Tender and delicious gluten free blueberry coffee cake, that’s lightly sweetened, with just the right crunch on top!
This gluten-free blueberry coffee cake is one of those special treats I enjoy making on the weekend for my family, during a holiday, or when we have company over. It goes perfectly with coffee or tea, and can be eaten for breakfast, or as an afternoon or after-dinner snack.
The best part of the a coffee cake is always the topping, but sometimes I don’t like it when it is completely sugar-laden. For this gluten-free dairy-free coffee cake recipe, I decided to go with a topping that was mainly chopped walnuts with a hint of sweet, instead of being mainly sugar.
The walnut pieces toast while the gluten-free coffee cake bakes in the oven, providing a nutty, delicious crunch.
Gluten-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients and Substitutions
Sorghum Flour, Brown Rice Flour and Tapioca Starch– This recipe has only been tested using these gluten-free flours/starches. A gluten-free all purpose blend may work, but I have not tested any in this recipe. If you decided to substitute a gluten-free all purpose blend, you may need to eliminate the psyllium husk powder I call for in my recipe if your blend already contains xanthan gum.
Unsweetened Apple Sauce– Unsweetened apple sauce keeps this tender cake moist.
Olive Oil– If needed, you can substitute melted coconut oil, or another light tasting oil (like vegetable oil).
Coconut Sugar– I use coconut sugar to sweeten my coffee cake, which is why this cake is darker in color than many other coffee cakes. Coconut sugar is rich, with flavor notes of caramel and butterscotch. If you don’t have it readily available (or prefer a cake lighter in color), feel free to substitute organic cane sugar in the batter, and organic brown sugar in the topping.
Eggs– A reader commented below that she tried this recipe with EnerG Egg Replacer, and it worked well, but I haven’t tried this myself.
Maple Syrup– Substitute honey if needed.
Psyllium Husk Powder– The psyllium husk powder acts like a binder in this recipe. There are no substitutes.
Walnuts– For a nut-free topping, mix 1/4 cup of coconut sugar (or organic brown sugar), 2 tablespoons of all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Blueberries– While juicy blueberries are the star ingredient of this gluten-free coffee cake, you can absolutely substitute it for another berry or fruit.
Tips For Making Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
- I prefer to grease my cake pans, and line the bottom of the pan with parchment (this extra protection keeps the cake from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Don’t let the cake overbake! The trick is to take it out of the oven as soon as it’s baked through.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.
- I recommend using fresh blueberries instead of frozen ones. Frozen blueberries can cause this gluten-free cake to bake unevenly, so always opt for fresh berries, or thaw frozen berries first (just make sure you discard the liquid that results from thawing them).
I hope you love this gf blueberry coffee cake as much as we do!
All my love,
Mēgan
Gluten-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe:
Tender and delicious gluten free blueberry coffee cake, that's lightly sweetened, with just the right crunch on top! For a nut-free topping, mix 1/4 cup of coconut sugar (or organic brown sugar), 2 tablespoons of all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Combining the organic palm sugar with the wet ingredients allows the larger sugar granules to dissolve. If you choose to use organic cane sugar instead of palm sugar, feel free to add it into the dry ingredients instead of the wet. The psyllium husk powder is what takes the place of xanthan gum in this recipe. The recipe will fail without it - it's what binds everything together. I have not tried making this recipe egg-free, but a reader commented below saying she had good results using EnerG Egg Replacer. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
For the topping:
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @allergyfreeak and #allergyfreealaska with your best gluten-free coffee cake pics!
Colleen Kunze
Sunday 26th of March 2017
Thank you! This is honestly the first baked good in a line of MANY egg free, gluten free, nut free and dairy free that has turned out beautifully. I had to sub ground flax mixed with water for the eggs (2 TBSP Flax with 6 TBSP WARM water and let sit for 5 minutes) and peaches instead of blueberries because that's what I had on hand. I also subbed Xanthan Gum for the husks because I had it on hand. But in the end it rose beautifully and tasted amazing. My family nearly wept with joy since they haven't had much yumminess since my 10 year old was diagnosed with allergies to nearly everything.
Megan
Monday 27th of March 2017
Colleen, that is such a high compliment. Thank you so much! And thank you for leaving a note here with your substitutions. I had no idea this would work egg free with flax eggs. GREAT to know - especially for those who are also egg-free. ;) Blessings to your family!
Elizabeth
Saturday 23rd of July 2016
I just made this with Rhubarb (in place of blueberries), cardamom (instead of cinnamon) and coriander (instead of nutmeg) I didn't use psyllium husk powder and forgot to add Xantham gum, but so far it's holding together tolerably well.
Will definitely make again! thanks
Vicki
Sunday 3rd of July 2016
I just took this cake out of the oven, and wow is it delicious! I might even bake another to keep in the freezer, as we have tons of local blueberries to use up.
Thanks for all of the hard work you put into formulating and testing recipes, it is so appreciated, and they always turn out so great :)
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Thursday 23rd of July 2015
[…] Blueberry Coffee Cake from Allergy Free Alaska […]
Suzanne
Saturday 27th of December 2014
Hi Megan. I tried your coffee cake recipe for the first time for our Christmas morning breakfast. I used Saskatoon berries that we had picked this summer and EnerG Egg Replacer since I can't eat eggs right now. The cake turned out beautifully and I will definitely make it again. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Megan
Sunday 28th of December 2014
Hi Suzanne, Very happy you enjoyed this recipe! And thank you for the note about using the EnerG Egg Replacer - I'm sure that will come in handy for others who can't have eggs! ;)