Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: Pumpkin perfection in about 1 hour!
🥣 Ease: Easy fall baking with simple ingredients and straightforward steps.
🌾 Flour Used: My favorite gluten-free measure-for-measure flour!
🎂 Pan Size: A 9×9-inch pan gives you the perfect cake-to-crumb ratio.
❄️ Freezer Friendly: Yes! Freeze the unglazed cake for up to 3 months then glaze after thawing.
Pumpkin season is one of my favorite parts of fall, and I always find myself wanting to create new gluten-free pumpkin recipes to celebrate. I love this crumb cake for a weekend breakfast with coffee, but it’s just as good for an afternoon treat!
For breakfast or brunch, I tend to pair this recipe with a savory option, like my gluten-free tater tot breakfast casserole or my almond flour crust quiche for a well-rounded meal.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make this gluten-free pumpkin crumb cake. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Melted butter: Using melted butter is a game-changer for creating those big, soft bakery-style crumbs. I’ve tried making gluten-free crumb toppings many different ways over the years and I’ve found this method works the very best. I mix the melted butter into the sugar mixture first, then gently work in the gluten-free flour with a fork, being careful not to overmix. This helps hydrate everything evenly while still allowing those large crumbs to form. Dairy-free butter works great here too!
- Pumpkin purée: I wanted the pumpkin cake to be moist but sturdy enough to hold a generous layer of crumb topping. One cup gives me the balance I’m looking for without weighing down the cake. Since most cans are 15 ounces, that leaves me enough extra purée to make other favorites, like my gluten-free pumpkin scones!
- Milk of choice: I typically use regular milk, but unsweetened almond milk works great too. Use it along with dairy-free butter to make this coffee cake completely dairy-free.
How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crumb Cake
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Use a fork for the crumb topping. This is my favorite method for making big, bakery-style crumbs! I mix the sugars, cinnamon, salt and melted butter first, then use a fork to gently mix in the gluten-free flour. A fork makes it easy to create large crumbs without overworking the mixture.
Don’t overmix the crumbs. Once you add the flour, stop mixing as soon as large crumbs form. If you keep stirring, especially with a spoon, the mixture can turn pasty instead of staying crumbly.
Pile on all of the crumb topping. It may look like a lot, but that’s intentional! I wanted every bite to have a generous layer of buttery brown sugar crumbs.
Let the cake cool before glazing. If the cake is still warm, the glaze will melt right into the crumb topping. I wait until it’s completely cool so the glaze stays thick and pretty on top.
More Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Crumb Cake
Video
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (106g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (113g) butter, melted
- 1¼ cups (187g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
Dry Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups (200g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- ½ cup (106g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Other
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (226g) pumpkin purée
- ⅓ cup (80ml) milk of choice
- ½ cup (120ml) neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- For the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the melted butter and mix to combine.
- Add the gluten-free flour and use a fork to mix until large crumbs form. Do not use a spoon or overmix, or the mixture will become pasty. Cover with plastic wrap.
- For the pumpkin cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, oil and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry flour streaks remain.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter the crumb topping evenly over the cake, keeping some of the crumbs in larger pieces.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely before topping with the glaze.
- For the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if the glaze is too thin or more milk if the glaze is too thick.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and slice into squares.
I made this 3 days ago. I did not make the glaze and only made 1/2 of the crumb topping. I took a bite as soon as it cooled and my 1st reaction was that it needed choco chips or nuts to boost the flavor. Left it on the counter overnight and could not believe how much better it tasted the next day! Delicious! And the cake baked up perfect and is moist. Many GF cakes are dense or hard to get completely baked. This one is a perfect cake and is delicious. Just make it the day before you plan to serve for maximum flavor. Also, I used pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, etc. My non GF hubby loves it, too. xoxo
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Lynn! We’re so glad you found the crumb cake to be delicious and moist the next day. It’s funny how some bakes just need a little time to become even better! We’re happy to hear you and your husband love the recipe!
I made the pumpkin crumb cake and I was blown away! It was so moist and flavorful. So thankful to have found your website, keep up it up!
Aww, thank you so much, Lee! We’re thrilled to hear you loved the pumpkin crumb cake and that you’re enjoying the website. We appreciate your kind feedback. Happy baking!
This recipe was fabulous. I made it for an event, marked it as gluten free, but everyone raved about it. Even my husband who is not gluten-free, and not a pumpkin fan, wanted me to fix another one so he could have some with his morning coffee.
Oh wow! That’s amazing to hear, Bev! We’re so glad the crumb cake was a hit at the event and that your husband even asked for more. We love it with coffee too. Thanks for sharing!
I can’t wait to make!
Yay! We hope you love the new recipe, Stephanie!
Erin another FABULOUS RECIPE!!!!!!
I made this for our Labor Day family dinner and it was FANTASTIC!!
What else is there to say you hit the jackpot with this recipe.
My family loved it.
Definitely a recipe I will be making often
Thanks again Erin for Sharing your recipes and love for the Celiac World
with all of us.
Vicki New
Aww, thank you for such a rave review, Vicki! We’re so happy to hear the pumpkin crumb cake was such a total hit. This means so much to us!
Is this something I could make a day ahead of baking to fully rest?
Hi Laura! We don’t recommend making the batter a day ahead of time since this cake includes baking soda and powder. They start activating as soon as they are mixed into the batter and the cake will lose its ability to rise if this batter rests for a prolonged period of time. Thank you for your question! We hope this helps!
I made this yesterday as my first fall bake and I loved it!! I also shared it with my coworkers (who aren’t gluten free but always try my treats) and they love it as well! I was brainstorming if I could make an apple version of this?! Or if you have another apple recipe you would recommend that I could add this crumb topping to? Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Lizzy! We’re thrilled to hear you loved the pumpkin crumb cake so much. Thank you for the rave review! We have this gluten-free apple cake with a cinnamon sugar topping you might enjoy. Happy baking!
Really tasty cake! Made it using the Bob’s Redmill 1:1 gf blend. I know not all ovens are calibrated the same – but this cake took closer to an hour to bake in my oven at 350° before a fork would come out clean.
We’re so glad you loved the crumb cake, Rebecca! Thank you for sharing your experience. We’re so glad you found a baking time that worked for your oven and that flour blend. We hope your next bake is amazing!
This is the best gluten free recipe I’ve ever made!!! So moist and delicious! Going to be a fall staple for sure.
We’re thrilled to hear you loved the new recipe so much, Loredana! Thank you for sharing such wonderful news with us. Happy baking!
This sounds delicious! Could this be doubled and put into a 9 x 13. I am having a crowd! Thank you!!
Hi Michele! Yes, that should work well! We’d start checking it around 40 minutes, although the toothpick test will be the best way to judge when it’s done in the larger pan. We hope you love it!
Has anyone tried Bob’s red mill 1 for.1
Sounds very delicious. When the batter is made, should I let it rest for 20 minutes before baking?
Great question, Rebecca! Resting the batter is often helpful with gluten-free recipes, but we’ve found it typically isn’t necessary with this recipe. We hope you love the new fall crumb cake!
It’s incredible! Made it last night, dairy free using Country Crock Olive oil butter sticks, and Oatly full fat oat milk. I did let the batter rest 20-30 min with zero negative impacts (this is a must in my opinion with GF baking). I did 1.5x the recipe (using Paprika app) and that fit perfectly in a 9×11 glass baking dish. We all loved it! I plan to freeze a bunch of squares too.
We’re so happy to hear you loved the pumpkin crumb cake and that it worked well dairy-free! It’s also good to know 1.5x the recipe is a good fit for a 9×11. Thanks for sharing, Tina! We hope your next bake is just as enjoyable!
Tina Thank you for the idea of baking and freezing squares. I have those little square baking dish that will be great for quick breakfast, snacks etc. This way you don’t have to try to save the entire cake.
Great Idea from Erins recipes
Thanks for sharing Tina.
Vicki New
This was a fantastic recipe! A favorite for sure! We loved that it wasn’t too sweet and the flavor and texture – perfect!
I just saw that you had a copycat Starbucks pumpkin cream cheese muffin. Would I be able to convert this crumb cake recipe into muffins and add the cream cheese mixture from your other recipe?
Thank you for cresting amazing recipes!
We’re thrilled to hear you loved the pumpkin crumb cake so much, Wendy! Thank you for sharing such wonderful feedback with us. We haven’t tried to turn this crumb cake into muffins before. The Starbucks copycat muffins were designed to handle the cream cheese mixture so it’s hard to say if this crumb cake could support the cream cheese filling the same way. If you decide to test it out, we’d love to hear how it goes!
The 7 layer bars are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Having a 6 year old grandson who is allergic to wheat has made me research recipes. Erin’s are the best so far! Thank you!
Aww, thank you for the kind feedback, Cari! We’re so happy to hear you and your grandson have enjoyed Erin’s recipes so much. We hope you love this new fall crumb cake as much as the 7-layer bars!
This pumpkin crumb cake is delicious! So moist and flavorful. I followed your recipe exactly. My husband loves it! I will be making this again! Thank you so much for your delicious recipes!
This is wonderful to hear, Cathy! We’re so glad both you and your husband loved the new pumpkin recipe. Thank you for the kind feedback!