This gluten-free blueberry coffee cake gets a tender crumb from butter and sour cream and earthy flavor from brown sugar, oat, and sorghum flours. A layer of jammy blueberries and addictive salty-sweet streusel take it over the top.
One of my most-made TBG recipes to date is this rhubarb streusel coffee cake recipe from 8 years ago! I have a seriously soft spot for coffee cakes and many strong opinions about them. Since my deep dive into alternative flours, I’ve made many gluten-free coffee cakes, though I have yet to share one here – until now! There was a pumpkin buckwheat number with a delicate crumb reminiscent of pudding cake. There was a rhubarb cardamom version with pistachio crumble. There are coffee cake-like muffins in my book featuring poppy seeds, pluots, and buckwheat flour.
My Best Gluten-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe
But I finally perfected my version of the classic blueberry coffee cake and I’m very excited to share it here today. This cake boasts an earthy crumb from oat and sorghum flours, butterscotchy brown sugar, a layer of jammy berries, and an addictively salty/sweet/nutty crumb topping. Sometimes coffee cakes are gilded with a powdered sugar glaze, so I whipped up a blueberry version. It’s not strictly necessary but it adds a bright punch of fresh berry flavor, contrasting all those warm baked tastes.
This post is especially dedicated to Krista, one of my fave readers who has made countless recipes from TBG and Alternative Baker, posting beautiful photos on her Instagram. She requested a gluten-free berry coffee cake recipe, so here it is!
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
This buttery cake starts by creaming butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. The sugar granules whip air into the butter which in turn makes for a fluffy, fine-crumbed cake. Next a couple of eggs help fluff up the batter.
Meanwhile the flours are sifted together. Sweet rice flour has a sticky consistency that acts similarly to the gluten in wheat flour, binding the dough together and keeping it sturdy. A bit of tapioca flour makes the batter extensible or stretchy, allowing it to trap air bubbles. Oat flour and sorghum flour add a whole-wheat flour vibe, keeping the cake delicate and tender while adding loads of flavor.
Sour cream and vanilla moisten and perfume the batter, which you’ll be hard pressed to put in a cake pan rather than licking it straight out of the bowl. A load of fresh blueberries – a generous 2 cups – gets sandwiched between two layers of batter. This keeps the moisture from the berries contained allowing the streusel to stay crisp up top.
The streusel is super simple to make, and it bakes up into rich salty-sweet clusters of nutty goodness. Almond flour and tapioca flour help it hold together, oat flour keeps it delicate and sandy, and oats and pecans add heft. Melted butter, brown sugar, and a whiff of cinnamon and nutmeg give it a classic streusel flavor. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to put that streusel on everything. In fact, it doubles as crisp topping for fruit desserts too.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
This cake base is adapted from one of my favorite ever cake recipes – a brown sugar peach upside-down cake that I developed for GFF Magazine a couple of summers ago. The buttery batter whips up light and fluffy and it stands up to juicy fruit with aplomb.
I tested this recipe with both sour cream and whole milk Greek yogurt, and the sour cream wins hands down. It makes the cake meltingly tender and richly flavorful. The Greek yogurt works fine too if that’s what you have on hand, but it just feels like something’s missing. So I recommend splurging on sour cream or crème fraîche here if you can – it’s well worth the extra purchase.
Any Fruit Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
I’ve tested this recipe with rhubarb as per my original wheaty recipe and it’s delicious – variation included below! I’ve been using fresh blueberries, but I’m guessing that frozen berries would work just as well; the cake just may take a little longer to bake. (UPDATE: A reader tested this and said it took an additional 15 minutes to bake.) Or you could try swapping in any berry or other soft fruit you like. I think blackberries, raspberries, or huckleberries (should you be fortunate enough to find some) would be especially delicious.
Classic Coffee Cake
If gluten isn’t an issue for you or your cake-eaters, give my original wheaty rhubarb coffee cake recipe a whirl. Or try it with the seasonal fruit of your choice.
Gluten-Free Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins
Want your coffee cake in portable, individual form? Fold the berries into the batter, divide among muffin cups, top with streusel, and adjust the baking time as needed. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Coffee Cake for a Crowd
I had a lot of coffee cake in my kitchen after testing this recipe several times over the past few days. So I brought some to my Latin dance class to share with my fellow dancers. Eyebrows were raised, sighs and groans of contentment were uttered, fingers were licked. One taste tester asked skeptically, “THIS is gluten-free?” And then with suspicion, “what flours did you use?” Granted, these folks will eat just about anything after an hour and a half of sweaty salsa, mambo, cha cha, and son. But I still deemed it a success.
I’m looking forward to making this gluten-free coffee cake recipe with different fruit throughout the seasons. I hope it becomes as beloved in your kitchen as it is in mine. If you give the recipe a whirl, leave a note along with a star rating below!
Looking for more gluten-free cake recipes? Try these:
- gluten-free lemon blueberry cake with lemon verbena
- gluten-free chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting
- gluten-free banana cake with chocolate ganache
- gluten-free chocolate zucchini cake with matcha cream cheese frosting
- gluten-free red velvet cake {all natural with beets!}
- gluten-free carrot cake with dairy-free cream cheese frosting
- gluten-free chocolate bundt cake with chocolate ganache
- gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin loaf cake
- gluten-free apple cake with brown butter and hazelnut
- gluten-free peach upside down cake with rosemary
- gluten-free cranberry cardamon coffee cake from Snixy Kitchen
Got extra blueberries? Try these blueberry dessert recipes:
- gluten-free & vegan no-bake lemon tart with berries
- gluten-free blueberry cobbler with oat biscuits
- gluten-free blueberry plum cobbler with oat biscuits
- blueberry chèvre cheesecake popsicles
- blueberry scones with maple and buckwheat
- whole wheat blueberry pancakes
- blueberry london fog popsicles from Snixy Kitchen
- no-bake blueberry lavender cheesecake from Heartbeet Kitchen
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free blueberry coffee cake, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel
Print Recipe / Pin RecipeIngredients
Streusel Topping:
- 1/3 cup (35 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (35 g) coarsely chopped or broken pecans
- ¼ cup (25 g) old fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup (25 g) oat flour
- 1 tablespoon (7 g) tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup (70 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Cake:
- 8 tablespoons (115 g) unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 teaspoon for the pan
- ¾ cup (150 g) organic light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (80 g) sweet white rice flour
- 1/2 cup (65 g) sorghum flour (millet and ivory teff flour can be substituted)
- 1/2 cup (55 g) GF oat flour
- 2 tablespoons (14 g) tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (115 g) sour cream, crème fraiche, or Greek yogurt, plus extra for serving if desired
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (300 g) fresh or frozen blueberries, plus a few extras for the top
- zest of half a large lemon
- Powdered sugar, for dusting (optional)
- 1 recipe Blueberry Glaze, for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
Make the streusel:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, pecans, oats, oat flour, tapioca flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the butter until large clumps form. Set aside.
Make the cake:
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350º.
- Rub a 9-inch round cake pan or springform pan with butter and line the bottom and sides with a piece of parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or a bowl with a wooden spoocream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 - 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition. The mixture may look broken.
- Meanwhile, sift the sweet rice, sorghum, oat, and tapioca flours into a medium bowl along with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
- Stir together the sour cream and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Add the sour cream mixture, beating until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until combined, then increase the mixer to medium speed and beat until the batter is light and fluffy, 20 seconds longer. (Wheat based batters shouldn’t be beaten vigorously, but here it helps aerate the gluten free batter.) Give the batter a final fold with a rubber spatula to make sure it is homogenous, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beater.
- Spread a little more than half the batter in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the batter in a single layer. Sprinkle the lemon zest over the berries. Dollop the remaining batter over the berries and spread to cover. Sprinkle the streusel over the cake, squeezing it into almond sized clumps if necessary. Tuck a few extra blueberries into the streusel.
- Bake the coffee cake for 45-55 minutes until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Let cool completely or until just warm.
- Remove the cake from the pan and cut it into wedges. Dust with powdered sugar and serve slices with a drizzle of blueberry glaze.
- The coffee cake is best the day it's baked when the streusel is crisp, but leftovers keep well for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
In place of the blueberries, use 2 cups rhubarb cut into ½ - 1 inch pieces and tossed with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
Nutrition
looks fantastic but i’m vegan. Any possibility for a vegan version? thanks.
You could try using vegan butter, and rich coconut yogurt such as Coyo in place of sour cream. Eggs are harder to replace but you might try 6 tablespoons aquafaba in place of the eggs. I’d recommend testing a half batch first to see if it needs tweaking. Please let me know if you experiment!
I enjoyed this cake very much! I used frozen blueberries and would try to use fresh next time as the center of the cake was not entirely cooked even after leaving it in a bit longer. I am also planning on making the peach cake you mentioned, not sure how I missed that recipe :) I appreciate your wonderful recipes and photography…thanks so much Alanna.
Aw thank you for trying this recipe and for the sweet words. Another reader tried making this with frozen berries and said it took an additional 15 minutes to bake, so I’ll update the recipe with that info. :)
my personal favorite substitutes for eggs and butter include applesauce, pumpkin, and banana. I think that one egg usually is equivalent to roughly a quarter cup though I’d check the ratio since I am ver much an eyeball baker. Applesauce would be the most neutral flavor but pumpkin/banana could be good depending on your taste. You can also sub out the sour cream for any of them since it’s just moisture, but a vegan yogurt works well also. For the crumb topping though you may just need vegan butter, I don’t know a substitute for that
Thank you so much for the tips Kit!
Awesome! Thanks for the information.
Another great recipe!!! Made this cake for my husband who loves coffee cakes – it was a hit!!! My young son, who doesn’t even like blueberries gobbled it up. Made the optional glaze, very pretty, but the cake is delicious as is. I found that I needed to bake my cake an extra 15 minutes because I used frozen blueberries. Still came out perfectly moist! So yummy!
Wonderful, thanks for sharing! I’ll update the recipe with that information. I’m so glad the cake was a hit with the family! :)
This recipe is spot on and so delicious! I made it in muffin form and everyone raved. I don’t know that I would have know they were gluten free…
Aw that’s wonderful to hear! So glad they were a hit! Thanks a bunch for the note and rating. :)
Are there any possible substitutions for the sweet rice flour? I assume it’s very light so whole wheat and most others would be too heavy? Would you mind sharing which brand you use? Its a flour I’ve never worked with
Sweet rice flour is very sticky which is why I use it in GF baking. You can find it at Asian markets, and Bob’s Red Mill also makes it, which you can order online. You can also substitute an all purpose flour (wheat if you eat it, or GF). My favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1, which is based on sweet rice flour. Please let me know what you try!
Your photography is always my favorite. Wowza! These photos were stunning beyond belief.
That’s very kind of you! <3
Amazing recipe! Reminds me of all I used to love about coffee cake–slightly sweet, moist cake with bursting blueberries and oh, that cinnamon-pecan streusel! My finished product looked just like the photos which always makes me happy. I didn’t have quite enough gluten-free oat flour, so I ground up some gluten-free rolled oats in the food processor. It worked fine, but the ground oats definitely have a coarser texture than the flour. All of your recipes are truly special and always bring out those magic words: “you would never know it’s gluten free!” This one is definitely on repeat!
I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thanks very much for the sweet words – this truly made my day. <333
I made this recipe twice, both times using adzuki beans instead of blueberries (my mother and my aunties love adzuki beans). I made a streusel following the poppyseed streusel recipe in AB but swapping out the poppyseed and using white/black sesame seeds. The first time I made them as cupcakes but didn’t see the note to fold them into the batter so the cupcakes fell apart (but were delicious, even after being mailed from PDX to SF). The second time, I made it as a coffee cake. It was given the thumbs up by all non GF tasters in cupcake and coffee cake form!
Oh wow, what an interesting swap. I love red bean desserts so that sounds delicious. So glad they were a hit and survived their travels too!
Hello! Is there a way to make this with gluten so I don’t have to purchase the gluten free flours? Are ratios the same? Thank you!
I think that should work! If you use the same weight of the flour in grams, that will give you a leg up. Please let me know how it works!
Oh. My. Goodness. Made this lovely coffee cake this morning with frozen blackberries instead of blueberries (it took about an hour to cook with the frozen berries). Sooooo good. Not too sweet, lovely tender moist crumb, delectable, gently spiced flavor. No gritty, heavy or overly stretchy textures that some gluten free baked goods can have. Better than any gluten-full coffee cake I ever had. This recipe is a keeper. THANK YOU!!
Aw this makes me so happy!! Glad you loved the recipe and that it worked well with frozen blackberries. Now craving that big time! Thanks so much for the note!
Hello,
With all your baking experience, what do you use in cakes to replace the eggs that will still give a nice and airy texture? I need to bake a vegan cake like your blueberry crumble cake.
Thank you and I just love your website and books!
Katrine
Hi Katrine,
Eggs are a tricky one in GF baking, but I have an egg-free reader who has good success with a blend of applesauce and sour cream in cakes like these. I wonder if a blend of apple sauce and vegan yogurt would work for a vegan option? You can also experiment with Just Egg if you can get your hands on some. I always start with a half batch when I’m experimenting in case I’m not happy with the results. Please let me know what you try! :)
-Alanna
This was such a hit last night served as a dinner dessert. People were having seconds and thirds! I cut the sugar to my preference (used about 110g in the cake, and 35g in the streusel), used millet flour in place of sorghum, as suggested, and did not top with a glaze. As some folks mentioned it took longer to bake than written using frozen blueberries, 10-15 minutes extra I just kept checking every 5 minutes. It was absolutely delicious, fluffy and moist and flavorful with a crunch from the pecans on top, sweet enough for all of us – some had it with a scoop of ice cream. Lovely recipe and I will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
I’m so glad this was a hit and that lowering the sugar worked well! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here!