This Gluten Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake is a delicious way to step up your brunch game! It’s also a great make-ahead week-day breakfast since it freezes really well.
This post is brought to you in partnership with Simply Organic. All opinions are my own.
Gluten Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Coffee cake is such a classic breakfast/brunch staple and this gluten free cinnamon coffee cake does not disappoint. It’s got all the things you love about a good coffee cake – it’s dense but has a nice cake-y texture, it’s full of warm cinnamon spice, and it’s got the all-important crumb topping.
I’ve also made mine dairy free but you could use regular milk and butter if desired. This coffee cake was adapted from the Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake that I shared with you last Spring.
As you can tell by the title, this gluten free cinnamon coffee cake has one special ingredient as the star: cinnamon. I used Simply Organic ground cinnamon in this recipe and it packs a fantastic cinnamon flavor. All that warm spice, so good!
We’ve all been tasked to create a recipe using Simply Organic spices. While I love savory spices, cinnamon is one of my absolute favorites to cook and bake with. It makes everything smell (and taste!) so amazing. It’s the star ingredient to my slow cooker cinnamon applesauce, slow cooker apple butter, apple cider donuts, gluten free cinnamon sticks, and my cinnamon swirl muffins. I even top my broiled grapefruit with it!
Please get in the kitchen and bake something sweet! Or savory. Your choice! You can follow along and see what others are sharing using the hashtag #OrganicMoments on Twitter, Instagram, or even Facebook. To vote for your favorite recipe or for more information about the bake-off, visit Go Dairy Free.
To keep with the brunch feel of this recipe, serve this alongside my ham and cheese quiche or bacon and swiss quiche plus a side of my bacon wrapped kielbasa bites and you will be in brunch heaven. Enjoy!
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Gluten Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake Batter:
- 3 C all-purpose gluten free flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 C granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 C palm shortening
- 1 1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk room temperature
- 1 Tbsp white vinegar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
For the Topping:
- 1/3 C palm shortening measured then melted
- 3/4 C gluten free flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 3/4 C sugar
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the shortening and use a fork or pastry cutter to cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it forms coarse crumbs.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and set aside.
To make the topping:
- Add the melted palm shortening, flour, xanthan gum, sugar, and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix until it forms crumbs.
- Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top of the cake.
- Bake the coffee cake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool before serving.
Notes
Recommended Products
Nutrition Information
Disclaimers
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Facts are estimated and aren't always accurate. Please consult a doctor or nutritionist if you have special dietary needs.
This post contains affiliate links for products and ingredients used to make this recipe.
Thank you!!
What gf flour blend do you recommend for this recipe?
I like to use this flour blend for this but you could use this one or a 1:1 baking flour like Measure for Measure or Bob’s Red Mill 1:1.
Love the look of this. Plan to try this in the next few days.
Are egg whites acceptable instead of the whole egg?
Thanks Todd! If you don’t have whole eggs and use liquid egg whites, I would add an additional 2 tablespoons of fat/shortening to the cake batter.
Can I replace palm shortening with margarine ? As we don’t have palm shortening available ?
I haven’t baked with margarine much but most likely. You could also use a vegan butter and if you don’t need dairy free, use real butter.
What’s the best way to store this overnight? I want to make it the night before serving it for brunch. Cover and leave on counter? Refrigerate?
I would cover tightly and leave at room temperature. Refrigerating it might cause it to dry out.
This recipe is amazing! I added nuts and raisins and instead of white sugar for the topping, I used brown sugar. I will DEFINITELY make this again!
Looks delish!! Is there an option for something to substitute instead of the palm shortening? Has anyone ever tried?
I used the Country Crock plant based avocado “butter” it came out perfect
Hi Jenn, if you can have dairy, use unsalted butter in place of the shortening 🙂
COFFEE CAKE OMG IM 63 AND WHEN I WAS ABOUT 23 I ALWAYS MADE 2 DI 4 COFFEE CAKE ALL THE TIME. EVERYBODY RAVED ABOUT IT. I NO LONGER HAVE THE RECIPE BUT IF ITS COMING FROM YOU I KNOW ITS THE BEST. IVE MADE A TON OF YOUR RECIPES BUT I GUESS I HAD BETTER START TAKING A PICTURE
Hi Shay, I see you are another cinnamon lover. I always tell people that there is no such thing as too much cinnamon. Have you ever tried it in Stuffed Peppers? Spaghetti? Swiss Steak? I learned about this from one of my bosses a long time ago. I said I was going to make stuffed peppers and he mentioned cinnamon. You won’t believe how just a dash of cinnamon can bring out the flavors and cut the acidity of things made with tomato! It literally takes very little – just a dash! But it is so amazing. People always say there is something different but that it’s really good and then I confess. They are always amazed that these dishes have any cinnamon. Try it! I think you will be really surprised!
I’ve tried cinnamon in tomato based sauce before – it definitely gives an interesting flavor (and not in a bad way)!
Could you substitute the coconut milk for almond milk or regular milk?
Yes! If you can do dairy, I would suggest using regular milk and then butter in place of the shortening. But you could also do unsweetened almond milk in place of the coconut milk. I just prefer the taste of baked goods with coconut milk.
This coffee cake is SOOO good! Moist and so full of flavor! I made it tonight to serve for Easter brunch tomorrow and it is amazing! Thank you for the recipe. This one is printed and going in my recipe book for the perfect coffee cake!
Thank you so much Brandy! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Have a Happy Easter!
Hey! Thanks for getting back to me. My sister can’t have any butter or dairy or gluten so i was trying some new stuff for her to eat. I may have packed the flour a little too-tight im still new to this. Everyone (people who can eat regular food) loved the cake tho. Thank you so much for posting this i will definitely be trying more recipes.
Hey i just tried this cake and it looms great has a great taste it is just a little dry any suggestions to make it more moist? What could i have done wrong? Thank you!
Hi Alan! Sounds like you may have used a little too much flour. Also, did you use shortening or butter? I find that this comes out ever so slightly better with butter 🙂
Just popped this in the oven! Can’t wait to try it
A friend brought this to a brunch we were having. This is the most delicious crumb cake i’ve had since I’ve been Gluten Free! Even the non-gluten free members of my family thought it was so delicious i had to hide it. Definitly will be making this myself.
That’s so great to hear, so glad you all enjoyed it! And in case you don’t need it to be dairy free, feel free to use butter in place of the palm shortening 🙂
For some reason the Cake came out really dense. Is there somethings I may have done to do make that happen? Or recommendations to improve the Cake to make more fluffy
Hi Laurie, it sounds like you may have used too much flour as this cake is not a dense cake. When you measure your flour, make sure you stir it first then use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup then level it off with a straight edge. Hope that helps!
Do you know if this recipe freezes well? Either cooked or pre-cooked? And then thawed before baking? It looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it!
It freezes well after baking. I usually slice it into pieces and freeze them on a sheet pan. Then I wrap them individually and then store those in the freezer in a freezer bag.
I used oil instead of palm shortening. My topping looks liquid will it get crumbly in the oven?
Hi, it seems like you may have used too much oil. It should be crumbly when you put it on the cake. If it’s liquid, it won’t get crumbly.
Any recommendation for substitutes for the palm shortening? This recipe looks amazing but I’d rather not use that.
If you can have butter, use that instead! You could also try ghee. If you have to be dairy free, you could try coconut oil, though you would want to melt it for the batter. I haven’t tried it though so I can’t tell you for sure how it would come out.
If you use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour, do you still need to add xanthan gum? This flour mix already contains xanthan gum, so I worry about having too much in the mix.
Thanks!
Hi Monica, for this recipe you do not need to add the xanthan gum I called for if your flour mix contains it.
Have you ever made an egg free version? Any tips to do so would be appreciated!!
I have not made this egg free but you could try it with a flax egg 🙂
Is this canned coconut milk or the kind in the carton?
I use the kind in the carton for baking – so much easier than having to open a can every time 🙂
SO EXCITED to try this tonight…crumble coffee cakes are my absolute favorite. What about swapping the shortening for butter? Do you think that would work, and same measurements? 🙂
Yes, you can definitely use an equal amount of butter! I prefer it with butter but my daughter is lactose intolerant, so no butter for her 🙁
Perfect, thank you! I’ll probably try it both ways, actually. ????
Have you ever added fruit to the cake portion? Like blueberries?
Hi Kris, in this particular recipe – no. But I have made a version without the cinnamon crumb that has a strawberry rhubarb filling – http://www.whattheforkfoodblog.com/2016/05/01/gluten-free-strawberry-rhubarb-coffee-cake/
And I also have a blueberry coffee cake recipe – http://www.whattheforkfoodblog.com/2014/06/18/blueberry-coffee-cake/
If my gluten free flour already has xantham gum in it do I need to add more?
If your flour already contains xanthan gum, you can omit the amount I called for.
I love all of your recipes, and this one looks like another winner. This is the only kind of coffee cake we like at my house. It looks easy and delicious and amazing. I will probably make it this weekend. I am a juice and chai person in the morning. Sometimes on a weekend, I will toast half a bagel, and that is the extent of it. But if I make this, I will gladly eat a piece and then try to hide it so I don’t eat any more, although with my husband and son, that won’t be a problem. What’s nice about this kind of breakfast is that one piece with tea or milk, is all you need. I also like the convenience of all purpose gluten free flour. I haven’t made your mix yet, but I have all the ingredients on hand, so eventually I will get around to it. Normally I use King Arthur’s all purpose gluten free flour. It is the one I consistently get the best results from. I have always used it with your recipes with great results, but it would certainly save, some money to use yours. Thanks for another wonderful recipe. They always look so good that I want to make all of them. I loved the peanut butter cookies with the spiders. They were so darned cute. Unfortunately my husband ate all the peanut butter cups!
Thanks Mari! This makes such a big batch of coffee cake that I like to slice it into individual pieces and wrap each piece and freeze them. That way, we can pull what we need from the freezer whenever we need it. I use my own flour mix since it has no potato starch in it. My go-to premade mixes are Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 and The Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Flour Mix, I’ve had great results with both of those. I’ll have to try King Arthur’s sometime, I’ve heard theirs is great. Thanks for taking the time to write to me!
A T of baking powder plus baking soda??? Why xanthan gum for the topping? Just curious.
Hi Charlotte, I know it sounds like a lot… just trust me on this one! And the xanthan gum in the topping helps it stick together and give it that true crumb topping feel – you know when some bits are hard and crunchy and others are soft and melt in your mouth. Without the xanthan gum, the crumb topping just doesn’t have the right texture, it’s too “sandy”.
what if the gf flour has the anthem gum already?
Hi Audrey, if your flour mix contains xanthan gum you can omit the amount called for in the recipe.