Gluten-Free Cranberry Coffee Cake

Name: Gluten-Free Cranberry Coffee Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 1 square
Ingredients: 2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour; 1/4 cup butter, softened; 3/4 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup applesauce; 1 large egg; 3/4 cup milk; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries; Zest of 1 orange; 1/4 cup butter, softened, for the topping; 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for the topping; 1/3 cup Pamela's Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour, for the topping; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for the topping

on May 16 2024

Table of Contents

Cranberry coffee cake is a December cake. Fresh cranberries and orange zest in the batter, a cinnamon crumb across the top, baked in a square pan and cut into squares.

It is tarter than most coffee cakes and that is the point. The cranberries burst as they bake and cut through the sweetness in a way that fruit like blueberry does not.

This one is made with Pamela's 1:1 All-Purpose Flour rather than a baking mix, so the baking powder and salt are measured separately. Applesauce stands in for part of the fat, which keeps the crumb light.

So good, no one will guess it is gluten-free, the way Pamela's has done it since 1988.

Why This One Uses Flour Instead of a Mix

Most of our coffee cakes are built on the Pancake & Baking Mix, which has the leavening already in it. This one is not.

Pamela's 1:1 All-Purpose Flour is a plain blend with no leavening and no salt, which means you add your own. That matters here because the recipe uses applesauce in place of some of the butter, and the leavening has to be balanced against a wetter, lower-fat batter.

The flour this is built on Pamela's Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour Rice-based, finely milled, nut-free, and bound with guar gum rather than xanthan. Substitutes one for one for wheat flour. GFCO-certified.

It is also the reason this is the only coffee cake on our site that is nut-free, since the Pancake & Baking Mix contains almond meal.

Fresh Cranberries, Not Dried

The recipe calls for a cup and a half of fresh cranberries, and dried will not work in their place.

Fresh cranberries burst as they bake and release tart juice into the crumb around them. That contrast against the brown sugar is the whole character of the cake.

Dried cranberries are sweetened and they stay firm, so you get chewy sweet pockets instead. If dried is all you have, the cake will be fine and it will be a different cake.

Frozen cranberries work. Add them straight from the freezer without thawing and expect to add about 5 minutes to the bake.

The Crumb Topping

The topping is butter, sugar, flour, and cinnamon, worked together until crumbly.

Cream the butter and sugar first, then add the flour and cinnamon. That order gives you a sandy, clumpy crumb rather than a paste.

Scatter it evenly across the whole surface. Gaps will let the batter rise through and brown, which is fine, but an even layer is what gives you the crumb texture in every square.

Do not press it down. A loose topping stays crisp and a pressed one turns into a layer of cake.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Yield 9

Serving Size 1 square

Ingredients

2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 large egg
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup butter, softened, for the topping
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for the topping
1/3 cup Pamela's Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour, for the topping
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for the topping

Shop Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour, 4 lb.

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x9 pan with parchment, or spray it with nonstick spray.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar together until creamy. Add the applesauce and mix until combined, then add the egg and the milk.
Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the same bowl. Stir until combined and a thick batter forms. Fold in the cranberries and the orange zest.
Pour the batter into the pan and spread it into one even layer.
Make the topping. In a small bowl, mix the butter and granulated sugar until creamy. Add the flour and cinnamon and stir until combined and crumbly.
Scatter the topping evenly across the surface of the batter. Do not press it down.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan before cutting into squares.

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Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour, 4 lb.

Bake like you always have

Measure it 1:1 in place of wheat flour for cookies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, and pie crusts. Most recipes need no changes at all; if a batter thickens as it sits, thin it with a splash of liquid and keep going. The subtle flavor works in savory cooking too: thickening gravy, coating chicken, breading fish.

Yes, even yeast breads

Use 1 teaspoon of dry yeast per cup of flour and add water until the dough is a sticky batter, like banana bread. For a taller loaf, line the pan with a parchment collar 3 to 5 inches above the rim.

Never scoop the bottom of the bag

The 4 lb. bag keeps serious bakers stocked, and Subscribe & Save delivers a fresh bag on your schedule with 10% off every order. Pause or cancel anytime.

Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Sorghum Flour, Arrowroot Starch, Guar Gum, Sweet Rice Flour, Rice Bran.

Pamela's Products are manufactured in a Gluten-Free Certified Facility and peanut-free facility. Our products are produced on equipment that processes Tree Nuts, Coconut, Eggs, Soy, and Milk.

Recipe Tips & Notes

Working with Gluten-Free Flour

Pamela's 1:1 All-Purpose Flour substitutes one for one for wheat flour, and it is bound with guar gum rather than xanthan, so there is no gum to add.

Measure by weight if you can. Spooning the flour into the cup and leveling it is the next best thing, since scooping the cup through the bag compacts it and adds weight.

A gluten-free batter benefits from a short rest. Letting it sit 10 minutes in the pan before it goes into the oven lets the rice flour hydrate, which helps with any grittiness.

Do not overmix. Without gluten there is no toughening to worry about, but overmixing knocks air out of a chemically leavened batter.

Storing and Freezing

Room temperature: 3 days in an airtight container.

Refrigerator: up to 5 days, though the crumb topping softens.

Freezer: up to 3 months. Cut into squares first and wrap individually, which makes them easy to pull one at a time.

Reheat a square at 300 degrees F for 8 minutes to bring the topping back, or 15 seconds in the microwave if you do not mind it soft.

Ways to Change It Up

Cranberry orange is the natural pairing and the zest is already in the recipe. Add a tablespoon of orange juice to the batter for more.

Add a half cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the topping. Note that this makes the recipe no longer nut-free.

Swap the fruit. Chopped fresh apple or pear works at the same cup and a half.

A simple orange glaze over the cooled cake, made from a cup of powdered sugar and enough orange juice to pour.

Double it in a 9x13 pan and add about 10 minutes to the bake.

What This Contains

This recipe contains milk and egg.

The milk and butter are dairy. The egg is structural, and there is no straightforward egg-free version.

Pamela's 1:1 All-Purpose Flour is rice-based with no dairy, no eggs, and no nuts, so the allergens here come entirely from what you add. That makes this the one coffee cake on our site that works for a nut-free household, since our Pancake & Baking Mix contains almond meal.

Everything from Pamela's is certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization and made in a certified gluten-free, peanut-free facility.

Recipe FAQs

Not in place of fresh here. Fresh cranberries burst as they bake and release tart juice into the crumb, which is the whole character of this cake. Dried cranberries are sweetened and stay firm, so you get chewy sweet pockets instead. Frozen work fine added straight from the freezer.

This one uses Pamela's 1:1 All-Purpose Flour, which is a plain blend with no leavening or salt. Our other coffee cakes use the Pancake & Baking Mix, which is a complete mix with both already in it.

The recipe as written is, since Pamela's 1:1 All-Purpose Flour is rice-based with no nuts. It is the one coffee cake on our site that works for a nut-free household, because our Pancake & Baking Mix contains almond meal. Adding nuts to the topping changes that.

It replaces part of the butter, which keeps the crumb light and adds moisture without extra fat. It also adds a little acidity that works with the baking powder. Use unsweetened applesauce if you can, since the recipe is already sweet.

Cream the butter and sugar first, then add the flour and cinnamon, which gives you a sandy clumpy texture rather than a paste. Scatter it loosely and do not press it down. A pressed topping turns into a layer of cake.