Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

Reasons to Love This Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

Need a little nudge to break out the mixing bowl and tie on your apron? Here’s why this coffee is the perfect excuse to bake today:

• That crumble, though! The combination of fluffy cake and sweet, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth topping is pure heaven in my book. This one has some pecans in there for a little extra oomph. I could eat it out of the bowl.
• Gluten-free baking can be a little tricky, but my GF flour blend makes it a breeze. I use a combo of millet, toasted quinoa flour, almond flour, and coconut flour with a little tapioca starch, and the results are out of this world. The cake is so tender and moist with the perfect crumb.
• I love that this recipe comes together in 50 minutes with no more than 2 mixing bowls. It’s the perfect, low-maintenance sweet breakfast treat for busy days.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy blueberry lemon coffee cake. Please scroll to the recipe card below for exact measurements.

For the Cake

• Flour blend – Millet (or sorghum flour), toasted quinoa flour, almond flour, and coconut flour.
• Tapioca starch – I added some tapioca starch to the flour blend to help hold the cake together and give it a softer, lighter texture. Arrowroot starch would also work here.
• Coconut sugar – Raw cane sugar would be a fine alternative.
• Baking powder – For the perfect rise.
• Spices – Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
• Eggs – It’s best if the eggs are at room temperature for easier mixing.
• Oil – I prefer avocado oil or refined coconut oil.
• Vanilla – To add a little depth to the flavor profile.
• Coconut milk – Stick with full-fat coconut milk from the can for the best results.
• Lemon zest – Grated fresh from the fruit.
• Blueberries – Fresh or frozen. If you use frozen berries, thaw and pat dry first.

For the Crumb Topping

• Melted coconut oil – Use refined coconut oil. Unrefined coconut oil tastes too coconut-y for this recipe. Melted butter would also work.
• Rolled oats – Stick with traditional rolled oats, rather than quick cooking or instant oats for the best texture.
• Coconut sugar – Raw cane sugar would be fine, too. So would brown sugar.
• Almond flour – Or coconut flour. Although I much prefer the texture and flavor of the almond flour.
• Chopped pecans – I’ve also used walnuts for this crumb topping. I think I like the pecans better, though.

How to Make Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

Time to roll up your sleeves and get this breakfast delight in the oven! Here’s a quick overview of how it’s done (for more detailed instructions, see the recipe card below):

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 9-inch (23cm) round springform pan with parchment paper.
• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour blend, tapioca starch, coconut sugar, baking powder, and spices.
• Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and 1/2 cup coconut milk.

• Put it all together. Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then gradually add the remaining coconut milk. Fold in the lemon zest and blueberries.
• Transfer. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.
• Make the topping. Mix together the coconut oil, oats, coconut sugar, almond flour, and pecans until the mixture has a sandy texture.
• Bake. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter and bake the coffee cake for 40-45 minutes.
• Cool. Cool for 10–15 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Pro Tips

If you want to ace this gluten-free coffee cake recipe the first time, have a look at the following tips and tricks from your truly:

• Springform pan. If you have a springform pan, use that. It’ll be easier to remove the coffee cake and transfer it to a cooling rack. If you don’t have one, a cake pan is fine.
• Don’t over-mix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix just until everything is incorporated. This will help keep the cake nice and tender.
• No sinking berries. If you’re concerned about the blueberries sinking to the bottom of the coffee cake, you can toss them in a little tapioca starch before folding them into the batter.
• Test for doneness. You’ll know your coffee cake is ready when a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing it. I’d also let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, if you have the patience. Your slices will hold together better.

Variations to Try

If you want to throw your own spin on this gluten-free coffee cake recipe, be my guest! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Finish with a glaze. I do a lime glaze on my Blackberry Muffins that would be great for this coffee cake! I would swap the lime juice out for lemon juice, though.
• Coconutty addition. You’ve already got some coconut oil in the crumb topping, so why not add some shredded coconut, too! You could even fold a little shredded coconut into the batter.
• Berry swap. Instead of blueberries, consider fresh raspberries or blackberries. If you’re using blackberries, I would give them a rough chop before folding them into the batter.
• Other fun mix-ins. If you’d like to fold a couple of tablespoons of poppy seeds, some chopped nuts (pecans or slivered almonds would be great), or white chocolate chips into the batter, go for it!

How to Store

• Countertop: Seal any fully cooled leftover coffee cake in an airtight container or wrap tightly with a double layer of plastic wrap (you can wrap the whole cake or individual slices). It’ll keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: Once cool, seal the leftovers in a freezer-safe airtight container (or wrap slices in a double layer of plastic wrap) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the coffee cake at room temperature before diving back in.

More Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Recipes

If you’re a coffee cake fanatic like me, you might want to add these gluten-free coffee cake recipes to your must-make list: