“COFFEE CAKE!?! Make two!” That was my son’s response when I told him I was going to be making a batch. It’s a big deal in my house when I bring out this gluten free coffee cake recipe! Not because it’s hard to make and reserved for special occasions. It’s actually quite simple. My family just loves it so much that everyone gets excited. Now your family can cheer and applaud when you bake up a batch of this delicious coffee cake because I have the recipe ready to share with you!
What Makes This Coffee Cake Special
There are hundreds of coffee cake recipes out there. Each one is as unique as the person who created it. So, what makes gluten free coffee cake recipe so special? There are a few things that make it extra amazing.
It’s Allergy-Friendly
If you’ve been around here very long you know that not only are my recipes gluten free, they’re usually pretty allergy-friendly. This coffee cake is as well. The way I made this recipe it’s free from gluten as well as dairy, eggs, soy, and rice! Not very many coffee cake recipes can boast about being both amazingly delicious and that allergy-friendly!
It Has a Heavy Crumb Topping
Have you ever had a crumb cake? That stuff is amazing! Why? Because there is enough streusel to bury a mansion! While my gluten free coffee cake recipe doesn’t have quite that much streusel, it has a wonderfully heavy crumb topping. If you love streusel as much as we do in our house you’re definitely going to need to bake a batch of this coffee cake!
It Has a Special Glaze
Glazes aren’t uncommon on coffee cakes. While not everyone uses them, many recipes do. I didn’t want just a standard powdered sugar glaze on my coffee cake, though. This gluten free coffee cake recipe comes with an extra special cream cheese glaze! That glaze combined with the touch of spices in the cake is going to give you major cinnamon roll vibes without all of the fuss of making a yeasted dough!
Making Gluten Free Coffee Cake Substitutions
If you’ve read any of my recipes you know I have a strict “give it a whirl’ rule for substitutions! Since we deal with a multitude of food allergies I know that substituting ingredients in recipes, even allergy-friendly recipes like my gluten free coffee cake, is sometimes necessary. I can’t guarantee substitutions will work, but they are always worth trying! Here are a few that should work pretty well.
Dairy
This recipe calls for coconut milk, dairy-free yogurt or sour cream, vegan margarine., and vegan cream cheese. That’s because I designed the coffee cake to be dairy free. That doesn’t mean you have to keep it dairy free, though. Feel free to swap any or all of these ingredients for standard dairy versions.
Eggs
If you can eat eggs, feel free to use eggs in place of the flax eggs. Just beat two eggs lightly and add it in place of the ground flax and 4 tbsp hot coconut milk.
Fruit
Feel free to add fruit to this coffee cake. I think it would be especially good with blueberries! Toss about 1-2 cups of fresh fruit with a little bit of the flour, mix them into the batter, then top with the streusel as normal.
Bake Your Coffee Cake
Trust me, you are definitely going to want to to try this gluten free coffee cake recipe! It’s delicious, easy, and super allergy-friendly. You’re going to love it for breakfast, brunch, dessert potlucks, or even a coffee date with friends! To get more amazing gluten free recipes and encouragement, be sure to join my Fearless Gluten-Free Living group on Facebook!
Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups (240g) GF all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup (240g) brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 8 tbsp (113g) vegan margarine, melted
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 12 tbsp (170g) melted margarine
- 1 cup (265g) vegan sour cream or thick yogurt
- 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp flax seeds , finely ground
- 4 tbsp lite coconut milk, hot (for flax egg)
- 4 tbsp lite coconut milk
- Zest of one orange
- 2 1/2 cups (300g) GF all purpose flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp psyllium husk powder
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp vegan cream cheese
- 1 tbsp vegan margarine
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 small pinch salt
Instructions
- Mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon together for the streusel.
- Stir in the melted margarine with a fork until the margarine has absorbed and the streusel has formed clumps. Put it in the freezer while you prepare the coffee cake batter.
- Preheat your oven to 350*F and line a 9x13 in. casserole dish with parchment paper.
- Stir your finely ground flax seeds into your 4 tbsp of HOT (steaming hot) lite coconut milk and set aside to gel and cool.
- In a small mixing bowl stir together the 12 tbsp melted margarine, sour cream or yogurt, remaining 4 tbsp lite coconut milk, and vanilla extract. Once your flax egg has cooled, stir it in.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together all of the remaining ingredients for the cake. Add your liquids and whisk until combined and smooth.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly.
- Get the streusel out of the freezer and sprinkle it across the cake.
- Bake your cake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Rotate it halfway through baking.
- Once the cake has baked, move it to a wire cooling rack and allow it to cool completely before you glaze it.
- To make the glaze, melt the vegan cream cheese and margarine in the microwave (should take 15-20 seconds).
- Put the powdered sugar into a small mixing bowl and whisk in the melted cream cheese mixture. Then whisk in the remaining glaze ingredients.
- Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cooled coffee cake. Allow the glaze to set up a bit before serving.
