Rhubarb Coffee Cake

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! Perfect for brunch or dessert!

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com
Rhubarb Coffee Cake

An easy recipe for the most amazing gluten-free Rhubarb Coffee Cake!

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For the Apple Coffee Cake, click here.

For the Rhubarb Coffee Cake, read on!

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!

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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 texturemoist, 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 coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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!

Coffee cake, Strawberry rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb sauce… you name it we made it!

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).

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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.

To read more on why we love GFJules flour and why we are an brand affiliate click here (Bonus: there is a affiliate discount code at the end of the post!).

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.

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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!

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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.

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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.

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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.

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

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.

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Who wants a piece?

Just look at this texture!

And look at the rhubarb!

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Hope you love the rhubarb coffee cake as much as we do!

PIN it!

rhubarb coffee cake gluten free #glutenfreerecipes www.healthygffamily.com

Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you try.

Recipe

 

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5 from 6 votes

Rhubarb Coffee Cake

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 Time15 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Optional, Nut-Free optional, Gluten-free Vegetarian
Keyword: gluten-free dessert recipe, rhubarb recipe, gluten-free rhurbarb coffee cake, gluten-free coffee cake recipe, gluten-free rhurbarb recipe
Servings: 15 pieces
Author: Healthy Gluten-free Family

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

  • 1/2 cup butter I used Earth Balance butter alternative, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar note, this is more than the Apple Coffee Cake because rhubarb is much tarter
  • 1 large egg, room temperature ideally
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups gluten-free flour with xanthan gum We use GF Jules All purpose Flour (affiliate link)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk* *to 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 1/2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-2 inch pieces Note: the rhubarb shrinks a lot when it bakes

Topping

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts * if nut-free, sub gluten-free oats OR skip and increase sugar and cinnamon quantities if nut-free to 3/4 cup sugar and 3 teaspoons cinnamon.

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.
Tried this recipe?Mention @HealthyGFFamily or tag #HealthyGFFamily!

 

14 thoughts on “Rhubarb Coffee Cake

  1. 5 stars
    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

    1. 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.

  2. My favorite way to use rhubarb. We cut the sugar a little and used half the topping. It was still amazing!!!! Thank you.

  3. 5 stars
    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. ❤️

  4. 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.

  5. 5 stars
    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!

  6. 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.

  7. 5 stars
    Most excellent! Just loved this and will be a go to cake! I actually cut the sugar down to one cup as I am not a sweet tooth person and it was perfect for my tastes. But full sugar is probably great too!

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