Gluten Free Dairy Free Coffee Cake
Perfect Moist Gluten Free and Dairy Free Coffee Cake is going to be your favorite brunch treat. This gluten free coffee cake literally has the perfect texture. The crumb on top is made with nuts, vegan butter, and brown sugar, so it provides the exact amount of sweet crunch. This is truly the best gluten free coffee cake.
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Gluten Free Dairy Free Coffee Cake
The Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake
It’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up with a cup of delicious hot tea on a brisk fall day. I need those pick me ups a lot these days. The kids, blog, cookbook and PTO keep me very busy. There’s never a minute to slow down, so these treats in the afternoon help to keep me going.
Gluten Free Coffee Cake
If you serve this for guests they will be ever-so-grateful and keep coming back for more. They likely will have no clue that it is also gluten free and dairy free.
What ingredients are need for this gluten free coffee cake?
- gluten free flour (either my premade blend, or a gf all purpose blend, see below for recommendations)
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend contains it alread)
- eggs
- sugar
- vanilla
- non dairy free (any will work, I usually use coconut or flax)
- applesauce
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
Gluten Free Flour Tips
It is easier than it looks! A few things to keep in mind is that not all gluten free flours are created equal. I only bake with my Gluten Free All Purpose Flour blend (Grab the recipe HERE) or Better Batter flour. Better Batter is my prefered flour to use and if you want to try it use the code: LIVINGFREELYGF to get 30% off of your purchase.
Over the years the common denominator of readers not getting preferred results is often the flour. Each flour blend uses different types of flour and some are more dense than others. This will absolutely change the texture of your baked goods.
When you scoop your flour make sure to use the spoon method. If you are unfamiliar with this then you can watch a video HERE. To use this method you need to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off. This helps to make sure you are not packing your flour.
Always remember that if you decided to use a premade gluten free flour blend then OMIT the xanthan gum.
What is xanthan gum and why do I need to use it?
Wheat flour contains gluten and gluten is the binder, it holds the mixture together creating that soft fluffy texture we all love. When you are not baking with gluten that binder needs to be replaced. Typically xanthan gum is used as the binder. It works very well and has become the staple for gluten free baking.
Other binders that work well are guar gum and psyllium husk. Psyllium husk is a grain free alternative and it works, but not as well as xanthan gum.
In this recipe you can use your favorite nuts, but I have found that pecans or walnuts are my favorite for this. Feel free to use either, or blend both, but make sure to chop them up fine.
How do I make this gluten free and dairy free Coffee Cake?
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- Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Then cream the eggs, milk, vanilla, and sugar. You can use a stand mixer, or a hand mixer for this.
- Add the applesauce, coconut oil, cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to mix for 2 minutes.
- Add the Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, Baking Powder, and Xanthan Gum. Mix until it is all blended well.
- You will then need to pour this into a greased cake pan. I always grease with coconut oil and it gets amazing results. The pan you use does make a difference. For a long time I used a round cake pan, but readers were not always getting the same results as me. I would recommend using a 9X13 baking dish for this recipe for universal results.
- After pouring the batter into your pan you will then make the crumb topping. To do this add all of the ingredients to a bowl and smash with a fork to create a crumb. Spread across the top and then bake for about 45 minutes, or until a butter knife comes out of the center clean.
- Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before cutting open.
It is so incredibly moist and spongy when you pierce your fork into it and watch the crisp crumble fall to the sides of the plate you will not be able to help yourself to keep coming back for each bite and then scraping the crumble off of the plate, onto the fork and into your mouth.
Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake
Coffee Cake
This moist gluten and dairy free coffee cake with the perfect crumb topping will delight your senses.
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1/2 Cup Non Dairy Milk Cashew and Coconut are my favorite
- 3/4 Cup Coconut Oil Melted
- 1 1/2 Cups Applesauce
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
- 2 Cups GF AP Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
Crumb Topping
- 1/4 Cup Dairy Free Butter
- 1/3 Cup White Rice Flour
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1/4 Cup Walnuts or Pecans (Chopped)
Instructions
Cake
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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In a stand mixer on a medium low speed cream the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and non dairy milk.
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Add the applesauce, coconut oil, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer off and add the GF All Purpose Flour.
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Turn the mixer back on to slow and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
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Turn speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes, scrapping down the sides of the bowl half way through.
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Grease your 9X13 baking pan and pour the batter in and spread it evenly.
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Spread your crumb topping over the top.
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Bake for about 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick and when it comes out clean it is done.
Crumb Topping
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In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix with a fork until it is well combined into little crumbs. Pour on top of the cake batter before putting in the oven.
Need more easy gluten free breakfast recipes? I’ve got you covered…
- Gluten Free Lemon Loaf- Starbucks Copycat
- Banana Bread (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
- Dairy Free Eggs Benedict
- Vegan Gluten Free Blueberry Scones
- Healthy Breakfast Tacos
- Easy Paleo Quiche
Wow, this recipe is a keeper (says my husband). So moist and delicious. I used coconut palm sugar instead of refined sugar. And added about 1 cup of frozen blueberries.
That sounds perfect Michelle! Thank you for sharing.
Can’t see any coffee in the ingredients !
Coffee cake is essentially crumb cake that is made to be enjoyed with coffee. It doesn’t typically have coffee in the ingredients.
Can’t have coconut, what would the you use instead?
For milk you can use any dairy free milk. Coconut milk is just my personal favorite. Cashew milk is a great alternative because it is a little thicker than almond milk.
What is AP flour?
All Purpose Flour
Looks yummy! Which brand of GFAP flour do you use? Which coconut milk ? In a Can?
I make my own blend. It’s very simple. For the coffee cake I use a carton of Silk or So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk.
Mine looked so good but after 65 minutes came out gooey still? Followed the recipe exactly! 😕 I have it back in but I don’t know, it looked really weird but smelled amazing!!
Oh no Rachel! What size pan did you use and what all purpose flour did you use?
Where can I found the recipe??
Hi Nancy. I’m not sure what happened, but I got it fixed and the recipe is in the blog post. Thank you for letting me know and sorry for the inconvenience.
Does this cake need coffee as an ingredient? If so, how much? It isnt included in the ingredients list. Thank you.
Hi Lisa, no there is not any coffee in the recipe. This is a traditional style coffee cake usually served with coffee. An actual coffee flavored cake is a great idea though!
Does ingredients have to be dairy free.? Can I use dairy milk and butter?
You can always use regular dairy with the same measurements in my recipes. 🙂
I made this cake exactly as the recipe required. I used a 9” springform pan which was a perfect size. It is gooey and more like a solid pudding than a cake. The only crumb is on the bottom and top. I put it back in the oven at 400 for another 30 minutes on top of the 70 minutes. I used cup4cup all purpose GF flour mix which I have used for a number of baked recipes.
Hi Karen,
I am so sorry it didn’t turn out for you. Did you substitute any of the other ingredients? I have never used cup4cup, so I am not sure how that would affect the recipe.
Hi, I find Cup 4 Cup works really well in other GF baking including cakes and muffins. The only thing I can think of is that I used Motts fruitsations Apple sauce which may be more liquid than regular apple sauce.
Hi, I’m having difficulty responding as I keep receiving an error that says duplicate comment detected.
Here is my response to your comments: I find Cup 4 Cup works really well in other GF baking including cakes and muffins. The only thing I can think of is that I used Motts fruitsations Apple sauce which may be more liquid than regular apple sauce.
Thank you Karen. That’s a possibility. I have made this numerous times without any texture issues. I typically use a standard glass jar of applesauce.
Thanks, I will be trying again.
Do you need to add the xanthan gum if your AP flour already has it?
You can leave out the xanthan gum if your flour already has it.
Any chance this can be made into muffins instead of a cake? Has any one tried with success?
I actually adapted these into a muffin for my cookbook 101 incredible gluten free recipes. They get oily so when you pull them out of the muffin tins put them on top of some paper towels to soak up the excess. They bake for about 17 or so minutes and let them cool for at least 20 minutes before eating.
This doesn’t work with Better Batter. After 90 minutes in the oven, it was still raw in the center, and burning on the outside.
Hi Jane, I am so sorry to hear that. I am going to try to make this and troubleshoot any issues. Did you sub any of the other ingredients and what type of pan did you bake it in?
I’m considering making this over the weekend. Do I need to add xanthan gum? Can I leave it out?
If your all purpose flour already contains xanthan gum then you do not need to add it, but if it does not then you will need a binder. Xanthan gum, guar gum, or psyllium husk will work.