirl and more cinnamon in the warmly-spiced crumble topping. Easily made gluten-free with oat flour, you will love the texture, taste, and simplicity of this delicious coffee cake!

Easy Gluten Free Coffee Cake Recipe

The first time I made this gluten coffee cake I will be honest – I could not stop eating it. This gorgeously simple yet irresistible cake is threaded with a swirl of cinnamon sugar and capped with a slightly crunchy, buttery cinnamon-sugar crumble. The cake itself is tender and moist, everything a good coffee cake should be. My girls couldn’t stop eating it either, and I take that to be the highest praise. Add a hot cup of coffee and you’ll have the best morning, guaranteed.

Why You’ll Love It

• Easy: Oat flour and a few more pantry and fridge basics are all you need to make this cake, yet they come together to make something so much more than “basic”!
• Can’t tell it’s gluten free: Trust me on this one – you will NOT be able to tell that this gluten free coffee cake is, well, gluten free! The oat flour so beautifully mimics all-purpose flour in this recipe, and creates a gorgeously fluffy and tender crumb.
• Keeps well: I love a gluten free recipe that keeps well (so many don’t) and this coffee cake is a standout. It lasts for days on the counter and even longer in the fridge. See how to store it lower down.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s a look at what you’ll find in this gluten free coffee cake recipe. The full amounts are in the recipe card at the end of this post – this is just an overview.

Topping

• 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

Cake

• Oat flour – Naturally gluten-free oat flour creates a fluffy, 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 but 2% milk works too

How to Make Gluten Free Coffee Cake

Follow along with my photos below to guide you through making this easy coffee cake recipe. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.

• Make topping: Whisk the oat flour with the sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
• Add butter: Work the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

• Make dry mix: Whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Combine butter: Beat the sugar, butter, and egg together. 

• Combine: Beat in the milk and flour in alternate additions.
• Assemble: Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, then spread it evenly over the batter. Top with the remaining batter.

• Top: Spread the batter in a buttered 8×8 pan and sprinkle the topping evenly over the top.
• Bake: Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, then cool a bit before serving.

Tips & Substitution Suggestions

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 into 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 1:1 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.
• Other spices: Make this into a ginger or cardamom coffee cake! Swap the ground cinnamon for ground ginger or cardamom, or do a combination.

Serving Suggestions

This gluten free coffee cake is sooooo good warm and served soon after it’s been baked! It also keeps well and tastes just as good on the second or third day.

You can serve 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. Add a side of fresh fruit for an extra treat.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

There are several options for how to store leftover coffee 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.

More Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

• Oat Flour Cinnamon Rolls
• Oat Flour Blackberry Muffins
• Oat Flour Pancakes