Gluten Free Coffee Cake

This gluten-free coffee cake topped with fresh peaches, blueberries, and crumble topping is one of my favorite ways to incorporate fresh fruit into baked goods. This easy gluten free peach coffee cake recipe comes together in no time and is made with simple ingredients with the most amazing texture. Coffee Cake is a simple cake served with coffee (hence the name) and is still packed with delicious flavors. It does not actually contain any coffee.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten-Free Flour: I have tested this Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure, Bob's Red Mill 1-1 and my own Gluten Free Flour Blend. These blends do already contain xanthan gum and are a mix of a variety of gluten-free flours. This recipe should work with every multi-purpose gluten-free flour blend on the market. Please be aware that the batter made with Cup4Cup may be on the gummy side.

Almond Flour: Coffee Cake tends to be on the drier side. To counteract, I add some almond flour to the mixture. This will give this peach coffee cake not only a beautiful crumb but will also keep it moist. If you are on a nut-free diet, please substitute the almond flour with gluten-free flour.

Butter: I prefer using unsalted butter in all my recipes. The butter should be at room temperature, around 65F. If you nudge the softened butter with your finger you should see an indent but the butter should not feel like you can poke right through it. 

Milk: You can use whole milk or a non-dairy alternative such as almond milk or soy milk.

Peaches: I recommend using ripe, but firm peaches.

Ground Ginger: Ginger is sweet and spicy, which is the underlying reason it compliments peaches so well. It will bring out the sweetness of the peaches even more.

What’s the difference between a buckle and coffee cake?

Technically this gluten free coffee cake is a gluten free peach buckle since it does contain peaches (and a few blueberries for color). A Buckle is a cake with fruit and topped with a streusel topping. It gets its name from the way the topping “buckles” during baking. They belong to the family of dough-topped fruit desserts which include cobblers, grunts, crisps, betties, boy bait, slumps, and pandowdies. Boy bait is like a buckle but no streusel.

A traditional coffee cake is a simple cake (often made with sour cream and a cinnamon layer in the middle) topped with a crumb topping.

Both cakes are often served along with a cup of coffee – but a coffee cake does not contain coffee or caffeine. In some countries outside the US, coffee cake indeed is made with coffee.

Stop Fruit From Sinking to the Bottom of Cake

There is nothing worse than baking a beautiful coffee cake and all the fruit ends up on the bottom of the cake. Here is a quick and easy way to deal with this issue. Once you have your gluten free coffee cake batter made and your fruit ready to go, dip the bottom (the side of the peach you will place on top of the cake batter) in a little bit of flour. This will help the fruit to stick to the cake batter and keep it on top of the cake.

Streusel Topping

The ingredients for a basic cinnamon streusel topping are brown sugar, flour, and butter. Sometimes you see streusel toppings with added oats and nuts. I like to stick with a simple brown sugar streusel with some ground cinnamon.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and with a fork or your hands work in the room temperature butter until it resembles crumbles. The butter should be around 65F – cold but workable. Store the crumble in the fridge until you are ready to use it. You can also make a bigger batch and freeze it. It’s a great addition to quick bread or muffins like my Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins.

How to make a Gluten Free Coffee Cake

You can make this gluten-free coffee cake with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. I like to use a 9" spring form to make this cake. This way I don't have flip it over and make a streusel mess all over my kitchen. If you don't own a spring form, an 8"x8" or 9"x9" square baking pan will work as well. Just make sure to leave some parchment paper overhang so you can easily remove the cake.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F and arrange the wire rack in the middle. This way the cake will bake evenly. Lightly spray the spring form with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. No need to line the sides. Set aside.

Step 2: In the bowl of the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine room temperature butter, granulated white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix medium speed until light and fluffy for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and the paddle attachment with a flexible spatula.

Step 3: Add the room temperature egg and mix for 2 minutes until well combined. the coffee cake batter may look broken – this happens when the eggs and the butter are at different temperatures. Don’t worry, once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients this will smooth out.

Step 4: Alternating milk and dry ingredients, add them to your bowl, and mix to combine after each addition. Start with ⅓ of the flour mix, add ½ of the milk, add another ⅓ of the flour, add the rest of the milk, and end with the rest of the flour. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl.

Step 5: Transfer the gluten free coffee cake batter to the prepared cake pan and with a small offset knife, spread it out evenly. Using a small pairing knife, cut the peaches into wedges (depending on the peach size around 6-8 slices per peach). Dip the bottom of the peach slice in some flour and place it on top of the cake batter in an even layer. Sprinkle with some blueberries (if us) and top the cake with a generous amount of streusel topping.

Step 6: Bake your gluten-free peach buckle at 350F in the preheated oven for 38-44 minutes. The streusel will be golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. To check the doneness of a cake with a toothpick, insert it into the center of your cake. The cake is done if the toothpick is clean or has only a few moist crumbs attached to it. If the toothpick comes out with wet batter stuck to it, the cake will need additional baking time.

Step 7: Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before moving the ring from the spring pan. To do so, run a knife around the edges (right between the cake and the ring). Then open the latch of the spring form and remove it. You can either let the cake cool completely or be like me and cut it while still warm. There is nothing like a still-warm slice of freshly baked peach crumb cake topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Store any leftovers of the gluten free peach coffee cake you may have in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. If it's hot and humid in your kitchen I recommend storing it in an airtight container in the fridge. Allow for it to come to room temperature before serving.

Can you freeze a gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake?

Gluten Free Coffee Cake freezes wonderfully. It's a great grab and go treat to keep in the freezer. To freeze, make sure the coffee cake is completely cool. Wrap the entire uncut coffee cake in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container or large ziplock bag. You can also freeze individual pieces this way. To thaw, transfer the coffee cake from the freezer to the fridge and allow for it to thaw overnight.

FAQ about Gluten Free Coffee Cake