Gluten Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Fall favorite pumpkin is so good in all sorts of morning bakes, from gluten free pumpkin muffins to a tender gluten free pumpkin bread loaf to gluten free walnut pumpkin scones. For your consideration, here, a brown sugar streusel-topped gluten free pumpkin coffee cake that's so perfect with a cup of freshly brewed coffee!

I love a traditional gluten free coffee cake, but come the cooler months, I am ALL about pumpkin and tuck it into as many recipes as I can dream up. This sweet little cake is a wonderful treat to nibble on as the sunlight slides into autumnal warmth, or serve it on Thanksgiving morning (or the morning after!) before you start cooking the holiday meal.

The cake itself is soft and moist, fragrant with seasonal spices and mellow pumpkin. But it's the buttery, crisp brown sugar and cinnamon topping that really takes it home. I make this cake on repeat all throughout fall. I love the cake plain, but if you feel like adding even more autumnal flavor drizzle it with a maple glaze (or a spoonful of salted caramel sauce) before serving. Enjoy!

Why This Gluten Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake is the Best!

If you love pumpkin as much as I do, adding it to a coffee cake is a no-brainer. You'll find all the good things we all crave about coffee cake - the cinnamon-y, buttery topping, the softly sliceable crumb - but augmented with a nice, mellow pumpkin flavor. Using oil in the cake itself keeps it from drying out, and I doubt anyone could tell it's gluten-free. So, why make this? It's:

• Almost a one-bowl recipe. Actually, the cake batter is made in just one bowl! This means the whole recipe comes together in 10 minutes or much less, and you'll have less to clean up.
• So seasonal. I mean, c'mon now! October is one of the best months of the year, and I love to celebrate it with cozy pumpkin bakes.
• Undetectably gluten-free. My aim is always to create gluten-free recipes that turn out perfectly every time AND are not obviously gluten-free. This little number nicely adheres to that philosophy.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake Ingredients

I've included some ingredient notes with the list below to guide you through making this coffee cake. Make sure to scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions!

• Topping: Light or dark brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and unsalted butter.
• Gluten free flour - I used my homemade gluten free flour blend in this cake, for both the topping and the cake batter. I also tested this with gluten-free oat flour by weight and it is wonderful as well.
• Leavening - Baking soda and baking powder.
• Salt - Fine sea salt or table salt is fine.
• Spices - Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.
• Pumpkin - Use pure pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling which has added sugar and flavoring.
• Eggs - I always use large eggs.
• Granulated sugar - Or swap light brown sugar for a richer undertone.
• Oil - Your choice of oil here, such as canola, vegetable, or coconut oil.
• Milk - Use whole or 2% milk, or non-dairy milk.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake Tips & Substitution Suggestions

• Chill the topping - This step really helps create that slightly crisp topping which I love. I wrote the recipe to have you assemble the topping first, then place the bowl in the fridge while you make the cake batter. This helps the topping to firm up and hold its shape better during baking.
• Rest the batter - Especially when using a gluten-free flour blend, it's important to rest the batter for at least 10 minutes to allow the flours to hydrate. This will create a smoother, more tender crumb after baking.
• Pumpkin pie spice - Instead of the combination of ground spices, use 2 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice to streamline prep a bit.
• Keep it dairy-free - Use non-dairy butter in the topping and non-dairy milk in the cake to make this cake easily dairy-free.
• Add vanilla - Stir in 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the batter.
• Nuts - Sprinkle about ½ cup of sliced almonds or walnuts into the topping mixture for a bit of crunch.

How to Store Gluten Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake

• Counter - Cover the cake with foil or place it in an airtight container and keep it on the counter for up to 3 days.
• Fridge - Place the cake in its container in the fridge and store it for up to 5 days.
• Freezer - Cool the cake completely, then wrap it in plastic and foil (or do this with any leftovers after 3 days), and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake thoroughly in the fridge before eating.