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This Gluten-Free Coffee Cake is fluffy, tender, and moist with a sweet streusel topping. It’s the classic New York crumb cake that’s truly all about the crumbs! Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee, especially when you want something special for the holidays.
Easy Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
Growing up, I loved Entenmann’s Crumb Cakes and the thick, sweet slices of coffee cake from New Jersey bagel shops. The best was when there was almost more crumb than cake!
This New York-style crumb cake is my gluten-free recreation of those childhood treats. For many years, I made this cake for Christmas breakfast. It has such a nostalgic flavor of cinnamon, powdered sugar, and buttery streusel crumble that everyone young and old will happily dig into a slice (even if you’re not gluten-free).
New York Crumb Cake Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this easy gluten-free coffee cake. The full amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Gluten-free all-purpose flour. Use a 1-to-1 baking blend like Bob’s Red Mill or Cup4Cup.
- Light-brown sugar. Measure your sugar when it’s tightly packed.
- Cinnamon
- Butter. Use unsalted, and let the butter cool after melting and before you add it to the cake batter.
- Canola oil. You can also use avocado or coconut oil.
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Egg
- Milk. Feel free to use plant-based milk if you prefer.
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar. This is just for dusting the top of your cake.
How to Make Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
Follow these steps to bake your own crumb cake, but scroll to the recipe card for the details instructions, as this is just a quick overview:
Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or line it with parchment paper (see my tips below for how-to).
Make the crumb topping: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour the melted butter on top and gently combine everything with a fork until you have a crumbly texture.
Make the crumb cake batter: In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining gluten-free flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, oil, and vanilla. Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined.
Fill the cake pan: Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even layer with a spatula. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter.
Bake: Bake the New York crumb cake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan.
Serve: Dust the cooled with powdered sugar just before slicing and serving.
Tips for the Best Guten Free Coffee Cake
- Leave some large crumbs in the streusel topping for texture.
- Use binder clips or chip clips to attach the parchment to the side of the pan so it doesn’t shift. The batter is thick and you have to spread it to the corners of your pan (it ends up being a pretty thin layer). The clips help keep the parchment in place as you spread.
- The cooled crumb cake cuts easily with a serrated knife.
- Wait until the cake is fully cooled before you add the dusting of powdered sugar on top. Otherwise, it can become a melty mess.
- Take it to the next level with strawberries, blueberries, and a cheesecake swirl in this Gluten Free Berry Crumb Cake recipe.
Storing Leftover Crumb Cake
Store fully cooled leftovers by wrapping them tightly in plastic or in an airtight container. The cake will stay fresh for up to three days at room temperature. You can serve it as-is, no need to reheat.
Can I Freeze Leftovers?
Yes, you can freeze leftover New York crumb cake by wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap or placing it in an airtight container for up to four months. Let the cake thaw at room temperature for several hours or overnight before serving.
Serving Suggestions
This crumb cake makes an excellent gluten-free addition to a brunch spread. You can serve the cake warm or at room temperature. It’s so sweet and buttery that it doesn’t need any other toppings! To drink, you can’t go wrong with a warm cup of coffee or tea when you pair with with some of these options:
- Serve it with something savory. Try this Bacon Cheddar Quiche with Tomato and Pineapple or slices of Air Fryer Ham.
- Add fruit. You can just go with some fresh fruit or try my festive Waldorf Fruit Salad.
- Have as dessert. While popular for breakfast, you can add it to a holiday dessert spread with Gluten Free Rainbow Cookies or Cherry Cheesecake Dip.
Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- 2 1/2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter , melted and cooled (1 1/2 sticks)
For the cake:
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
For the crumb topping:
- In a medium bowl, blend together the 2 1/2 cups of flour, light brown sugar, and cinnamon with a fork.
- Pour melted butter over the flour mixture, and toss together gently with the fork until large crumbs form. Don’t break up the crumbs. Set aside.
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Use clips to attach the parchment to the side of the pan so it doesn’t shift. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the 1 1/2 cups of flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold together with a rubber spatula.
- Spread batter in an even layer in the prepared pan (batter will be thick).
- Sprinkle crumb mixture over the batter, leaving some large chunks.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool completely in the pan, and dust with powdered sugar.
- If you prefer, use the parchment paper to gently lift the cake out of the pan. You can also leave it in the pan. Cut with a serrated knife.
Notes
Did you make this?
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Alli can say is wow! I’ve been baking gf for a while now and this is the bomb. Will definitely be a regular thing.
Brianne, since this only has one egg, do you think using an egg substitute would work. My grandson is gluten free and egg free and finding recipes is tough. Thanks.
Hi Karen, I’m sorry, I don’t really have experience working with egg substitutes, so I can’t say for sure. I feel like many people say they work well in a lot of cake recipes, but again, I haven’t tested it.
Can I use regular flour in the same quantity for this cake?
It’s slightly different with regular flour. The original recipe is from Martha Stewart – https://www.marthastewart.com/355763/new-york-crumb-cake
I was excited for this recipe as much as I was concerned that there didn’t seem to be enough ingredients for a hearty cake. Either double cake batter or put in a smaller pan and cut the amount of crumb. Aside from the ratios it was a good taste.
Sorry it didn’t meet your expectations. This is a New York-style crumb cake like in the bakeries where I grew up that very typically has a thin layer of cake and a thick layer of crumbs.
I made this the other night to take to a “girls night” gathering where one of my friends are GF. This was very easy and quick to get together. However, I did not like that the batter was so thin in thickness for the 13 x 9 pan. So I put it into a 8 x 8 pan and baked it for a little longer. I have extra crumbs so I will just make another one and pile on the rest of the crumbs. Rave reviews!! “It tastes just like regular crumb cake” was the famous quote of the night. Thanks for a great recipe.
Glad you adjusted and loved the flavor! The 13×9 inch pan turns out the way I used to get it from bakeries where I grew up that had about equal cake and crumb, but some people do prefer more cake.