Gluten-Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Name: Gluten-Free Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 1 slice
Ingredients: 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped to medium pieces, for the filling; 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for the filling; 1/4 cup light brown sugar, for the filling; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, for the filling; 1/2 cup currants or raisins, soaked in hot water to plump then drained, for the filling (optional); 2/3 cup butter, softened; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 cups (280 g) Pamela's Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix; 1 cup sour cream; 1 cup powdered sugar, for the glaze; 2 tablespoons butter, softened, for the glaze; 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, for the glaze; Pinch of salt, for the glaze; Zest of 1 orange or lemon, for the glaze; 2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice, for the glaze; 2 to 3 tablespoons water, for the glaze, plus more as needed

on May 25 2026

Table of Contents

Sour cream coffee cake is the one people mean when they say coffee cake. A tender cake with a cinnamon and nut filling marbled through the middle, baked in a bundt pan, and finished with a citrus glaze poured over the top.

The sour cream is what makes it. It keeps the crumb moist for days and adds a faint tang that stops a sweet cake from tasting flat.

It is built on Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix, which already has the leavening and salt in it. That is why this ingredient list has no baking powder and no measuring spoons full of small things.

Twenty minutes of work, fifty in the oven. So good, no one will guess it is gluten-free, the way Pamela's has done it since 1988.

Why the Mix Does the Structural Work

There is no baking powder, no baking soda, and no salt in this ingredient list, and that is not an oversight.

Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix is a complete mix, so the leavening and salt are already balanced in the bag. For a gluten-free cake that matters more than it does for wheat, because the ratio of leavening to starch is what decides whether the crumb is tender or gummy.

The mix this is built on Pamela's Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix A complete baking mix with the leavening and salt included. Pancakes, waffles, muffins, quick breads, biscuits, and cakes. GFCO-certified.

Weigh it if you can. We use 140 g per cup. Scooping a measuring cup through the bag compacts the mix and can add 20 g or more, and in a coffee cake that shows up as a dense, dry crumb or a cake that dips in the middle.

How to Marble It Properly

The filling goes in two layers, not one, and the order matters.

Spoon half the batter into the pan first and spread it to cover the bottom completely. Sprinkle half the filling evenly over it. Repeat with the remaining batter and the rest of the filling.

Do not swirl it with a knife. A gluten-free batter is softer than a wheat one and swirling drags the filling into streaks rather than leaving distinct layers. Layering gives you a cleaner ribbon when you cut it.

Spread each layer of batter gently to the edges. If the top layer does not reach the sides, the filling underneath can leak out and catch on the pan.

Getting It Out of the Pan

Run a knife around the edges while the cake is still warm, including around the center tube if you are using a bundt pan.

Then let it cool before you turn it out. A warm gluten-free cake is fragile, and this one is moist enough that it can tear if you rush it.

Glaze only once the cake is completely cool. A warm cake absorbs the glaze instead of holding it, and you lose the white ribbon across the top.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Yield 12

Serving Size 1 slice

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped to medium pieces, for the filling
1/4 cup granulated sugar, for the filling
1/4 cup light brown sugar, for the filling
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, for the filling
1/2 cup currants or raisins, soaked in hot water to plump then drained, for the filling (optional)
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (280 g) Pamela's Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup powdered sugar, for the glaze
2 tablespoons butter, softened, for the glaze
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, for the glaze
Pinch of salt, for the glaze
Zest of 1 orange or lemon, for the glaze
2 tablespoons orange or lemon juice, for the glaze
2 to 3 tablespoons water, for the glaze, plus more as needed

Shop Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix, 24 oz.

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-cup bundt pan or a 9-inch springform pan.
Make the filling. Mix the nuts, both sugars, the cinnamon, and the currants if using in a small bowl. Set aside.
Make the batter. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. On low speed, add the Pancake & Baking Mix and the sour cream alternately, beginning and ending with the mix, until just combined.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it to cover the bottom completely. Sprinkle half the filling evenly over it. Repeat with the remaining batter and the rest of the filling. Do not swirl.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
While the cake is still warm, run a knife around the edges and around the center tube. Let it cool completely, then remove from the pan.
Make the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, softened butter, vanilla, salt, zest, and juice until smooth, adding water a little at a time until it pours in a thin stream.
Pour the glaze back and forth over the cooled cake.

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1 comment

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Gluten-Free Pancake & Baking Mix, 24 oz.

One mix, a whole recipe box

Pancakes are just the beginning. This is the mix behind our most-loved waffles, banana bread, blueberry muffins, drop biscuits, crepes, and coffee cake. If you keep one gluten-free mix in the pantry, this is the one that earns its shelf space.

Also your waffle mix

The waffle recipe is printed right on the bag: separate the eggs, whip the whites, and fold them into the batter for waffles that bake up crisp outside and tender inside. Want extra crunch? Leave them in the iron a little longer.

Why it works

Cultured buttermilk gives a tender crumb, almond meal adds richness, and whole grains bring flavor most gluten-free mixes leave behind. It all started in Pamela's own Northern California kitchen in 1988, and it's still the #1 gluten-free pancake mix.

Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Cultured Buttermilk, Almond Meal, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Potato Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate), Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum.

Contains Milk and Almonds.

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, and Soy.

Recipe Tips & Notes

Measuring the Mix

Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix is a complete mix, which is why there is no baking powder, baking soda, or salt in this ingredient list. They are already in the bag.

It also contains almond meal and cultured buttermilk. The almond meal adds fat that keeps the crumb tender, and the buttermilk gives a slight tang that keeps a sweet cake from tasting flat.

Measure by weight if you can. Our recipes use 140 g per cup. Scooping the cup through the bag compacts the mix and can add 20 g or more per cup, which in a coffee cake shows up as dense and dry.

If your cake dips in the center, add a quarter to a half cup more mix next time. That is almost always a measuring difference rather than a recipe problem.

Storing and Freezing

Room temperature: 3 days in an airtight container. The sour cream keeps this one moist longer than most cakes.

Refrigerator: up to a week, though it firms noticeably. Let slices come back to room temperature before serving.

Freezer: up to 3 months, unglazed. Wrap the cooled cake tightly, thaw at room temperature, and glaze after thawing. Glaze does not survive freezing well.

Individual slices freeze well too, which makes this a good one to portion out.

Ways to Change It Up

Skip the glaze and dust with powdered sugar instead, which is lighter and faster.

Toast the nuts first. Eight minutes at 350 degrees F before chopping makes a noticeable difference.

Use a 9x13 pan for a crowd. Spread the layers the same way and start checking at 35 minutes, since a shallower cake bakes faster.

Swap the citrus. Orange is warmer, lemon is sharper, and both work against the cinnamon.

Add a half teaspoon of cardamom to the filling alongside the cinnamon.

Leave the currants out if you are not a raisin household. Nobody will miss them.

What This Contains

This recipe contains milk and tree nuts.

Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix contains almond meal and cultured buttermilk, so it cannot be made nut-free or dairy-free. The butter, eggs, and sour cream in this recipe add more dairy and egg.

The mix is also made on equipment that processes soy.

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

Recipe FAQs

Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix is a complete mix, so the leavening and salt are already in the bag. Adding more would make the cake rise too fast and collapse. That is also why this ingredient list is shorter than most coffee cake recipes.

Almost always too little mix, which usually comes from measuring by volume. Everyone scoops differently. Weigh it at 140 g per cup if you can, or add a quarter to a half cup more mix next time.

Whole-milk plain yogurt substitutes one for one and gives nearly the same result. Both add the acidity and fat that keep the crumb tender. Low-fat versions of either make a drier cake.

A 10-cup bundt pan or a 9-inch springform both work. A bundt gives you the classic shape and the center tube helps the middle bake through. A 9x13 works for a crowd, though it bakes faster, so start checking at 35 minutes.

Layer it rather than swirling it. Spread half the batter to cover the bottom completely, add half the filling, then repeat. Swirling with a knife drags the filling into streaks in a gluten-free batter, which is softer than a wheat one.