A loyal reader, Jessica, said on our Facebook fan page that she has been craving coffee cake. Well, Jessica, here it is as promised, and it’s a beaut!
I consider recipes like this one to be penny wise, and not the least bit pound foolish. It doesn’t call for too much flour. I try to create recipes that use about 2 cups of gluten free flour or less (this one has a hair more), which means they are also lighter on xanthan gum, the two most expensive ingredients in gluten free baking, by a mile. Most of the other ingredients can be had for not too much dough (pun intended). Get it?
Blueberry Coffee Cake
Topping Ingredients
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Cake Ingredients
1 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour
heaping 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup blueberries (frozen are just fine)
1. Let’s make the topping first. In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter and sugars, but good, until they’re light and fluffy. Add the cinnamon, flour and xanthan gum and mix to combine. Place this bowl in the refrigerator to chill while we make the cake batter.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ round springform pan and set it aside.
3. Now on to the cake. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light & fluffy. “This is like déjà vu all over again” (Yogi Berra was a genius). Add the eggs and blend well. Add the vanilla and sour cream. Blend well. Now add the flour mixture, reserving a few tablespoons of flour mixture. Stir to combine. Add the blueberries (or whatever else you like, really) to the reserved flour mixture, and toss to coat. Fold the blueberries in to the batter until they are evenly distributed.
4. Pour the cake batter into the greased pan, and spread evenly. Remove the topping from the ice box and crumble it with your fingers evenly over the batter.
5. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Check the cake after 35 minutes or so. If the topping is browning too quickly, tent with foil and continue baking until done.
6. Slice and enjoy. Savor with a cup o’ joe.
Warmly,
Nicole
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{ 20 comments }
WOW! This looks awesome and as a fairly new CD person, I love it when I actually know what the ingredients are!! :) Nothing too out of my *new* ordinary to stock up on. Thx for the recipe!
I just found your blog recently, Nicole, and am glad to find another source on GF food prep. My husband was diagnosed with celiac about a year ago. I notice you use Bob’s Red Mill GF flour in all the recipes I’ve seen to date. I like the Red Mill products, especially their bread mix, hot cereals and GF oats, but I’m wondering if you’ve tried Tom Sawyer’s GF flour. It can be used cup for cup for the flour in regular recipes — no need to add xanthan gum. I haven’t tried to make bread with it, and the one time I tried baking powder biscuits it bombed, but everything else I’ve tried has worked great. If you’ve tried it, how has it worked for you?
Hi, Jill,
Thanks so much for the kind words. I try to keep the ingredients as mainstream as possible. I find it really helps keep the cost down. I hope you’ll keep reading!
Warmly,
Nicole
Hi, Karen,
I have not heard of Tom Sawyer’s GF flour. I will check that out. I only use Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Flour, but I don’t use any of his mixes. Baking from scratch saves so much money, and I like the control it gives me. Bob’s GF All Purpose has been foolproof for me. Nothing has failed because of the flour (if there has been failure, it’s been all mine!). I also like being able to modify the amount of xanthan gum per cup of flour, but that’s not essential. Keep reading, and thanks for posting!
Warmly,
Nicole
I have a question; you always say not to use a bean flour mix, but Bob Red Mill GF All purpose is a bean flour mix. Ingredients: Garbanzo Bean Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, White Sorghum Flour, Fava Bean Flour.
If this is what you are using, I’m glad because I think things made with this do have more flavor. But you usually say not to use a bean flour mix. Thanks for explaining. Marilyn
I really love your site here and really feel what you are saying is truly helpful. I have a site and blog which has the sole intention to help others and inform others about the diagnosis of Celiac Disease and information about Gluten Intolerance etc. I also review companies and products, interview companies and write Articles on these topics. I’d love you to visit my Gluten Free site and blog and write me back. I would be interested in having you as one of MY recommended links and maybe you can do the same for me. What do you think? The more of us out there helping the better! Tina Turbin http://www.GlutenFreeHelp.info
Hi, Tina,
Thanks for posting, and for the kind words. I visited your site, and it seems to be full of useful information. I have included you in my Blogroll. Keep up the good work!
Warmly,
Nicole
OH.
MY.
OINK.
I’m so making this. RIGHT NOW. I want something warm and cakey for dessert and I know I’ll be tempted by the cinnamon rolls my kids want for breakfast so it’d be good to have this all ready to go in the morning, right? Assuming there are leftovers after tonight, that is.
THANK YOU! Keep up the yummy work!
Hi, Brittany,
You always make me smile. :) This is definitely warm and cakey. Perfect description! I hope you love it.
Warmly,
Nicole
Hi, i love your site and have tried several of your recipes. all with great success and my daughters ahve sever food allergies and its hard and expensive always buying things in the natural food shops. i have tried making this coffee cake twice, last night and this morning, followed the recipe to a T, but its comming out dense. i have even let it bake for an hour this second time..toothpick came out clean, and its still dense. is it possible that there is too much sour cream or missing 1/4 cup more of flour?
it does taste good, but its gooey n dense…not cakey
i do love your other recipes and ideas.
thank you for thinking outside of the box..
susy
Hi, Susy,
Thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate it.
I’m sorry that you’re having a hard time with this recipe. Which all purpose gluten free flour are you using? What is the climate like where you live? Is there a chance your baking powder or baking soda has gone bad? What consistency is the batter when you put it in the pan? It should be relatively thick. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out. I’m glad you posted. I hate to waste ingredients, as I’m sure you do, too!
Warmly,
Nicole
This coffee cake is just amazing! Mine came out a bit dense too but still totally delicious! I make my own gf flour mix since I don’t enjoy bean flours.
Can’t wait to make it for the next function I have to attend!
Hi, Denise,
It’s nice to hear from you. I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
Warmly,
Nicole
I was wondering if you could use any cake recipe, and then just add the topping. Would it still be the same, or is there something in the cake recipe that changes the flavor of the cake.
Hi, Emily,
Yes, definitely. This is a basic crumble topping, and it is great on almost anything! Thanks for posting your question…
Warmly,
Nicole
This is an old post with old comments, but I wanted to comment and let you know how good my cake turned out. I used my own ‘multi-purpose’ blend of flour of that make from finely ground brown rice flour (it has to be finely ground, I purchase Authentic Foods…Bob’s Red Mill or most others won’t cut it), potato starch, and arrowroot starch. The only alterations I made were adding some cinnamon into the cake batter as well and omitting the blueberries as my husband doesn’t like them. And I used Greek yogurt in place of sour cream…and used half Spectrum organic shortening in place of half the butter. I find that in ‘butter’ cakes a half shortening/half butter combo works to provide both flavor and great texture. I kept the crumb topping exactly as you printed it. My cake turned out wonderful. It was not too dense yet not too fluffy and dry as some coffee cakes can tend to be. And not overly sweet. I am going to play around with it and start adding other things.
Hi, Trish,
Old post or not, I read and respond to every single comment. I’m so glad you enjoyed the coffee cake. I had nearly forgotten about this recipe! I love the crumble topping. The cake for me is almost just an excuse to eat the crumble. Thank you for letting me know about your successful substitutions. That is always really valuable. I’ve been thinking about making mini coffee cakes like little Drakes Cakes. I miss those terribly! They’re all crumble. Mmmm crumble. Thank you again.
xoxo Nicole
I made this today with apples. I turned out great. It was delicious. I was wondering, how thick should the cake batter be? Mine was so thick I had to add an extra egg and 1/2 water. It was still thick, almost like biscuit dough. Did I do something wrong? Thanks Marilyn
Hi, Marilyn,
If you check the dates on these blog entries, they’re from quite a while ago, long before I knew about Better Batter. At that time, I was using Bob’s Red Mill flour because it was all I knew. When you use Bob’s in this recipe, yes the batter is super thick. I do not ever recommend using it any longer, and don’t ever plan to recommend it. It is not a true all purpose gluten free flour. I hope that’s helpful.
xoxo Nicole
Are the ingredient quantities the same (minus the xanthan gum) if I use Better Batter instead?
Can’t wait to make this!
Yup. Enjoy!
xoxo Nicole