• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Gluten-Free Baking logo
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About
    • About Me
    • Contact
    • My Cookbooks
    • Work with Me
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Contact
×
Home » Cakes

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake

Jun 30, 2025 · 11 Comments

Jump to Recipe

This gluten-free crumb coffee cake features a buttery cinnamon streusel that doubles as both the filling and the crumb topping. The cake is moist and tender thanks to a generous amount of sour cream.

Slice of gluten-free coffee cake on a plate.

This recipe is an updated take on the sour cream coffee cake from my first cookbook, Easy Gluten-Free Baking.

Since there are now great gluten-free flour blends available at the market, there’s no need to mix individual flours for this recipe. (That said, if you LOVE that recipe and I know lots of you do, go ahead and make it as written!)

The Ingredients

  • Gluten-Free Baking Flour: For this recipe, I use my go-to flour blend: Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. If you use a different flour blend in this recipe, the results might be different. (For the best results, be sure to use a blend that includes xanthan or guar gum.)
  • Butter: You need cold butter for the topping and softened butter for the cake.
  • Sour Cream: Sour cream makes this cake light and moist. For the best flavor and texture, use full-fat sour cream. (If you’re dairy-free, try a plant-based sour cream.)
  • Eggs: Two eggs are needed to make this cake. I haven’t tested this recipe with an egg replacer. So I can’t say if it will work without eggs.
  • Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon flavors the filling and topping. You can also use pumpkin spice in the fall.
  • Sugars: You need two types of sugar to make this coffee cake. Granulated sugar for the cake batter and brown sugar for the filling/topping.
Squares of baked gluten-free coffee cake on a wire rack

How to Make Gluten-Free Coffee Cake

  • Mix the Filling and Crumb Topping. This coffee cake includes a yummy ribbon of cinnamon-sugar filling. That same filling turns into the topping. It’s baking magic. (It’s butter, which, I think is baking magic.)
  • Make the Batter. This is a simple batter to make. You mix together butter and sugar. Add the eggs. Then add (separately) the dry ingredients and sour cream. Mix until the batter looks smooth and thick.
  • Spread Half the Batter into the Pan. The original recipe called for a bundt pan. While this is lovely, a lot of people don’t oven bundt pans. So this version of the cake is made in a 9×9-inch square baking pan.
  • Sprinkle the Filling Over the Batter. This adds a nice ribbon of cinnamon-sugar to the middle of the cake.
  • Spread Remaining Batter Over the Filling. Spread the remaining batter over the cinnamon-sugar filling. Sometimes the filling makes it tough to spread the batter. This is normal-and a bit annoying! To make this easy, spread the batter with the back of a spoon. And don’t worry too much if the filling pokes through the cake batter. The topping covers it up.
  • Top with the Crumb Topping. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter.
  • Bake. Bake until the cake is golden brown. It smells amazing while baking. Test for doneness by inserting a cake tester into the center of the cake.

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake FAQs

Is there coffee in coffee cake?

No. Coffee cake, at least in the United States, is usually a vanilla cake topped with a streusel topping. It’s served in the morning, usually alongside a cup of….coffee.

Can I make this recipe dairy-free?

Yes. Replace the butter and sour cream with dairy-free alternatives.

Can I use almond flour?

Not in this recipe. Use my almond flour coffee cake recipe.

Can I make this cake without eggs?

I haven’t tested the recipe with an egg-replacer. So I can’t say for sure.

Baked gluten-free coffee cake sliced in a pan

Note: This recipe was first shared in 2019. It was updated in 2025 for clarity. The recipe remains the same.

Squares of baked gluten-free coffee cake on a wire rack
4.75 from 4 votes
Print

Gluten-Free Crumb Coffee Cake

This gluten-free crumb coffee cake features a buttery cinnamon streusel that doubles as both the filling and the crumb topping.

Course Breakfast, Dessert
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

For the Filling and Crumb Topping

  • ¾ cup packed brown sugar (5 ½ ounces; 155 grams)
  • ½ cup gluten-free baking flour (2 ½ ounces; 70 grams)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into 6pieces. (1 ½ ounce; 42 grams)

For the Cake

  • 2 cups gluten-free baking flour (Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour suggested) (10 ounces; 283 grams)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (10 ½ ounces; 297 grams)
  • 1 ½ sticks butter, softened (6 ounces; 170 grams)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 large eggs (about 3 ½ ounces out of shell; 100 grams)
  • 1 cup sour cream (8 ounces; 226 grams)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray an 9×9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. (For a thicker coffee cake, use an 8×8-inch pan.)

  2. Make the Filling and Topping: Stir together the brown sugar, gluten-free baking flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl.

    Remove ⅔ cup of the mixture. Rub the cold butter into the mixture until it's crumbly. Set aside. This is the crumb topping.

    The remaining mixture (without the butter) is the filling.

  3. Prepare the Cake Batter: Whisk together the gluten-free baking flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

  4. Mix together the butter and cinnamon until light, about one minute on medium-high speed on a stand or handheld mixer.

  5. Add the granulated sugar. Mix until a thick paste forms, about 45 seconds. Stop the mixer. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Mix again for 15 seconds. (This incorporates in the thick butter that was stuck to the bottom of the bowl.)

  6. Stop the mixer. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix until combined. Stop the mixer. Scrape the bowl. Mix again for 15 seconds.

  7. Add half the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Add half the sour cream. Mix until smooth. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Mix until batter is smooth.

  8. Spread half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle streusel mixture over the batter.

  9. Spread remaining batter over the filling. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the cake.

  10. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

  11. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. Store, wrapped, on the counter for up to three days.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. amy says

    April 04, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    2 cups of flour mix and 1&1/2 CUPS of sugar for the cake part??!! That seems like a hecka lot of sugar in the cake. Add the streusel topping sugar and I’ll be diabetic for life! I’m in the middle of making this and not sure if this was a typo.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      April 04, 2020 at 2:49 pm

      Not a typo at all. That’s a standard ratio for cakes.

      Reply
  2. Natalie says

    April 05, 2020 at 12:10 pm

    I’ve got this in the oven but I can’t get the center to cook all the way. Its been in for 55 minute total in an 8X8 and is still raw in the middle. Any suggestions? I’m switching to convection and ive covered the top with foil to stop burning

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      April 05, 2020 at 2:17 pm

      Hmmm…what type of gluten-free flour blend did you use?

      And, if possible, check your oven temp. I’ve noticed that cakes usually let me know if my oven temp is off more than cookies or other baked goods.

      Reply
  3. becky says

    May 25, 2020 at 12:52 pm

    5 stars
    Made the cake and instead of streusel I put 1/2 can of pie cherry filling in center of the two layers of cake and sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar on top. Delish!! My MIL made a cherry coffee cake but her original recipe is gluten. This worked out great! Am making it again today to use up the other half of cherry pie filling…:-)

    Reply
  4. Dawn Haley says

    July 08, 2020 at 11:52 am

    5 stars
    Loved this recipe! My family was super happy with how spongey the cake was. I too needed to bake it longer. Next time I’ll probably up the heat a little. Thank you for the step by step instructions as well.

    Reply
  5. Catherine says

    December 12, 2020 at 9:41 am

    thanks for the recipe! In the oven now, I found the batter thick and difficult to spread… is that normal? (Hopefully won’t be an issue once cooked but some of the first streusel layer got mixed in with the second layer of batter.)

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      December 12, 2020 at 1:49 pm

      It is a thick batter! What flour blend did you use?

      Reply
      • Catherine says

        December 13, 2020 at 4:06 pm

        I used Bob’s 1 for 1 (which is my go to gf flour and the same one you recommend). Unfortunately, although I gave it at least an extra 10 minutes in 9×9 pan, it wasn’t close to cooked through ? I even checked the oven today with an oven thermometer (not my normal oven) thinking it must be off, but it’s not. Not sure what I did wrong, I bake a lot and usually very successfully. Flavor was wonderful but it wasn’t close to fully cooked.

        Reply
  6. WTP says

    July 14, 2021 at 4:18 am

    4 stars
    This recipe is very good. The cake is soft and spongy. Agreed that it is a bit too sweet for 1 1/2 cups. I cut down the brown sugar to 1 1/4 cups and it worked perfectly fine.

    Reply
  7. Anastasia says

    March 15, 2025 at 10:31 am

    Hi. I can’t get Bob’s red mill flour blend where I live. What flours can I blend instead.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Get Recipes Delivered to Your Inbox! (Free Weekly Newsletter!)




Elizabeth Barbone

I'm Elizabeth. Welcome to GlutenFreeBaking.com --- a judgment-free baking space. Here you'll find easy recipes, product reviews, and other good stuff that makes gluten-free living easy and a lot more fun!

Read More About Elizabeth →

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Foods You Miss the Most

  • A stack of gluten-free pancakes topped with maple syrup and butter on a plate.
    The Best Gluten-Free Pancakes
  • Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies on a cooling rack.
    Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Loaf of Baked Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread on Red Cutting Board.
    How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread: An Easy Recipe for Everyone!
  • Gluten-free flour tortillas on plate.
    How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas

Footer

↑ back to top

Terms

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Statement

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

About

  • Contact
  • About

Copyright © 2025 Gluten-Free Baking