Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake

menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • GF Flour Blend Recipes
  • Subscribe

subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • GF Flour Blend Recipes
  • Subscribe

×
Home » Recipes » Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

Gluten Free Crumb Cake

Published: Mar 25, 2020 · Modified: Oct 13, 2024 by Kim · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This gluten free crumb cake has the perfect ratio of crumb to cake. The cake is tender and light, but it's really all about those big and crunchy crumbs. Bonus? It can be made with ingredients you probably already have in your gluten free pantry!

gluten free crumb cake piece with a fork in it

We just found out two days ago that our schools here are closing for the rest of the school year! I still can't wrap my head around all that's happening in the world today. And although it's everywhere and it's very serious (and I'm listening to what they're telling us to do), I choose to NOT let it be the focus of my life. I have to, for my own sanity.

So here we are with this beautiful gluten free crumb cake!! It's everything we remember a great crumb cake to be. Big craggy crumbs that are crunchy and sweet atop a light and tender cake mainly used as a vessel for transporting the crumbs. It's one of those forgotten treasures and yet it's a breeze to make and no one will know it's gluten free.

Making the Cake Part of Gluten Free Crumb Cake

This cake has a short list of ingredients, similar to any other cake:

  • Butter
  • Gluten free flour blend -- I use my own (Kim's gluten free flour blend), but any flour blend containing xanthan gum would work.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Egg
  • Baking powder
  • Vanilla extract
  • Whole milk
  • Sour cream--just a tad of sour cream added to cake batter results in a very tender crumb.
  • Salt

Cream the butter and sugar until lightened. Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract and mix well. Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the milk in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour.

Pour the batter into a 9 by 13-inch greased and floured cake pan and spread with an offset spatula to smooth out.

spreading out cake batter for crumb cake

Making the Crumb

Who can argue that the crumb is the absolute best part of a crumb cake? All that crunchy craggy brown sugary goodness in one bite is so satisfying. The ingredients are most likely in your pantry and refrigerator right now:

  • Butter
  • Flour -- again, I use Kim's gluten free flour blend, but any gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum will work.
  • Light brown sugar
  • Ground cinnamon

Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until well mixed. Add the melted butter and stir until the mixture comes together into somewhat of a crumbly stiff paste.

pouring melted butter into brown sugar mixture

Squeeze together clumps of the crumb mixture in your palms and break off large chunks of it to sprinkle over the cake batter. Continue to do this until all of the crumbs have been added to the cake.

squeezing crumbs together with fingers
crumb cake before being baked

Bake the cake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F until the center is firm to touch and springs back lightly. If the cake doesn't feel baked through, reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F and continue to bake in 5-minute intervals until the cake is set but the topping doesn't get too brown.

Crumb cakes are often sprinkled with powdered sugar when they come out of the oven, but I feel that's a little overkill so I choose to leave it out. Feel free to dust away if that's your desire!

picking up a piece of crumb cake on fork

Whether you serve this gluten free crumb cake as a quick breakfast or as a snack cake, make this now and your family will thank you!!

gluten free crumb cake piece with a fork in it

Gluten Free Crumb Cake

Kim
This gluten free crumb cake has the perfect ratio of crumb to cake. The cake is tender and light, but it's really all about those big and crunchy crumbs. Bonus? It can be made with ingredients you probably already have in your gluten free pantry!
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 servings

Ingredients
 

CAKE

  • 2 cups (280 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend (or your favorite flour blend containing xanthan gum)
  • 5⅓ tbsp (⅓ cup or 75 g) butter, at room temperature (butter alternative may be substituted)
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, at room temperature (non-dairy milk may be substituted)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • Pinch of kosher salt

CRUMB TOPPING

  • 2 cups (280 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend (or your favorite blend of choice containing xanthan gum)
  • 1¼ cups (290 g) packed light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ pound (2 sticks or 226 g) butter, melted
  • powdered sugar for dusting, if desired
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions
 

FOR THE CAKE:

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F and spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray (or lightly grease with butter or shortening), dust it with gluten free flour, and tap out the excess flour.
  • Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla extract and mix well.
  • Sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients with the milk in three batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
  • Spread the mixture into prepared pan in an even layer to the edges. The batter will be thin, only about one inch high. Set aside.

FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING:

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon until well combined. Add the melted butter and stir until it comes together into a thick paste.
  • Using your hands, scrunch together large handfuls of it and then break it apart right over the pan, sprinkling large and small chunks here and there to cover the entire surface of the cake batter.
  • Bake the cake for about 30 minutes, or until set in the center and the cake springs back when lightly touched on the top. If the center is still not quite done, reduce the temperature to 325° F and continue to bake at 5-minute intervals until completely done and top isn't too brown.
  • Remove from the oven and, if desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Allow to cool and slice and serve.
Keyword crumb cake, Gluten Free
Tried this recipe?Tag @letthemeatglutenfreecake on Instagram so we can see!

More Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes

  • chocolate glazed and sprinkled donuts and vanilla glazed donuts on wire rack over baking sheet.
    Gluten Free Cake Donuts
  • split english muffin on flowered plate with whole english muffins in the background.
    Sourdough English Muffins Recipe (Gluten Free)
  • two cheese scones stacked one on top of the other.
    Gluten Free Cheese Scones
  • sliced cinnamon swirl quick bread with seafoam green towel alongside.
    Gluten Free Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Comments

  1. Suzanne Scheib says

    July 01, 2025 at 12:16 pm

    Could this be made as a bundt cake? With streusel in the middle? Not that it doesn't look delicious just as it is!

    Reply
    • Kim says

      July 02, 2025 at 8:05 am

      Hmmm, I'm not sure if it will work as a bundt cake. A bundt cake may need an entirely different recipe.

      Reply
  2. Jessica Chase says

    February 11, 2024 at 8:16 pm

    Could you add blueberries to the cake? My favorite coffee cake in my gluten days was blueberry buckle which is basically just cinnamon streusel coffee cake with blueberries added. I didn’t know if the moisture from the blueberries would cause problems.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      February 22, 2024 at 6:03 pm

      Yes, I think that sounds delightful! I would take just a little bit (maybe one tablespoon) of the flour called for in the recipe and coat the berries before folding them into the batter so they don't sink to the bottom when baking. Let me know how it turns out 😋

      Reply
  3. Amy says

    December 25, 2022 at 9:05 pm

    I made an adapted version of this for Christmas breakfast and it came out great. I didn't have sour cream or whole milk on hand so I had to try to make do with what I had in my kitchen. I ended up using non fat greek yogurt in place of sour cream and heavy cream in place of whole milk. Also, I accidentally mixed the yogurt and cream together instead of keeping the cream separate to incorporate gradually. So, I just added the yogurt/heavy cream mixture in three alternating steps with the dry ingredients as instructed. The texture was really nice and the crumb topping is just as good as the gluten versions I remember. Even with all my crazy, I-did-not-plan-ahead tweaks, this was a winner. Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Susan says

    August 03, 2020 at 1:17 pm

    Recipe calls for 1 tbsp of vanilla ext is that correct amount?

    Reply
    • Kim says

      August 04, 2020 at 9:33 am

      Yep, 1 tbsp is correct. It really packs a vanilla punch. You're welcome to use less if you don't want to use as much.

      Reply
  5. Gillie says

    May 10, 2020 at 4:34 pm

    Crumb Cake??? Oh my heart, I haven't had crumb cake in 10 years. I can't wait to give this a try. My grocery is currently out of dried milk powder, so I will be using "store bought" gf all purpose for this cake.

    I've ordered the ingredients to make your Italian Bread and Cinnamon rolls, and its everything I can do to not stand by the door awaiting delivery.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      May 11, 2020 at 1:39 pm

      Haha, Gillie! I could eat the entire pan of crumb cake myself 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




profile picture of me and Scott.

Hey there, I'm Kim!

I won't let a celiac diagnosis stop me from enjoying my passion for baking and cooking, so stick with me and I'll show you how to make the BEST EVER gluten-free renditions of the food we used to know and love 🤗

More about me

Trending

  • landscape view of gluten free sourdough bread on white countertop with green tea towel.
    Best Ever Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
  • gluten free focaccia bread
    Gluten Free Focaccia Bread
  • landscape view of mason jar filled with active gluten free sourdough starter.
    Easy Gluten Free Sourdough Starter
  • landscape view of classic chicken salad on a bed of lettuce in a white bowl with red grapes and crackers alongside.
    Classic Chicken Salad

Gluten free seafood recipes

  • landscape view of crab cakes on white plate with green beans and remoulade sauce.
    Best Ever Gluten Free Crab Cakes
  • landscape view of lemon butter shrimp in large white bowl with hunks of bread alongside
    Amazing Grilled Lemon Butter Shrimp
  • landscape view of Old Bay rimmed bowl of she crab soup on white linen with navy blue cloth napkin on the side and glass bottle of sherry in the background.
    Gluten Free She Crab Soup
  • lobster rolls on white platter surrounded by lemon wedges.
    Homemade Gluten Free Lobster Rolls

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 Let Them Eat GF Cake, Inc.