Easiest Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever!

Why Doesn’t Coffee Cake Have Coffee In It?

A common misconception is that all coffee cakes have coffee in them. American coffee cakes do not typically have any coffee in them or in the icings.

Instead coffee cake is a generic term for any cake eaten with our coffee.

I understand in Australia and the UK this is not the case, a coffee cake truly does have coffee in the recipe and in the icing! 

Can I Add Coffee to Coffee Cake?

Absolutely! This is such a versatile recipe! Here are some ideas:

• Stir in 1 teaspoon of coffee or espresso powder to the milk
• Exchange some of the liquid (milk, buttermilk, etc) for dark coffee, cooled
• Add ½ – 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to the icing

While I am not gluten free, probably like you, I have many friends and family who are, so I love having recipes like this to whip up that taste delicious!

This Simply Crumbly Coffee Cake has always been my favorite and I still love it, it’s super easy to make, but this one; mmm, mm, good.

Or my Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars if you are looking for something with a little fruit.

I’m not gluten free, but I make this coffee cake regularly and when I bring places people go nuts over it! Being gluten free is a bonus! 

How to Make the Moistest Coffee Cake

My friend Emily, the delightful originator of this recipe, brought this coffee cake to a retreat a few months back and it’s a WINNER! I used 3 different gluten free flours to add a little bit of depth to the cake, but feel free to change it up to your favorites as well, try different amounts and mixes.

If making Gluten Free try Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1, I’m a big fan of oat flour, it lends wonderful oat-y moisture to baked goods. Combine your flours, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, mix until combined.

Add the oil and mix well, but don’t over mix.

Once mixture resembles crumbs, remove ¾ to 1 cup of mixture and set aside.. I like more crumbs on top, so I do closer to a cup.

Next add 1 cup buttermilk*, baking soda and egg, mix until combined and smooth.

*NO BUTTERMILK? Simply add 1 tablespoon of regular white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk, stir and allow to sit for 5-7 minutes and voila you’ll have buttermilk!

Spread into greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Sometimes depending on how much crumb you take it’s more liquid than other times, don’t worry it all bakes up into the same delicious, moist cake!

Toss 2 teaspoons cinnamon and ½ cup chopped pecans (optional) and mix in reserved crumb mixture.

Unless you are like me and do things too fast without reading well, then you’ve already crumbled your topping over the top, so then just sprinkle your cinnamon and pecans (optional) over the top. I did half and half as one of my boys has a tree nut allergy.

Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes, until it’s no longer jiggly in the middle, you want this baby moist, don’t overbake.

Ugly Glaze for the Ugly Cake

While baking, mix together glaze ingredients for the Gluten Free Coffee Cake. Use a little more or less water to make smooth and pourable. Whisk well until smooth, set aside until ready to use.

Pull the cake from the oven and drizzle the icing evenly over the top of the warm cake. Let cool slightly before slicing, delicious warm or cold, truly a moist and flavorful cake.

If you like this recipe, check out my Gluten Free (or easily adapted to be Gluten Free) recipe archive.

EGG FREE, DAIRY FREE & GLUTEN FREE COFFEE CAKE

• Try different flours — just replace with total flour amount.
• Replace the egg with 1 small-medium mashed banana
• Replace buttermilk with your favorite plant based milk or even try orange juice!

Get the whole recipe and more info at www.thefreshcooky.com