This Gluten Free Coffee Cake NEEDS to happen for you on Christmas morning. This cake is moist, sweet, and perfectly spiced. I’m just warning you now that it will be hard to just have one piece. Trust me, I’ve basically eaten two full cakes in the last week and I truly regret nothing.

in the morning, I’m making gluten free coffee cake
Growing up, coffee cake was our Christmas morning breakfast. The smell of cinnamon, butter, and flour would escape from the kitchen while we unpacked our stockings. By the time we were done opening what Santa had left us we would dig deep into the coffee cake. Since changing my eating habits, I can no longer enjoy my family’s classic breakfast cake. But, I’ve now changed that. And I’m pretty dang happy about it. I’ve eaten a lot of this gluten free Christmas cake in the past few weeks, testing it out, making it perfect and I think I’ve done it!
So this Christmas morning, I’m bringing the tradition back to the Browne household. I will be in a motorhome on the beaches of Mexico, but I think I can still make it happen. I won’t have a springform pan, but I’m betting a cast iron pan will do the job. Let’s be honest, I’ll be camping and your expectations aren’t as high when you’re cooking in a motorhome!
If you need more yummy breakfast inspiration similar to this dairy free coffee cake, try my banana bread or these blissful blueberry muffins .
here are a few reasons why I love this dairy free Christmas dessert, so listen up!
- Nothing beats the aroma that comes from the kitchen as this dairy free coffee cake bakes. The cinnamon, sugar and vegan butter make the kitchen erupt in the most festive scent. Your mouth will water, your belly will growl and your feet will start walking quickly to the oven, awaiting the arrival of the finished gluten free Christmas cake. That smell reminds me of Christmas morning and of the happiness my stomach is going to feel.
- This breakfast cake is to die for. It is the perfect treat to celebrate a big holiday. This gluten free coffee cake is (dare I say) “moist”. But that is honestly the best wait to describe the inside texture. It is amazing. Morning is truly where this cake shines the best and it is great with a coffee (of course) in hand. But it is great at any time of the day. It would be a lovely afternoon snack or even a dessert after dinner. But I mean, who doesn’t want an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. Only weirdos.
- A great thing about this coffee cake is that is can be made the day before and it will still be divine. The moisture will remain and the cinnamon sugar combo will still be perfect. It just won’t be warm. But who really wants to bake a cake on Christmas morning, first thing? So if that isn’t you, bake it the day before and nothing will be compromised!

This Gluten Free Coffee Cake is so soft and fluffy, it’s packed with the goodness of cinnamon and the nuttiness of almond flour. It is Picky Husband Approved, and I think he’ll be happy to have a taste of this in Mexico cause I mean you can’t have tacos for every meal, can you? Well, you probably can, and it would probably be amazing but on Christmas morning I won’t be making tacos, I’ll be whipping this gluten free Christmas cake up and bringing back a taste of my childhood. ♥
gluten free coffee cake
Ingredients
cake batter
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar/cane sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 organic eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup strong coffee
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
topping
- 1/4 cup vegan butter melted
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Combine all the dry ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Melt the coconut oil. Let cool a little and then add all the wet ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine. (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for this part but you can do it by hand). Prepare the topping. Melt the vegan butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, remove from the stove, add the coconut sugar and cinnamon.
- Pour the cake batter into a greased 9″ springform pan (most likely a 9 x 9 cake pan will do the job too.) Add the topping mixture and swirl it around the top of the cake batter with a spoon, so that it evenly coats the top of the cake.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes. I found mine was perfect at 38 minutes. Remove from the oven and test with a toothpick. It should come out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan. Enjoy!
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