This gluten-free gingerbread coffee cake is soft and perfectly spiced, with a delicious crumb and buttery streusel on top. There’s something about the smell of warm ginger and molasses wafting through the kitchen that instantly makes you feel like this is a special day. Soft, moist, and packed with flavour, it’s the kind of cake you’ll want to slice thick and savour with a steaming cup of coffee or tea. It’s packed with warm flavours everyone will love … without any gluten.
Unlike many gluten-free treats, this cake doesn’t compromise on texture or flavor. The crumb is light yet satisfyingly rich, with a sweetness that’s perfectly balanced by the cozy notes of ginger, cinnamon, and a hint of molasses. It’s simple enough for a weekday morning but special enough for a weekend brunch or holiday gathering.
One of the best things about this recipe is how approachable and easy it is. You don’t need a long list of fancy ingredients or complicated techniques. Just a few staples from your pantry and about an hour of your time.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat the oven and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper. Brown the butter, remove from the heat and stir in the grated ginger. The fresh ginger is optional if you do not like quite a strong ginger bite, as I do. There’s still lots of powdered ginger as well.
Make the streusel topping by combining butter, sugar, and flour until crumbly.
Beat the egg and sugars, brown butter, molasses, starter or yoghurt, then fold in the dry ingredients.
Spread the batter into a parchment lined pan, add a layer of streusel, then more batter. Sprinkle the streusel on top, and bake.
Slice while slightly warm and serve with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cake:
Gluten-Free ….not Flavour-Free! You get all the rich, comforting flavours of classic gingerbread without the gluten.
Perfect for Coffee Time and it’s so moist and tender, it pairs beautifully with coffee, tea, or even a warm mug of cocoa.
Easy to make with simple ingredients and straight forward steps, you can have this cake on the table in just over an hour.
Tips
When measuring the ingredients, use a kitchen scale for accuracy. They’re more precise and produce reliable results every time. Here’s the link to the scale that I use, but there are many great options.
Add grated fresh ginger only if you love that spicy hit from a lot of ginger, otherwise there’s still the powdered ginger.
Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
What gluten-free flour blend works best?
This recipe uses millet flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch and psyllium husk for binding. I usually create my own gluten free flour blends for the best results. This way there is consistency and control, instead of depending upon store-bought mixes that vary widely and are not always available everywhere. Not all gluten free flour blends are the same, and I prefer to use psyllium husk instead of gums.
Can I freeze gluten-free gingerbread coffee cake?
Absolutely! Wrap slices individually and freeze for up to 2 months.
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 115 g butter melted and browned
- 1 tsp ginger, freshly grated
- 110 g molasses
- 2 large eggs
- 125 g sourdough discard, or plain yogurt
- 130 g white sugar
- 135 g dark brown sugar
Dry Ingredients
- 120 g millet flour
- 100 g sorghum flour
- 90 g tapioca starch
- 6 g psyllium husk powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp all spice
- 3 tsp ground ginger
Streusel Topping
- 100 g dark brown sugar
- 70 g millet flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 60 g butter, softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
- Add the butter to a pan over medium high heat for about 6 minutes until it becomes a foamy golden butter. Add the grated fresh ginger and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, add eggs and beat for about a minute, then add in the brown and white sugar, molasses, sourdough starter or yoghurt.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and whisk it well. Add the remaining flour blend and fold it in until everything is well combined. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the psyllium husk to hydrate while you make the streusel.
- In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients and work the butter in with your fingers, until it becomes coarse crumbs.
- Spread half of the batter into a parchment lined pan, add a layer of streusel, then more batter. Sprinkle the streusel on top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.
- Slice while slightly warm and enjoy!
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