Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Before going gluten-free, my grandma’s coffee cake was one of my all-time favorites so when I was diagnosed with Celiac, I knew I had to find a way to make her recipe gluten-free. Thankfully this is one that turns out so good gluten-free. What a relief!
Over the years, I’ve come back to this recipe from time to time to perfect my gluten-free version. I feel like now I can finally say I’m 100% happy with the results!
Why You’ll Love It: This coffee cake looks complicated, but it’s actually really easy to make. I make it for special occasion breakfasts (like Christmas morning, paired with my favorite gluten-free quiche), brunch with friends, and even for dessert. Plus this recipe is always a hit with everyone, not just those needing gluten-free!
Top Tip: Let the coffee cake cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. This allows the crumb to set and makes for cleaner slices.
xoxo erin
Featured Comment
From Miriam: “Absolutely delicious and easy to make! Served it at a coffee and nobody guessed it was gluten free! Light, tender and spiced just right – a definite keeper!”
My grandma’s handwritten recipe in my little book of recipes I took to college!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this gluten-free sour cream coffee cake. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-Free: My top pick is Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour. King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure-for-Measure Flour will also work. They both contain xanthan gum so there’s no need to add any to the mixture!
- Sour cream: This is the secret to a perfect coffee cake! My grandma’s recipe used sour cream to create an incredibly moist, tender crumb, and it works just as well in this gluten-free version.
- Butter: I recommend using a high-quality butter for the richest, most tender cake. I like to use Kerrygold!
- Nuts: My grandma always used walnuts, but pecans are my go-to. For nut-free, they can be omitted, but if that’s not a concern, I highly recommend including them for the best flavor and texture!
- Spices: The nutmeg and cardamom really make the spiced cake pop without overpowering the classic cinnamon flavor (plus they balance the sweetness).
If you love cinnamon spice recipes as much as I do, you have to try these gluten-free cinnamon rolls and this gluten-free monkey bread.
How to Make Eva’s Gluten-Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
I use three separate bowls for the different mixtures before combining everything to create the perfect texture. Mixing the dry ingredients separately evenly blends the spices and leavening, the sour cream and baking soda work together for a tender crumb, and creaming the butter and sugars adds air for a lighter, fluffier cake.
Once my three mixtures are ready, I combine them in stages so the batter comes together smoothly. This also helps prevent overmixing, which keeps the cake soft and tender.
I like to add cinnamon sugar between the two layers of batter to create a cinnamon swirl through the middle. That way, there’s cinnamon sugar in every bite, not just on top.
For more sweet breakfast and brunch recipes like this one, I recommend gluten-free apple cake, gluten-free banana bread or this gluten-free muffin recipe!
Watch this video to see how to make it!
Eva’s Gluten-Free Cinnamon Nut Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- 1½ cups (225g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 cup (240g) sour cream
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (113g) butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (53g) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup (32g) chopped pecans or walnuts
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup (32g) chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (53g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom.
- In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and baking soda.
- In another small bowl, mix the ingredients for the topping and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again.
- With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add ½ the sour cream and mix, followed by another ⅓ 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 ⅓ of the cinnamon sugar topping over the batter. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon sugar topping.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing.
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!!
This wasn’t hard and was really tasty. I didn’t have cardamom so used a little more cinnamon. I also messed up and put all the nuts in the cake and didn’t have quite enough sour cream, so I made up the rest (a couple tablespoons) with heavy cream. Even with those mishaps it was great! Also I like the size – I don’t need 9×13 inches of coffee cake for my family of 4. 🙂
Hi Jessica, we’re so happy to hear you loved the coffee cake! We love the problem-solving and we’re so glad it turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us.
This was yummy! Mine turned out a teensy bit dry but that could be because my oven runs hot ( tho I did take it out earlier than suggested because of this). Next time I will take it out even a few minutes earlier than I did and also try a European butter to see if that adds a bit more moistness. The serving size is very generous considering how reasonable the calorie count per serving is! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Hi Sherry, we’re so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. Happy baking!
What is the measurement for a stick of butter?
Hi Andrea, a stick of butter is typically 1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons. We hope you enjoy the coffee cake!
Can I convert this to muffins?
Hi Robbin, absolutely! You’ll most likely need to reduce the baking time if you go the muffin route. If it still seems like it’s baking too fast, it could benefit from a lower oven temperature as well. Thanks for your question!
Any chance I could substitute out the eggs? Anyone had luck with that.
Hi Kathy, we haven’t tried egg replacements with this recipe to say for sure, but our readers are great about sharing their experiences with substitutions in the comment section. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
what if I were to make muffins with batter, same temp? what would baking time be please. (I am at altitude also, so any tips, thanks!)
Hi Pamela, great questions! You should be able to stick to the same baking temperature and just reduce the baking time. A general guideline is to reduce it by 5% – 10% so in this case roughly by 2-4 minutes, but the safest way is to use a toothpick to test the doneness as ovens can impact baking times. We don’t have much experience with high altitude baking. Thanks for your questions!
I love that this is gluten free! And the added in sour cream made it SO yummy! We loved this!
Delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I used my own GF rice flour blend, and it worked perfectly. The only thing I did different was cut the sugar in half, and upped the salt a bit. Perfect!
Can this be mixed up night before & baked morning of?
Yes that should work great!
This cake was moist and delicious. Everyone raved about it. I modified the topping by adding 2 tbsp of butter and a dash of salt for a moist, savory-sweet topping. Next time, I’ll increase the topping by 1/3 since there wasn’t enough to cover both layers. Overall, I would make this recipe again and again.
Thanks for the helpful comment! That sounds delicious. Glad you enjoyed it!
Could you make this into a Bundt cake? Would I change the cooking times?
Hi Ruth, this recipe should be possible in a Bundt pan. Make sure to grease the pan well, follow the recipe accordingly, then watch the baking time. You will most likely need to add 5-15 minutes onto the baking time for a Bundt pan. Let it cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. We’d love to hear how it goes! Happy baking!
I literally NEVER leave comments, but I HAD to write one for this because it was THAT good. Best GF dessert I’ve ever made – like others said, you cannot tell it’s GF at all. Perfect texture, perfect amount of sweetness, and very well written instructions. It makes all the difference! Thanks so much for this incredible recipe. I won’t ever need to look for another one for coffee cake.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment 🙂
Love this moist cake so very much. Since I had milk that had soured, I used that in lieu of sour cream and it came out delicious! Highly recommend this recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Fabulous – I added more walnuts bc I like the texture. I did half and half of plain yogurt and sour cream. My mom used to make this when she had ladies over for coffee when I was a school aged child, and since I’ve become celiac I haven’t even thought of it. I had this craving for it, and googled it and voila this was wonderful! I took some to my mom and she could not believe this was gluten free. I used King Arthur 1:1 flour. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so happy you were able to recreate a childhood favorite! Glad it got your Mom’s approval too 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Absolutely scrumptious. No one could ever guess it’s Gluten free. So moist. One of the yummiest cakes EVER. I always make 2. A mandolin slicer is the trick to get super thin slices of apple. But be careful with the mandolin slicer.
Use the hand guard! Trust me!