Rhubarb Coffee Cake

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!

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!

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).

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.

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.