This gluten-free coffee cake is made extra rich and tender with the addition of sour cream. It is filled and topped with a cinnamon sugar.
Based on a long-time family recipe, this coffee cake is sure to become your new go-to recipe!
You might also like this recipe for gluten-free donuts or gluten-free apple cake.
This is hands-down the best coffee cake I’ve ever had. Bold claim, but it’s true! This recipe is based on my Grandma’s tried-and-true sour cream cinnamon nut cake.
With a good gluten-free flour blend and a few tweaks, I’ve made it to be undetectably gluten-free. It’s moist, delicious, and perfect for a special brunch or holiday breakfast!
Why I love this recipe
- Perfect for special occasions – This gluten-free sour cream coffee cake is one of my favorite things to make as a special occasion breakfast cake (think Christmas morning served with this gluten-free quiche).
- Incredibly moist – Thanks to one secret ingredient (sour cream) this gluten-free coffee cake is amazingly moist and tender.
- Warm, spiced flavor – This coffee cake is bursting with flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. It’s SO comforting and irresistible!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on the key ingredients to make this gluten-free coffee cake:
For the Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
- Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour: These muffins turn out best when you use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Look for a blend that contains xanthan gum so the muffins have the structure they need. This is my favorite brand.
- Sour Cream: This is the secret ingredient to amazing coffee cake! It adds richness and tenderness as well as a delicious flavor.
- Spices: I love the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom in this coffee cake.
- Nuts: You can use either pecans or walnuts. I usually use pecans!
For the Cinnamon Nut Topping
A cinnamon nut cumble topping makes this gluten-free coffee cake especially delicious. You’ll also layer some of this mixture as a filling for delicious cinnamon sugar flavor in every bite.
You also might like these gluten-free cinnamon rolls or gluten-free monkey bread.
How to Make Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamon. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the streusel topping and set aside.
Mix sour cream and baking soda. In another separate bowl mix together the sour cream and baking soda.
Mix butter and sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) cream the room temperature butter, white sugar, and brown sugar for 5 to 8 minutes.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the vanilla extract and eggs and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the side and bottom of the electric mixer bowl and mix again.
Add dry ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Now add the wet ingredients, including 1/2 the sour cream. Mix, then add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Repeat with the remaining sour cream and dry ingredients, mixing after each addition. Stir in nuts.
Layer the batter and crumble. Now it’s time to layer the batter and cinnamon crumble! Spoon half of the cake batter from a large bowl and into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon swirl in an even layer over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the sand layer and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar nut sand on the top. (You may not use it all).
Bake. Bake the cake. Let the gluten-free sour cream coffee cake cool for about 30 minutes before serving.
Storage Tips/Make Ahead
To store: This coffee cake is best eaten within a day it’s baked. If you’d like to store it, I recommend putting it in the freezer.
To Freeze: Wrap the crumb cake tightly in several layers of plastic wrap. Then wrap in foil. Store as is, in a cake pan, or in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 2 months. Let the cake defrost in the refrigerator (the texture is better than thawing it at room temperature) when you’re ready to eat it.
Recipe Tips
- Use parchment paper. Layer your baking pan with parchment paper to easily remove the coffee cake for serving.
- For nut alternatives. You can use either pecans or walnuts for this gluten-free coffee cake. I like to use pecans. But of course, if you have a nut allergy or don’t like nuts, you can skip them!
- Use high-quality butter. Butter helps give this cake a more tender, rich crumb. Try splurging on a European butter like Kerrygold for an even richer flavor!
- For sour cream alternatives. If you don’t have sour cream, you can try substituting with plain whole milk yogurt.
- Measure flour precisely. Adding too much flour with result in a dense, dry cake. For best results remember to use a measuring cup and be precise, using the back of a butter knife to level off your flour.
More Gluten-Free Baking Recipes
Gluten-Free Coffee Cake (with Sour Cream)
Ingredients
For the Sour Cream Coffee Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free 1:1 baking flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamon
- 1 cup sour cream blended
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 stick butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or grease a 9x9x2 inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamon. In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the topping and set aside. In another small bowl, mix together the sour cream and baking soda.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer) cream the butter and brown and granulated sugar for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the side and bottom of the bowl and mix again.
- With the mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add 1/2 the sour cream and mix, followed by another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Repeat with the remaining sour cream and dry ingredients, mixing after each addition. Stir in the nuts.
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar nut sand over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter over the sand layer and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar nut sand on the top (you may not use it all).
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
FAQs
Coffee cake can become dry if you add too much flour or not enough butter. Adding sour cream to coffee cake results in an ultra-moist, rich cake.
Coffee cake is an single-layer cake infused with cinnamon and a crumb topping of butter, flour, and sugar on top of the cake. It’s perfect with a cup of coffee, for breakfast, or dessert.
Coffee cake is unique because of its cinnamon flavor and cinnamon streusel topping. It’s a great recipe that can easily be made with pantry staples!
Amazing cake! I seldom have sour cream in the house but always have Greek yogurt, so I used that because I didnt want to run to the store (honestly I almost always sub yogurt for sour cream). I also opted to make mine chai spiced (upped the cardamom, added ginger, a touch of clove, and black pepper. Mixed more of the same for the streusel). Turned out AMAZING. The texture is just beautiful. Next time I’ll try it as written with sour cream.
We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed the coffee cake and that those substitutions worked well for you, Cypress! A chai spiced version sounds delicious. Thank you for sharing!
can i use organic buckwheat flour for this?
Hi Jeff, buckwheat flour is much different than a gluten-free flour blend. It would most likely need to be blended with other flour types and require further adjustments to the recipe. For best results we recommend using a high-quality gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend. Thank you for your question!
HEAVENLY! Easily the best coffee cake on earth. A well-thought out recipe that holds together beautifully and is perfectly flavorful. I didn’t have sour cream, so sub’d plain yogurt. (If you use yogurt, strain off the whey, using only the thickest part so it’s like the consistency of sour cream.) My family of five, and especially my teen sons, loved this for evening dessert and want it for breakfast. This is the first time I’ve signed up on a food / blog site–it’s that good!… I want to see what else Meaningful Eats offers.
Aww, this makes us so happy, Susan! Thank you for taking the time to share such a kind and thoughtful review. We’re so glad it was a hit with the whole family! Happy baking!
This recipe sounds delicious! I need to make enough to feed 16 people. Could
I double it and bake in a 9×13 pan or should I just make two batches of the recipe as written?
That should work, Laura! It may end up needing a little more time in the oven, but just keep an eye on it as it shouldn’t require a big adjustment. We hope you love it!
Can you use agave sugar instead of cane sugar for any of your baking recipes.
Hi Debbie, thank you for your question! We don’t typically bake with sugar substitutes so we haven’t tested it in this cake ourselves. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
Yum this is delicious! I used Bob’s red mill flour and omitted the nutmeg and cardamom and just used more cinnamon. Delicious, thank you!!