Gluten and Dairy Free Coffee Cake (vegan, nut-free)

The best gluten and dairy free coffee cake is super easy to make and you will be making it all holiday season!

When it comes to easy weekend breakfast or holiday snack time with tea or coffee, this Gluten Free Coffee Cake is a must-have. Make it with some of my Sugar Free Chai Latte or if you need a dairy-free coffee creamer for your coffee, I have you covered there too! The killer cinnamon and coconut sugar crumble that melts into a caramel goodness is just to die for.

How to Make Gluten Free Coffee Cake

The full recipe is at the bottom of the post with all the details, but this vegan and gluten free coffee cake is so easy to make, let me show you.

• Make your dairy-free buttermilk by mixing the vinegar and milk. Set aside.
• In a large bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
• Make a well and pour in the apple sauce, milk mix, oil, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

• Then fold in the flour until the batter is homogenous. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined pan.
• Use your fingers to mix the coconut sugar, cinnamon, and dairy-free butter for the topping. Crumble it over top. Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool before digging in.

• When you pull it out of the oven the crumble will be bubbling caramel, it will harden as it cools.
• Once cool. Cut into 8-16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days. Best when eaten warm or heated, it will get pretty stiff on the second and third day.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Allergen-Free Coffee Cake

• King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour – it’s important to use this same flour blend, or I can’t guarantee the results.
• Dairy Free Milk – to keep this recipe nut free use coconut milk or oat milk.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – adding vinegar to dairy-free milk creates a vegan buttermilk. The acid helps activate the baking powder and helps the cake rise.
• Coconut Sugar or Coconut Palm Sugar – coconut sugar has a deeper, richer flavor than brown sugar and adds a rich caramel flavor.
• Cinnamon – I prefer Ceylon cinnamon, but you can use regular cinnamon.
• Apple Sauce – this adds moisture, you can use mashed banana as well, or 1/2 cup of water mixed with 1 1/2 tablespoon of psyllium husk too!
• Avocado Oil or Olive Oil – either will work, avocado has a more neutral flavor, but if you only have olive oil, the flavor doesn’t come through a lot.
• Dairy-Free Butter – You can use coconut oil too. I used Miyokos Oat Milk Butter to keep it dairy-free.

Tips for Success and Substitutions

• If you can’t use King Arthur Flour, use a similar gluten-free blend, that also has xantham gum.
• If you don’t have apple sauce you can use mashed bananas.
• Melted butter or coconut oil will also work for the cake, but it might harden when cool. Just warm up to eat. It’s better anyway.
• If you don’t have baking powder on hand, you can make some, here is my recipe.