This Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake is gluten-free and refined sugar-free. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and laced with cinnamon, this coffee cake is a delicious, healthier fall treat. This post is brought to you in collaboration with illy.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine a life without coffee.
What a dim, dim world that would be.
Well, maybe not everyone shares my affinity for coffee, and that’s okay. (But how do you get out of bed?!)
I tried giving up coffee once. I did pretty good, actually. I made it almost two weeks, convincing myself decaf was just fine and that tea was a suitable substitute.
But obviously you know the end to this story. As anyone who follows me on social media or reads the blog knows of my deep, deep love for the stuff.
And what goes so well with magical, delicious coffee? Well, coffee cake, of course. Especially if it’s Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake.
Before we talk the cake part of this post, let’s talk the coffee part.
To pair with this healthier, gluten-free Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake, I made some delicious illy coffee in my French Press. My husband and I are going to Montana for the next five days, and today was a busy day full of errands, laundry, packing, finishing work, and tying up some loose ends. I used this afternoon coffee break as a time for us to reset. It was much-needed, and much healthier than driving through the popular coffee chain that’s around the corner from my house. 😉
I actually remember the first time I ever had illy coffee. I was 18 and my best friend and I went into New York City to see an independant movie. The theater was serving hot illy coffee and specialty Italian pastries. I thought I was so fancy for having an illy cappuccino at a movie theater!
13 years later, and I still love illy.
And if you do too, visit their site and use the coupon code “COFFEE17” to take 20% off your entire order!
Now on to the cake part. This coffee cake is gluten-free and refined sugar-free.
It’s moist, nutty, and laced with fall spices and vanilla.
The cake itself is made with grass-fed butter, coconut and almond flour, and is naturally sweetened with maple syrup.
The crunchy, buttery topping combines walnuts and cinnamon for a lovely crown that resembles streusel.
This Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake combines healthy fats, fiber, and Omega-3’s. Walnuts are high in anti-inflammatory Omega-3’s and antioxidants, both coconut flour and almond flour are packed with fiber and protein, and heart-healthy cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants and helps lower bad cholesterol.
To compare this gluten-free version to a classic coffee cake I took the nutritional information from a popular coffee chain’s version. Their coffee cake clocked in at 590 calories while the same size of this version is only 250. Theirs also has 51 grams of sugar while ours has 11, and this gluten-free version has double the fiber, less than a fourth of the carbs, and much less fat.
And, bonus, you only need a bowl or two and a wooden spoon. No fancy equipment here.
Let’s take a coffee break, shall we?
What are your favorite ways to take an afternoon coffee break? Have you ever had gluten-free coffee cake? Let us know in the comments below. Thank you to illy for sponsoring this post and use the code “COFFEE17” to take 20% off your order with illy!
And here’s a few things you may need for this recipe:
Organic Coconut Milk // Bob’s Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour // Bob’s Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour // Rodelle Organic Pure Vanilla // Simply Organic Ceylon Cinnamon // illy Caffe Medium Roast
This post contains affiliate links, but are always products I love & highly recommend.

Gluten-Free Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
This Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake is gluten-free and refined sugar-free. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup and laced with cinnamon, this coffee cake is a delicious, healthier fall treat.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/2 cup melted unsalted grass-fed butter
- 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 cup fine almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
For the Topping:
- 1 cup chopped raw walnuts
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup almond flour
Instructions
Make the Topping:
- Mix all of the ingredients together until thoroughly combined and set aside.
Make the Coffee Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8×8 baking pan by lining with parchment and greasing very well with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In another bowl, whisk together melted (but not hot) butter, room-temperature eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and coconut milk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two additions, stirring thoroughly until the cake batter is combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the walnut topping to evenly coat the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Once completely cooled, cut the cake into 12 pieces. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 12
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 230mg
- Fat: 19g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 6.3g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
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I would like to try substituting the coconut flour for another gluten free flour. Do you think oat flour or brown rice flour would work?
Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Hi Roberta, I have never tried but I think it could work. Typically, coconut flour and oat flour is a 1:1 ratio so that may be the best bet. For brown rice, it is typical that 1 cup of brown rice flour = 3/4 cup of coconut flour. Let us know how it turns out. 🙂
Do you have any tips on how to make these vegan for a friend? What kind of butter and egg alternatives would you use?
Hi Kela, I unfortunately have not tried to make this recipe vegan before. Perhaps try using a vegan butter and flax eggs? Please let us know how it turns out!
I made this today. It is so good.
I did make a few changes to this coffee cake. I also added some chocolate chips because chocolate is amazing.
It tastes good; thank you for sharing the recipe.
I am not currently gluten or dairy-free or really even on a specific “diet”, but do eat clean and limit those items. A good friend is paleo with no sugar and I was looking for a recipe. I ADORE coffee cakes and this looked right up my alley. I made it this morning as a trial run before making it for her. The only thing I did differently was to use cashew milk instead of coconut.
The verdict… the 4 year old asked me to make this forever! He did claim at first that he did not like the “nuts!”. The 6 year old said she loved it! The 9 year old said it was “okay”. My husband said he missed the sugar aspect and the fact that it didn’t stay together like a wheat flour cake. I am not a big fan of coconut flour… and can taste it and so that part is meh. The “cake” part was quite crumbly and fell apart easily. The top crumble is very nice. But overall it is a nice alternative to sugared up breakfast/dessert. It will be made again.
★★★★
This looks lovely and was about to make it and realised there is no coffee in the ingredients. How much am I supposed to add please.
I think American coffee cake doesn’t actually include coffee?! It’s more of a cake to have *with* your coffee!
I don’t drink coffee, but I love coffee cake – this looks really good. I will have to try making it.
This looks so good. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I’ll try making some one of these days.
Wow that looks amazing! I know I can’t live without coffee either! I also love that it’s gluten free, I have a lot of friends that can’t have gluten so I love finding new recipes to make them try! Thanks for sharing!
Everything I love in one. Good job in putting them together. I can only imagine how delicious and sweet-smelling the cake would be.
Would it be bad if I eat a coffee cake and paired with brewed coffee? 🙂
Your recipe looks delicious!
I can imagine myself having a piece of this with my morning coffee. I love finding new GF recipes!
Oh my this Maple Cinnamon Coffee Cake looks amazing. I am looking forward to giving it a try this weekend. I am always looking for new gluten free recipes to try.
Gluten free or not, this looks so delicious! I just love coffee cake.
This looks so good! I am going to have to make this tomorrow when I get up. I am totally okay with eating this as my lunch…ssshhh!
These photographs look absolutely amazing. I remember as a kid I loved coffee cake, and once I was old enough to want to want coffee, the match was the most remarkable combo. I love the healthy take on it, and perhaps, if kids are ever in my picture – once they like coffee, I’ll make them this to show how healthy is just as, if not tastier, than the processed stuff. Great post!
Coffee and cake go great together. This cake looks so good.
I’m in love with coffee, too. And the coffee cake is so yummy. I will try your recipe this weekend. Thanks for your sharing