Coffee Cake Recipe

This coffee cake recipe has delicious style! Made with the right ingredients, it can easily be made totally gluten-free and diary-free too!

What Is Coffee Cake?

In the states, most people think of a very particular flavor when they think of coffee cake. A cake very similar to pound cake in texture with a coarse crumb topping.

Sometimes it’ll have a swirl of cinnamon running through the middle, with the cake itself not being too overly sweet, but just sweet enough to compliment the coffee you’ll be drinking with it.

Why Is It Called Coffee Cake?

According to Wikipedia, coffee cake is any cake you enjoy with coffee, and this means different things in different areas of the world. It’s called that, quite literally, because it’s cake you drink coffee with.

Is There Coffee In Coffee Cake?

Nope! Only the actual coffee you sip while you’re eating it. It’s meant to be a compliment to your coffee. True coffee cake will never have coffee flavor in it because it competes with the actual coffee you’re having it with. It should be a flavorful compliment. Not a flavor competitor.

Easy Coffee Cake Recipe

You might look at the list of ingredients below and wonder how this could be called easy. But truly, most of the ingredients are the same. They are just used a few times to make the different components of the cake (cake, cake topping and glaze).

So don’t look at this recipe and worry that it’s too much. It really doesn’t take much time at all to put together. In an organized kitchen, it’ll take you all of fifteen minutes to put everything together and get it into the oven. And with pretty much similar ingredients the whole way through, this becomes very easy to throw together. Even last minute.

Vegetarian Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is vegetarian by default. You could take it one step further and make it vegan by using a vegan substitute for the eggs. That’s the only substitute you would have to make in this recipe.

Gluten-Free Coffee Cake

If you use gluten-free ingredients (such as oat flour labeled as gluten-free), this cake very quickly becomes safe for the gluten intolerant. By default, these ingredients are gluten-free so long as they aren’t cross-contaminated. So check your individual ingredients to be sure.

About The Ingredients

(Print the recipe from the recipe card below)

Cake Ingredients

• Oat flour – Use gluten-free if needed. This is a fine grind flour, so if you grind your own oats at home, make sure you don’t end up with coarse ground flour.
  
• Arrowroot powder – If you don’t have arrowroot powder, you can substitute cornstarch in equal amounts.
  
• Baking powder – Make sure it’s fresh. Old baking powder won’t do a proper job here.
  
• Salt – I used pink Himalayan salt, but any salt will do.
  
• Granular sweetener – I used xylitol because it’s what works best for my blood sugar. But you can use equal amounts of any granular sugar, such as Sucanat, coconut sugar, maple sugar, or monk fruit.
  
• Coconut oil – I have coconut oil that stays in liquid form. But if you only have the stuff that solidifies at room temperature, simply melt it in a pot or in the microwave.
  
• Eggs – These do not have to be at room temperature, but it’s a bonus if they are.
  
• Vanilla extract – I used bourbon vanilla, but any vanilla extract will do. The only thing you want to make sure of is that you’re using the real stuff. Imitation flavoring is always second best and full of processed sugar.
  
• Unsweetened apple sauce – This definitely needs to be unsweetened, otherwise your cake will be too sweet. Organic is even better.
  
• Unsweetened almond milk – Again, make sure this is unsweetened so your cake isn’t too sweet. The batter of your coffee cake should never be overly sweetened because you will be adding a very sweet and sugary topping. So if the cake is too sweet, you’ll end up with a coffee cake that is sickeningly sweet.
  
• White vinegar – I used white balsamic vinegar, but pretty much any white vinegar will work here. White wine vinegar is always a good choice. The only one I would possibly avoid is rice vinegar, just because of the flavor. But it wouldn’t be the end of the world if that’s all you have either.

Streusel Ingredients

• Almond flour – This gives you topping that nice crumbly texture that everybody loves on top of a good coffee cake.
  
• Ground cinnamon – This gives your topping (and your cake!) its wonderful flavor.
  
• Salt – Again, I used pink Himalayan salt, but any salt will work for this. Just don’t use a coarse or large grind salt. The finer the better.
  
• Granular sweetener – As I mentioned above, I used xylitol. But Sucanat, coconut sugar, maple sugar, or monk fruit will work wonderfully here in the same measure.
  
• Coconut oil – Make sure this is melted if you only have virgin oil. It’s fine to heat it in order to melt it and pour it on while it’s still warm. Pour it on warm and mix it fast before it cools again.

Glaze Ingredients

• Powdered sweetener – You definitely want a powdered sweetener. Don’t use regular or you won’t get that smooth texture everybody wants in their glaze. I used a grinder to grind up my xylitol. You can do the same with any granular sweetener.
  
• Vanilla extract – Again, use the real stuff. It makes a huge difference here.
  
• Unsweetened almond milk – You can use up to 2 tbsp. to achieve the consistency you are wanting in your glaze. But start with one and see how you like it first.
  
• Arrowroot powder – This will give your glaze that texture that all cake glaze has. Don’t skip it. And if you don’t have any, use cornstarch instead.

Cinnamon Swirl

If you want there to be a “layer” or “swirl” of cinnamon in the middle of the cake, you can pour half the batter into the cake pan. Then add a mixture of 2 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup granular sweetener. Sprinkle it over the batter, and then pour the rest of the batter over that.

This will definitely sweeten the cake by quite a bit. So be sure you are prepared for a very sweet cake.

How Do You Keep Coffee Cake Moist?

The most critical component in keeping our finished cake moist is packing it correctly. You absolutely must keep it sealed in an airtight container. Something with a lid or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and then put it into another container. Do everything you can to keep the air off of it.

Long Does Coffee Cake Last?

Countertop – 1 to 2 days.

Fridge – 1 week.

Freezer – 2 to 3 months.

Discard if you find any mold. Coffee cake will change smell and/or texture when it starts to go bad.

How To Make Coffee Cake

Cake

Line your cake pan with parchment and oil it.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients, and stir well to combine.

Let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Streusel

Combine all the topping ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.

Pour the topping over the wet cake batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Cool completely.

Glaze

Stir all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake with a spoon.

Cut cake and serve.

Need Supplies?

More Clean Eating Cake Recipes

• Instant Pot Chocolate Cake
• Spiced Apple Bundt Cake
• Cranberry Upsidedown Cake
• Crazy Cake

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Clean Eating Coffee Cake Recipe

Recipe adapted from Recipes To Nourish