These gluten free coffee cake muffins with everyone’s favorite crumble mixed into the batter and baked on top make any breakfast special. You can’t beat that tender crumb and nubby topping!
A muffin is not a quick bread loaf
When I share a recipe for a quick bread loaf or cake, I’m often asked if the recipe can be made as muffins or cupcakes. When I post a recipe for muffins or cupcakes, well, you get the idea.
But a muffin is not a quick bread loaf and a cake is not a cupcake—and I promise I’m not trying to be difficult! This is also not something that’s unique to gluten free baking at all. The same holds true for conventional baking.
Just so we’re all on the same page, the term “quick bread” refers to baked goods that are made with chemical leaveners such as baking powder and baking soda, not yeast. Much of baking (muffins, cakes, cupcakes, quick bread loaves) falls into this category. The difference is in the shape and size.
A muffin batter can be less stable than a loaf of bread, since it’s being baked in individual wells in a muffin tin. Batter and dough bake in the oven from the outside in. When making a quick bread loaf, the baking process takes considerably longer to reach the inside of the baked good.
Sometimes, a recipe designed to be made in a a muffin tin will work well enough as a loaf or in a cake pan. But it’s hard to predict, so I never like to promise! That’s why this recipe for gluten free coffee cake muffins is completely separate from our recipe for sour cream gluten free coffee cake.
How to make these gluten free coffee cake muffins
As much as I love a one-bowl recipe, these muffins just don’t lend themselves to that method. If you’re like me, once you understand the general idea of a recipe method, you can basically figure out the steps for yourself.
We begin with a simple crumble recipe that is made first so that it has time to chill in the refrigerator. It’s made with brown sugar and shortening that have been mixed well together into a paste with a fork, to which flour and a pinch of salt are added.
To make the muffin batter, the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon) are whisked together and set aside. Then, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla are beaten well in a large mixing bowl. The dry ingredients are added in batches, alternating with buttermilk. Since the batter is quite thick, the final third of dry ingredients should be mixed by hand.
Finally, most of the refrigerated crumble (reserving about one quarter to use as a topping) is folded into the muffin batter. The batter is divided among prepared wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, and the remaining crumble topping is scattered on top.
Why most of the crumble is mixed into the muffin batter
Everyone’s favorite part of coffee cake is the crumble. It’s a brown sugar shortbread-like mixture that bakes crisp tender and is best when paired with the most tender, simple yellow cake.
When baked into a cake or quick bread loaf, the crumble pieces are thick and generous. For these standard-sized muffins, rather than a simple gluten free muffin with a crumble topping, most of the crumble topping is mixed into the batter.
The crumble pieces in the batter hold their shape during baking, adding flavor and extra pockets of sweetness to the cakes themselves. The crumble pieces on top add that crisp-tender texture that let you know it’s a real coffee cake. The best of everything!
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy-free: The crumble topping is naturally dairy-free. There are two types of dairy in the muffin batter and should both be replaceable with dairy-free alternatives.
You should be able to replace the butter in the muffin batter with Earth Balance buttery sticks, which always seems to be the easiest butter replacement to find. If you do have my favorite vegan butter made by Melt brand, I would use that.
In place of the buttermilk in the muffin batter, I recommend using my favorite buttermilk replacement which is great if you’re dairy-free, and also great if you simply don’t have buttermilk on hand. Buttermilk can always be replaced with half plain yogurt (non-dairy plain yogurt if you’re dairy-free) and half milk (non-dairy milk if you’re dairy-free).
Egg-free: Since there are two eggs in this recipe, you should be able to replace each of them with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). Since they’re pale muffins, you may see some colored chia flecks in the muffins.
Cornstarch: If you cannot have corn, try replacing the cornstarch with arrowroot or potato starch.
Shortening in crumble: I use shortening in the crumble because it melts more slowly and is more stable as it bakes. Shortening has very little to no moisture, so the pieces of crumble that are mixed into the muffin batter hold their shape during baking. That keeps their texture and flavor intact in the finished muffins.
Gluten Free Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
For the crumble
1/2 cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons (48 g) non hydrogenated vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (70 g) all-purpose gluten-free flour (I used Better Batter)
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/8 teaspoon (a pinch) kosher salt
For the muffin batter
1 3/4 cups (245 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs (100 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
1 cup (8 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature
Instructions
In a medium-size bowl, place brown sugar and shortening and mix until creamy and well-combined. Add the flour, xanthan gum, and salt and mix until coarse crumbs form. Place the crumble in the refrigerator to chill while you make the muffin batter.
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside. In a medium-sized bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the butter and granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until very well-combined. Add the vanilla and eggs, and beat until light and fluffy. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, and beat to combine. Add half of the buttermilk, and beat to combine. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining buttermilk, beating to combine in between. Add the final dry ingredients and, if using a hand mixer, mix by hand just until combined since the batter will very thick and will climb up the beaters. If using a stand mixer, beat until just combined. Remove the crumble topping from the refrigerator, crumble about 3/4 of the mixture into the batter and fold in with a spatula until the mix-in is evenly distributed throughout the batter. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups, and smooth the tops of the batter with wet fingers. Scatter the remaining crumble evenly on top of all of the wells, and press gently to help the crumble adhere to the wet batter.
Place the muffin tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed gently in the center and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached (about 20 minutes). Allow to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Originally published on the blog in 2011. Recipe altered to make muffins larger and more tender; all photos and video new.
Marcia says
I don’t always have time for room temperature ingredients. Any suggestions for the eggs? Everything else is microwaveable to room temp.
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Marcia, yup! If your eggs aren’t at room temperature, let them float for 15 minutes in very warm (not hot) water. That, or you can pour hot water into a bowl, pour it out and turn the bowl over on top of the eggs and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. That second method doesn’t work quite as well as the first, but it does work.
Teheresa says
These are amazing! My Dad loves Coffee cake and these cupcakes were a hit!
Cathie Sturm says
I am vegan and made these with aqua faba for the egg. I folded that in before folding in the crumble. It worked amazingly! This is possibly the best thing I have made of all gf recipes!
Nicole Hunn says
I’m so happy to know that that worked, Cathie. I haven’t had a lot of luck using aquafina in baking, so I’m really glad to know that.
Jan says
Why are they called ‘coffee’ muffins when they do contain coffee?
Nicole Hunn says
Coffee cake doesn’t contain coffee, Jan. It’s called coffee cake because it’s best enjoyed with a cup of coffee. ?
Lisa A Trank-Greene says
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Can I substitute ghee for the butter?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid I really don’t like ghee as a replacement for butter in baking, no, Lisa. Please see the Ingredients and substitutions section for a further discussion of butter substitutes.
Bev says
If I can’t use xanthan gum, what would be a good replacement.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid the only replacement for xanthan gum is guar gum, Bev. It doesn’t work as well in heated applications as xanthan gum, but it should still work.
Sue says
Can I use butter instead of shortening?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Sue, please see the discussion about the shortening in the Ingredients and substitutions section of the post.
Kate says
I’m thinking that a layer of the crumble mixture in the centre of the muffins instead of mixed in might be interesting, if it would work. I guess now I’ll have to try it both ways! Thanks.