Gluten-Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Coffee cake is a classic treat that many of us serve while entertaining guests. Next time you’re serving up some piping hot coffee, consider making this gluten-free coffee cake. Your guests won’t believe that this cinnamon coffee cake is free of wheat flour, cane sugar and butter!
What Is Coffee Cake?
The coffee cake we know and love today has much evolved over the last few centuries. Cake has been around as early as times in the Bible, with honey or dates being used as sweeteners. Coffee cake is thought to have been popularized by the Danish in the 17th century as a treat to be enjoyed alongside coffee, and brought over to America by early European immigrants.
Even though the coffee cake recipe has been around a long time, there’s no reason to continue making it the unhealthy way. Traditional coffee cake recipes often call for cups of bleached wheat flour, which is extremely nutrient deficient. And don’t get me started on the refined sugar added to it! Store-bought versions of coffee cake with streusel can even include partially hydrogenated oil or unhealthy soybean oil. The impact of one slice of traditional coffee cake on your health isn’t worth the bite.
Key Ingredients
Heart-healthy almond flour makes up the structure of this easy coffee cake recipe. I love almonds and almond flour because of the protein they provide.
My gluten-free coffee cake wouldn’t be anything without the powerful antioxidant cinnamon. Cinnamon provides benefits to the immune system, digestive system and positively affects blood sugar levels.
Coconut milk is added in for additional moisture. Coconut milk is one of my favorite replacements for conventional cow’s milk since it has fatty acids that actually help lower cholesterol. Despite what the low-fat diet fad told the American public for the last 20 years, high-fat coconut milk actually helps you lose fat. It can help keep you full and energized for hours after consuming it.
Lastly, coconut oil is healthy for your heart and great for your metabolism. It has antiviral and antibacterial properties and those fantastic medium-chain fatty acids.
How to Make Cinnamon Coffee Cake
My gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake would fool even the biggest wheat lovers. First, coconut oil is added to a mixing bowl.
Maple syrup is added as a natural sweetener, in place of refined sugar. I love using maple syrup in baked goods because of the natural benefits, and you don’t need as much to give this coffee cake sweetness.
Next, pour vanilla extract in and add a pastured egg, along with coconut milk. Mix the wet ingredients until well combined.
Mix together almond flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Combine the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. Pour the gluten-free coffee cake mixture into your greased dish or loaf pan.
For the topping, mix together the remaining almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon for a decadent and guilt-free streusel. This is coming together to be the best coffee cake recipe!
Sprinkle the almond flour topping over the batter. Bake in the oven for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve up this coffee cake with piping hot organic coffee or tea and your guests will feel like home.
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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Next time you’re serving up some piping hot coffee, consider making this cinnamon coffee cake. Your guests won’t believe that it’s free of wheat flour, cane sugar and butter!
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1½ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Topping:
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1½ tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Grease an 8×8 baking dish or loaf pan and set aside.
- Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.
- Stir coconut oil, egg, vanilla, maple syrup and coconut milk together in a bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking powder and sea salt.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until smooth.
- Pour into an 8×8 baking dish or loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon for the topping.
- Crumble the topping over the cake.
- Bake for 50 minutes for the loaf pan version. If using an 8×8 pan, aim for 45 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1-inch slice
- Calories: 107
- Sugar: 8.8g
- Sodium: 125mg
- Fat: 7.7g
- Saturated Fat: 6.4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10.3g
- Fiber: 0.5g
- Protein: 0.9g
- Cholesterol: 16mg
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17 Comments
Great instructions! I am trying to eat more healthy, doing GREAT on the third week…so far have avoided fast & prepared food/cookies/candy/cake/pie/coffee cake, etc. This recipe will be good for an occasional treat. I would prefer to use golden monkfruit granules for the sweetener, how much would I use?
This is so easy to make and turns out great. I did use a 1/4 cup coconut flour as I had to use it up and the balance in almond flour. I also used honey. When baking my kitchen smelled like cinnamon, perfect for a cold winter day.
I ended up eating the whole coffee cake by myself. Since I had left over coconut milk, I baked another cake. The second time was even easier to whip up. I may try to freeze slices or buy larger jeans!
Is the baking time the same for a loaf pan and an 8×8? It seems like the 8×8 would take less time beaus it is shallow.
Good point Cheryl! Yes, it would less time, probably around 45 minutes total.
The gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake looks nice – but there’s no coffee in the ingredients. Is this a mistake?
Hi Elizabeth! No mistake. It’s called a “coffee cake” because it pairs well with coffee, but coffee itself is rarely if ever included in the ingredients.
In a coffee cake with conventional ingredients with same type ingredients, I sometimes would put a cup of blueberries a 1/4 of the flour and add a bit more sweetener and add in the blueberries with the flour and fold in just before putting the prepared pan. I believe this will work with this recipe as well. I’m looking forward to trying this flour after I find some arrowroot starch/flour. I appreciate all the great information.
Cinnamon lover delight! Amazingly delicious recipe. I made the recipe three days in a row. The texture is great, just a little moist and the taste is oh wow you just have to try it. My son who’s not into food even asked “What’s that delicious thing you made?” Thank you :)
Really appreciate and so enjoy the yummy recipes you provide for your products! This is the way my body likes me to eat! please don’t stop!😊
Can honey be subbed for the Maple Syrup in this gluten free coffee cake recipe
Would coconut flour work instead of almond flour? Nothing against almond flour, but I’ve got some coconut flour that I have to use up!
It may work but coconut flour often doesn’t stay together as well for a “cake,” such as coffee cake or pancake.
Does this use canned coconut milk or the refrigerated coconut milk?
Canned coconut milk. You can use reduced fat or full fat.
What if you are allergic to nuts what do you use?
Spelt flour works well, as does buckwheat.
Can you substitute the coconut milk for oat milk?