One of my favorite treats growing up... tastes even better gluten-free! The most amazing texture - moist, soft & fluffy, packed with tart juicy rhubarb and topped with the yummiest cinnamon sugar crumble!
Rhubarb Coffee Cake
An easy recipe for the most amazing gluten-free Rhubarb Coffee Cake! Perfect for brunch or dessert!
New! I added a cooking video to this page so you could see how easy is it to make this gluten-free Rhubarb Coffee Cake!
If you’re new to this website, at the bottom of every recipe page is a printable recipe with exact measurements and directions.
Enjoy!
Original post…
This recipe from my Mom was one of my favorites growing up. A few years ago, I finally made it Gluten-free and oh my goodness, SO GOOD!
I hadn’t had it in years and it is every bit as good as I remember… maybe even better.
Perfect texture — moist,light and fluffy, perfect amount of sweetness, juicy tangy rhubarb and the best cinnamon-sugar crumble on top!
This is a must try during rhubarb season!
Perfect for an occasion like Easter (when it’s late in the calendar!), Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or just an anytime treat!
Have you tried rhubarb before?
Rhubarb is a plant that grows like celery and it’s actually a vegetable even though it is usually prepared as a dessert. It is very tart so it is usually paired with sugar so that it is still tangy but balanced out a bit.
My Great Grandfather used to grow it and it literally grew like weeds so he was giving huge amounts of it to my mom who would in turn make rhubarb everything!
This gluten-free coffee cake is one of the easiest recipes to make too!
It’s made with 12 pantry staples + the rhubarb:
Butter or dairy free butter alternative
brown sugar
egg
vanilla extract
gluten-free all purpose flour (we used GFJules Flour, affiliate link)
salt
baking soda
buttermilk or sour milk (just milk + apple cider vinegar)
sugar
cinnamon
and chopped walnuts (used only in the crumble, omit if nut-free).
As an aside, one of the reasons with love GFJules flour so much is that it allows us to make all our favorite family recipes so easily! And this coffee cake is a perfect example!
The recipe required no adaptations other than using GFJules gluten-free flour to taste just like I remembered my mom’s rhubarb coffee cake to taste like growing up.
And, purchasing through an affiliate link generates a small percentage of the sale for me, but does not change your cost at all. So purchasing through an affiliate link helps me fund this website and all the recipes I share, so thank you!
Back to the gluten-free Rhubarb Coffee Cake…
The prep time is really minimal.
The cake itself is made with 9 ingredients, is nut-free and takes no more than 10 minutes to mix it all together.
The first thing you need to do is make your “buttermilk” (you could always purchase buttermilk and skip this step)
Add the apple cider vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then add your milk of choice and let sit for 10 minutes while it curdles. Super simple!
Next I like to make the crumble and set it aside.
For the crumble, all you need is:
sugar
cinnamon
and chopped walnuts
Allergy friends: nuts are used only in the crumble, if allergic to walnuts, you could substitute pecans or if nut-free maybe oats or just use cinnamon sugar… lots of choices!
Then mix together the batter…
Start by creaming the butter and sugar. Then add in egg and vanilla.
Meanwhile mix together your dry ingredients… this both combines them and makes the flour finer which helps give the coffee cake great texture.
Then alternately mix in the buttermilk and flour mix.
The batter will be thick.
Stir in the Rhubarb.
Pro tip: If using a mixer, just mix for a quick second so as to not break the rhubarb. I will often just mix by hand.
Pour and then spread evenly into a pan.
We like to place parchment paper in the pan so that it comes out easily when you serve it.
Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar crumble all over the top, and bake!
Pro tip: Be sure to read the directions on baking… I like to cover loosely with foil the last 10 minutes so that crumble doesn’t over cook.
Let sit in the pan and continue to set and cool.
Then if you used parchment paper, remove from pan and let cool on a baking rack. If you skip this step if will be fine.
Who wants a piece?
Just look at this texture!
And look at the rhubarb!
Hope you love the rhubarb coffee cake as much as we do!
PIN it!
Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you try.
This family recipe was one of my favorites growing up and now we make it gluten-free and It's even better than I remember it! Soft and fluffy, moist, packed with tart juicy rhubarb and topped with an amazing crumble! This super easy recipe is perfect for breakfast, snacking, brunch or dessert!
Prep Time15mins
Cook Time40mins
Total Time55mins
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: Gluten-free Vegetarian
Servings: 15pieces
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
1/2cupbutterI used Earth Balance butter alternative, room temperature
1 1/2cuppacked brown sugarnote, this is more than the Apple Coffee Cake because rhubarb is much tarter
1cupbuttermilk or sour milkto make: add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then add enough milk to make 1 cup total; let sit 10 minutes
1 1/2cuprhubarbraw & cut into 1-2 inch pieces
Topping
1/2cupsugar
2teaspoonscinnamon
3/4cupchopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9 x13 pan with parchment paper. (You could grease the pan but I like the parchment paper because then you can lift the entire coffee cake out and cut into perfect pieces)
Prepare the Cinnamon Sugar Crumble by combining all ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and brown sugar until well combined.
Mix in egg.
Add vanilla and mix to combine.
Combine flour, salt & baking soda in a medium bowl and mix with a pastry cutter, whisk or fork.
Add flour mixture and sour milk alternately into butter/sugar/egg mixture until well blended
Stir in rhubarb.
Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Sprinkle crumble topping on top of cake batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until a knife comes out of center clean. I like to bake uncovered for 30 minutes, then cover with foil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes so that it is well cooked in the center but topping doesn't over brown.
This recipe looks DIVINE! My grandfather used to grow rhubarb and I’d always have tons in my freezer for recipes — wish I’d had this one then! I can’t wait to make it (as soon as I get an oven again!).
~jules
Thanks Jules! We have lots of rhubarb recipes because my Great-Grandfather used to grow tons of rhubarb and gave it all to my mom! This is my all time favorite and my mom and I actually think it’s better with GF flour, ha! You need to work on getting that oven! Let me know if you make it.
So GOOD! I made it vegan style and it turned out perfect. 15/10 recommend this recipe and all others posted. Super satisfied with all the recipes I’ve tried from her. ❤️
This was delicious! I got rhubarb in my farm share and usually put it in banana bread but didn’t have any bananas or premade mix on hand so was looking for other options. I don’t usually have luck when I make gluten free cakes /baked good from scratch as far as getting the exact texture and moisture level I want. This is hands down was the best gluten free cake I have made from scratch as far as texture and moistness. I used the King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour and almond milk was very pleased with the results.
Yay! So happy you love it! Every time I make it, I am so pleased with the texture and moisture level too! Tastes just like I remember growing up!Thank you!!
I love rhubarb desserts and this was absolutely delicious! The cake was fluffy, moist, and perfectly sweetened – but you could still taste the rhubarb (which is the point, right?!) I used my favourite go-to blend of gf flour, coconut sugar (that’s all I had), and also added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the batter (I love it!) Definitely will make this again (and again)! Thanks so much!
I had something terrible happen. I found out I have arsenic poisoning…from rice. I can no longer eat any gluten free flour blend that has any rice in it at all. G.F.Jules flour, which I love, is totally off the table for me. Now I have to be gluten free but also rice free! I have to either reformulate many of my recipes or toss them, even my favorites. Not sure why I’m telling you this, but maybe someone has suggestions. Thank you.
Hi! My name is Karen, and I’m the mom in our Healthy Gluten-Free Family. My posts and pictures here and on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter are labors of love that allow me to share a very personal journey with you, one our family has taken together — learning, experimenting and sharing how to raise a healthy happy gluten-free family. Read more ...
This recipe looks DIVINE! My grandfather used to grow rhubarb and I’d always have tons in my freezer for recipes — wish I’d had this one then! I can’t wait to make it (as soon as I get an oven again!).
~jules
Thanks Jules! We have lots of rhubarb recipes because my Great-Grandfather used to grow tons of rhubarb and gave it all to my mom! This is my all time favorite and my mom and I actually think it’s better with GF flour, ha! You need to work on getting that oven! Let me know if you make it.
Where’s the coffee or do you serve it with coffee? LOL
haha I’ll eat this with or without coffee any day!
My favorite way to use rhubarb. We cut the sugar a little and used half the topping. It was still amazing!!!! Thank you.
Yesss! I love it too! Thank you!
So GOOD! I made it vegan style and it turned out perfect. 15/10 recommend this recipe and all others posted. Super satisfied with all the recipes I’ve tried from her. ❤️
Thank you SO much! Happy you loved it! Curious, what did you use as the vegan egg substitute?
This was delicious! I got rhubarb in my farm share and usually put it in banana bread but didn’t have any bananas or premade mix on hand so was looking for other options. I don’t usually have luck when I make gluten free cakes /baked good from scratch as far as getting the exact texture and moisture level I want. This is hands down was the best gluten free cake I have made from scratch as far as texture and moistness. I used the King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour and almond milk was very pleased with the results.
Yay! So happy you love it! Every time I make it, I am so pleased with the texture and moisture level too! Tastes just like I remember growing up!Thank you!!
I love rhubarb desserts and this was absolutely delicious! The cake was fluffy, moist, and perfectly sweetened – but you could still taste the rhubarb (which is the point, right?!) I used my favourite go-to blend of gf flour, coconut sugar (that’s all I had), and also added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the batter (I love it!) Definitely will make this again (and again)! Thanks so much!
Yay! So happy you loved it too! Thank you!!
I had something terrible happen. I found out I have arsenic poisoning…from rice. I can no longer eat any gluten free flour blend that has any rice in it at all. G.F.Jules flour, which I love, is totally off the table for me. Now I have to be gluten free but also rice free! I have to either reformulate many of my recipes or toss them, even my favorites. Not sure why I’m telling you this, but maybe someone has suggestions. Thank you.