These gluten-free coffee cake muffins have a rich, moist sour cream cake and a cinnamon crumb with a little crunch. They have been lovingly nicknamed by my friends with the name of a highly addictive drug. Yes they are that good, and fortunately they are legal! I am excited to share this recipe.
I believe that any crumb cake should be mostly about the crumb so these muffins are half cake and half cinnamon crumb. In my opinion this is the perfect ratio.
Gluten-Free Flour
If you prefer a store bought gluten-free flour blend, King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure works very well in this recipe. Cup4Cup (contains dairy) and Pamela’s All Purpose Artisan Blend are similar and should work well too. As a cost-saver I prefer to mix up my own gluten-free flour for baking.
My custom blend of sorghum, millet and brown rice flours gives wonderful taste and texture to baked goods and adds variety to a gluten-free diet. Most of us who eat exclusively gf, eat a lot of rice. This is a perfect way to add variety.
Here is my blend that I love for this recipe and many more of my gluten-free recipes:
- 1 c sweet white sorghum flour
- 3/4 c millet flour
- ¼ c brown rice flour
- 2/3 c potato starch
- 1/3 c tapioca starch
Ingredients
Sour cream gives the cake a rich moist texture. Full-fat sour cream works best. Green Valley Sour Cream is my go-to for this recipe if you need a lactose-free option.
Xanthan gum is a binder used in gluten-free baked goods to make up for the absence of gluten. Most store-bought gluten-free flours contain xanthan gum, guar gum or inulin. Just check the ingredients in your blend, and if it has one or more of those, no need to add more,
Oil – I prefer oil over butter for adding moisture to gluten-free baked goods. This recipe needs just 2 tablespoons. Avocado, sunflower, canola, safflower or any neutral flavored vegetable oil will work,
How to Pan the Bites
Using the right amount of batter for each muffin is key. The cake part does rise quite a bit, so it’s important not to overfill the muffin tin. I have found that 3 Tbsps batter works best (a 1.5 oz cookie scoop is just the right size).
Top each muffin with 2-3 Tbsp of the crumb topping. This fills the muffin tin just about level with the top. Press down on the crumb to make sure that it adheres to the batter, otherwise much of it will fall off after baking.
Muffin Toppings
Muffins always look better with a drizzle on top. Here are two options for icing.
- Make a simple powdered sugar vanilla icing or even an orange icing. Mix 6 Tbsps powdered sugar with 2 1/2 tsp water or orange juice and a 1/8 tsp vanilla extract.
- For a lower sugar icing, try my Icing without Powdered Sugar which uses coconut cream as the base.
More Gluten-Free Muffin Recipes
If you are a lover of cinnamon too, you’ll love my gluten-free, dairy-free muffins with cinnamon swirl, or my gluten-free banana muffins with cinnamon crumb topping. Check out my full list of gluten-free (mostly dairy-free) muffin recipes.
Gluten-Free Coffee Cake Muffins
These gluten-free coffee cake muffins have a rich, moist sour cream cake and a cinnamon crumb with a little bit of crunch.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Crumb Topping
- 6 Tbsps unsalted butter, melted
- 1 c gluten-free flour blend*
- ⅓ c brown sugar
- ¼ c sugar
- 2 tsps cinnamon
- ½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend contains it)
- ⅛ tsp salt
Sour Cream Cake
- 1 c gluten-free flour blend*
- ⅔ c sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend contains it)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 egg (room temp)
- ½ c sour cream (room temp)
- 2 Tbsp oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Simple Icing
- 6 Tbsp powdered sugar
- 2½ tsp water, milk or milk substitute
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Grease (generously) the muffin tin or line with paper liners.
If the egg and sour cream are straight out of the refrigerator, place the egg in a bowl of warm water while you make the crumb topping, The sour cream can be heated in the microwave for 10 seconds to take the chill off.
Make the Cinnamon Crumb Topping
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Break up any chunks of brown sugar.
- Add the melted butter and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened. Set the bowl aside covered with a towel,
Make the Sour Cream Cake
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum, if using.
- Beat the egg, sour cream, oil and vanilla together in a small bowl.
- Add the liquid to the dry and stir to combine (electric mixer not needed). This is a thick batter.
Assemble
- Scoop 3 tbsp batter into each well of the muffin tin. A 1.5 oz cookie scoop is just the right size and makes quick work of scooping out the batter.
- Top with crumb topping to fill the well or paper liner. Press gently on the crumb to adhere it to the batter. This will keep it from falling off once baked.
- Bake 20-23 minutes or until the top is set and bounces back from a gentle tap.
- Cool the muffins in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Simple Icing
- Simply mix the powdered sugar and water together in a small bowl.
- Drizzle over muffins using a spoon or piping bag.
- Or make my icing with no powdered sugar (no cane sugar).
These muffins will stay fresh for 4-5 days, unrefrigerated, if in a sealed container
Notes
*King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour is recommended for this recipe. It includes the xanthan gum (binder), so no need to add any. Cup4Cup and Pamela's Artisan blend are similar and should work too.
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