This grain-free pumpkin coffee cake is the perfect fall cake to accompany soups, salads, tea, or coffee! It would even go with hot chocolate if coffee isn’t your cup of tea! Anyways, I love this coffee cake because it has a nice light, moist texture and an amazing sweet taste. The pumpkin flavor is perfectly complimented by the blend of fall spices and the amazing maple glaze on top. This cake is the epitome of fall, with the delicious spices, pumpkin flavor, and sweet glaze to top things off! It is the perfect modern pioneer recipe to whip up this fall!
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Modern Pioneer Recipe
This grain-free pumpkin coffee cake is a simple and wholesome modern pioneer recipe! Made with grain-free flour, fresh eggs (from your homestead flock hopefully), pureed pumpkin (maybe homegrown?), unrefined sweeteners, and organic spices… this coffee cake recipe is perfect for the homestead kitchen!
This pumpkin coffee cake pairs nicely with a variety of fall meals and beverages. I commonly serve coffee cake with soups, but sometimes I’ll whip it up to go with fried fish (wild caught), salads (with homegrown produce), or to have for breakfast with a cup of herbal tea! Pumpkin coffee cake makes a fantastic snack or breakfast when served with an herbal tea or homemade hot chocolate, or coffee as the name suggests!
Not only is this grain-free pumpkin coffee cake bursting with fall flavors, it is also allergy-friendly! This pumpkin coffee cake recipe is…
- gluten-free
- grain-free
- nut free
- corn free
- soy free
- refined sugar free
- anti-inflammatory
- dairy-free option
I love a good slice of coffee cake with some fried eggs to start the day off right, or enjoying a slice as a cozy mid-afternoon snack to fuel the rest of my day. For another one of my favorite coffee cake recipes, make sure you check out this sweet gluten-free coffee cake made with cinnamon sugar and an oat crumble topping!
Tips for Baking with Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a very versatile vegetable. It’s kind of like zucchini, you can put it in baked goods and you would never even know it’s there (check out these grain-free zucchini bars)! Pumpkin creates a nice moist, light texture in baked goods. When combined with other spices, like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, pumpkin creates a deliciously, mouthwatering taste that totally reminds me of fall!
And if you happen to grow pumpkins on your homestead, pumpkin recipes are kind of mandatory when it comes harvest time! Before you start adding pumpkin to everything, take a look at these few tips for baking with pumpkin:
- Size Matters– Small pumpkins have the best flesh for baking with. That’s why pie pumpkins are always smaller than jack-o-lantern pumpkins.
- Varieties– There are also different varieties of pie pumpkin that may vary slightly in taste, texture, and firmness. Some favorites include Baby Bear, Cinderella, and Early Sweet Sugar Pie.
- Fresh , Frozen, or Canned– Using fresh pumpkin, frozen pumpkin, and canned pumpkin will make a difference in recipes. Fresh pumpkin provides more flavor. Frozen pumpkin will add more moisture. Canned pumpkin tends to be thicker and, depending on the brand, may not have as bold of a flavor.
Got lots of pumpkin waiting to be baked into fall treats and goodies? Make sure you check out Grain-free Pumpkin Bars or Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie for more amazing ways to bake with pumpkin!
Coffee Cake Tips: Glaze or Crumble?
When I started creating the recipe for this grain-free pumpkin coffee cake, I had a couple of decisions to make. First, did I want it to be just gluten-free or did I want it to be gluten-free and grain-free? I opted for gluten-free and grain-free because I felt there were less grain-free coffee cake options out there to choose from. So this recipe would be more unique and tailored for more modern pioneers with stricter dietary guidelines.
Secondly, did I want to top the coffee cake with a crumble, a glaze, or both? The one issue with a crumble was I felt that I couldn’t make a true crumble without using oats (I love oats!). If I used oats in a crumble, the coffee cake would no longer be grain-free. So I switched to considering a glaze. Traditionally, my mom always topped our coffee cake with a glaze, so I decided I want to stick with the tradition.
I made my glaze with maple sugar because maple and pumpkin go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you don’t have access to maple sugar, you can easily substitute in powdered coconut sugar. Coconut sugar gives the glaze a more caramel flavor, which also pairs well with pumpkin! It will also make the glaze darker in color.
If you have no qualms about using oats and making a gluten-free crumble topping for this coffee cake, check out the crumble recipe featured in my gluten-free coffee cake recipe. Or if you want to try a grain-free crumble recipe, check out the crumble featured in this grain-free peach pie recipe!
About The Ingredients
Learning about the different ingredients in a recipe, and why they are included, can make you a smarter modern pioneer baker in the homestead kitchen. Here I will highlight just a few of the ingredients that I used in this recipe and why I used them. I didn’t include pumpkin in this list because I felt it was fairly obvious why I included pumpkin in the recipe!
- Apple Cider Vinegar- Apple cider vinegar helps give the coffee cake some lift when it reacts with the baking soda.
- Cinnamon, Clove, & Ginger- These three spices are ones that pair with almost everything pumpkin related! They give the coffee cake a slight ‘pumpkin pie’ flavor.
- Maple Syrup- Maple syrup is a natural sweetener that pairs well with the pumpkin and adds some moisture. It helps keep the cake naturally sweetened and refined sugar free.
- Coconut Sugar– Coconut sugar is the other sweetener in this recipe and it is included to give the cake a more cake-like taste and texture since it is a granulated sugar.
- Tapioca Flour and Coconut Flour- I chose a combination of tapioca and coconut as my flour for this recipe because I didn’t want to use anything to exotic, I wanted to keep it grain-free, and I wanted it to be tree nut free too!
- Coconut Milk- To make this coffee cake dairy free, I used coconut milk! You can substitute any dairy free milk option for the coconut milk.
Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe Tips
I always find recipe tips helpful for when I am making a recipe for the first time. Hopefully by providing you with these tips, they will ensure that your pumpkin coffee cake turns out just as perfectly as mine!
- Fresh Pumpkin– I used fresh pumpkin in my recipe, if you are using frozen or canned pumpkin, you may want to add the coconut milk in increments. If the batter is too thick after all the coconut milk is added, add more coconut milk one tablespoon at a time.
- Consistency– The correct consistency for this coffee cake will seem very dry compared to traditional coffee cake batters. The coconut flour will absorb moisture as you combine the ingredients, but don’t worry, the end results are not too dry!
- Room Temp Eggs– Using room temperature eggs in this recipe will help all of the ingredients combine better and will even help the coffee cake rise correctly!
- Mixing Sequence– Mix all of your dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients to ensure that everything is mixed evenly.
- Substitutions– As for ingredient substitutes, the only ones that I would advise would be trading out coconut sugar for a different granulated sugar or switching out the coconut milk for a different dairy-free alternative.
Grain-free pumpkin coffee cake is a delicious, fall cake that is easy to make and healthy for you! It is bursting with fall flavors and have the most wonderful moist, light texture so as you would never know that it is grain-free. Give this coffee cake a try!
Grain-free Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic, pureed pumpkin
- 2 organic, pasture raised eggs room temp
- 1 T. apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup organic coconut milk
- 1/4 cup organic coconut sugar
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill tapioca flour
- 3/4 cup organic coconut flour
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1 T. organic cinnamon
- 2 T. organic coconut sugar
Maple Glaze
- 1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple sugar
- 2 T. tapioca flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly coconut oil an 8×8 glass baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients.
- Add the maple syrup, eggs, apple cider vinegar, and pumpkin. Stir until combined. Add the coconut milk and mix gently. The batter will thicken as you stir.
- Smooth into the glass baking dish. Combine the cinnamon swirl ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle it over the cake and use a knife to swirl the cinnamon mixture into the top layer of batter. Gently smooth out the ridges.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes. The cake should bounce back when pressed gently with a finger. Let the cake cool on a cooling rack while you make the glaze.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter or coconut oil over low heat. Add the maple sugar and tapioca flour. Stir until it thickens and starts to boil. Drizzle over the coffee cake. Cool and serve!
Where to Find the Ingredients
- Bragg’s organic apple cider vinegar
- Anthony’s organic coconut sugar
- Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- Nutiva coconut flour
- Pacific coconut milk
- Organic pumpkin puree
- Simply Organic cinnamon
- Simply Organic ginger
- Organic maple sugar
- Supplies: 8×8″ glass baking dish, small saucepan
Grain-free pumpkin coffee cake is a favorite fall recipe on my homestead! During the fall, this coffee cake is a staple to serve with a warm bowl of butternut squash soup or chicken noodle soup. It also makes for a quick and easy breakfast that gives you fuel for morning chores! I love that this pumpkin coffee cake not only tastes delicious, but is a healthy cake too. It contains minimal sugars, is gluten-free and grain-free, and is made using simple, wholesome ingredients. The perfect fall cake for the homestead if you ask me!
Don’t miss any other delicious fall recipes to try this season! Make sure you join our modern pioneer newsletter community for new recipes, modern pioneer baking tips, and ways to live a sustainable modern pioneer lifestyle!
by Alexa
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