Every so often, our real estate agent sends us a glossy magazine filled with home tips and recipes. One issue featured a fruit filled gluten-free coffee cake that looked too good to pass up. Now, after a few bakes, it's turned into one of my go-to gluten-free cakes. This latest version, made with cherries, mini chocolate chips, and a hint of almond extract, feels just right for the holidays.
This recipe is a keeper if you're looking for a gluten-free Bundt cake that actually tastes like a "real" coffee cake. It's light but substantial and rich but not heavy. The combination of six eggs, melted butter, and oil creates a velvety crumb that holds up beautifully whether you use blueberries, cherries, or even cranberries. Mini chocolate or whites chips will satisfy the chocoholics. And it is so soft and buttery tasting!
Flour Blend
I almost didn't post this recipe because it calls for a mix of millet flour, extra fine brown rice flour and tapioca starch, and then on top of that you have to add some xanthan gum. If you don't do a lot of gluten-free baking chances are you won't have those ingredients, but I've heard from a lot of readers who do. Mixing and matching these different flours has really opened my eyes to what can be done with non-wheat type flours. If you'd like to round up the flours, here are the brands I use.
- Anthony's Tapioca Starch
- Vitacost or Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour
- Bob's Red Mill Millet Flour
- Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum
Tips and Lessons Learned
The first time I made this in a Bavaria Bundt pan with lots of cracks and crevices and added jumbo size blueberries before resting the batter. The large blueberries sank and stuck to the pan. The cake looked "cobbler-topped" so not exactly hideous when sprinkled with powdered sugar, but be sure to rest the batter before adding fruit, which will help prevent sinking. A dusting of rice or millet flour will also help.
Flavoring and Serving Ideas
This cake doesn't need frosting, but it looks beautiful with a dusting of powdered sugar. For an extra-festive touch, you can swap the cherries for dried cranberries and use orange zest instead of almond extract. Serve it for brunch, dessert, or as a make-ahead cake for guests. It stays moist for days and freezes well.
Final Thoughts
This gluten-free coffee cake is a great base recipe for mix-ins and seasonal variations. It works in a full-size Bundt or scaled down to a 5 or 6-cup pan. No matter which flavor direction you take, it will give you a light, flavorful crumb that everyone will enjoy, gluten-free or not.
Recipe
Gluten-Free Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar (300 grams)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or use a bit of almond
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled (114 grams)
- ½ cup neutral oil (88 grams)
- 1 ¼ cups extra fine brown rice flour (155 grams)
- ½ cup millet flour (70 grams)
- ¼ cup tapioca starch (30 grams)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¾ teaspoon Morton kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon Diamond)
Add-Ins -- Choose Your Favorite
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (optional)
- 1 cup fresh berries of choice or chopped frozen cherries.
- ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan or tube pan. Dust very lightly with brown rice flour.
- Measure the brown rice flour, millet flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt and whisk together in a bowl. IF you are using mini chocolate chips, stir them in with the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and extracts until thick and yellow, about 3 minutes.
- Switch to the paddle attachment or do the next part by hand with a scraper. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and beat just combined.
- Gradually add the butter and the oil to the and continue beating on medium speed or by hand until well combined. You should have a smooth, thick, batter.
- Cover the bowl and chill the batter for 20 minutes to allow the proteins to rest and the batter to thicken.
- After the batter has rested, stir in the berries or chopped frozen cherries or whichever add-ins you've chosen to use. If using frozen fruit, dust very lightly with a little of the millet or rice flour and keep them frozen until time to fold in.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched. Let cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before unmolding.
Leave a Reply