Perfectly moist and fluffy apricot almond coffee cake made with almond flour. Enjoy a tart burst of apricot with a sweet almond crumble topping, and a moist fluffy cinnamon-scented cake. This delicious healthy coffee cake recipe is grain-free and refined sugar-free.
If you like the sound of this recipe you will LOVE these strawberry banana bread muffins and this lemon olive oil cake!
I'm fairly certain coffee cake is called “coffee” cake so we feel better about eating it for breakfast… without coffee 😉
Regardless, coffee cake is a delicious treat that needs to exist in your life. I prefer enjoying it in the late afternoon with a cup of strong earl grey tea. Jordan prefers enjoying coffee cake as his 3 main meals of the day. No judgment here, you do you.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This coffee cake is made using only wholesome ingredients, it is everything you love about coffee cake, cinnamon crumbles, perfectly moist cake, and the twist is a whisper of almonds and tangy sweet apricot jam. Let's just agree right here and now that you are going to make this recipe and then leave me a comment and let me know how epic it was. Deal?
Let's Get Baking!
Ingredients and Helpful Substitution Tips
Detailed measurements and ingredients can be found within the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Almond Flour – Any recipe that uses almond flour is not easily transferable to another flour. Almond flour is simply ground almonds and it is highly unique in the way it bakes. I prefer baked goods with almond flour for the nutrient density this flour offers.
- Arrowroot Starch – Also called arrowroot powder, if you don't have this ingredient in your healthy baking pantry I highly recommend purchasing it. Arrowroot helps improve the texture of gluten-free baked goods and is the perfect thickener for sauces, soups, and gravies.
- Ghee or Coconut Oil – Ghee is clarified butter and works really well in this recipe. What's cool about ghee is that the majority of the lactose is removed in the clarification process so most people with dairy sensitivities tolerate ghee well.
- Eggs – Large eggs. I would imagine this recipe would work well with flax or chia eggs as a replacement but I haven't tested it that way (if you do, leave a comment and let us know how it worked!)
- Coconut Palm Sugar – You can also use maple sugar which will give the cake a more ubiquitous light coffee cake color, or table sugar is also perfectly fine.
- Almonds – for crunch factor!
- Apricot Jam – For this recipe, I used Bonne Maman's “Intense” Apricot Jam, it was perfect!
- Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt – Ya know the standard necessary baking items
Tools You Will Need
- Mixing bowls
- 8×8 baking pan
- parchment paper
- Whisk
- Wooden Spoon
How to Make Gluten Free Coffee Cake
For this recipe, I used a base of almond flour and arrowroot powder. This combo resulted in a moist fluffy cake.
The formula for coffee cake is quite simple:
- Whisk together wet ingredients – set aside
- Whisk together dry ingredients – set aside
- Combine crumble topping – set aside
- Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients
- Add to a prepared pan
- Top with apricot jam
- Top with crumble topping
- Bake, cool, enjoy.
- Share or don't share… totally up to you.
What's the Difference Between Cake and Coffee Cake
The main difference between cake and coffee cake is the crumble topping. You can make a variety of different coffee cakes, blueberry, rhubarb, chocolate, cinnamon, to name a few. If you'd prefer a more classic coffee cake, try this classic gluten free coffee cake recipe.
Abra's Nutrition Notes 🤓 – Ghee
Let's talk about GHEE ba-by, let's talk about you and me!
What the heck is ghee?
Making ghee requires a simple age-old process that is a super flavorful foundation for authentic Indian cooking.
Ghee is butter that has been heated low and slow then strained to remove all milk solids, caseins, and whey. This process of heating and straining the milk solids removes almost all traces of lactose making it lactose-free.
This process also preserves the butter making it shelf-stable for long periods of time.
Is ghee better for me than butter?
There are definite benefits to using ghee in your cooking. It tends to be easier to digest because the milk solids have been removed. Ghee also contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 essential fatty acids along with vitamins A, D, E, and K. Ghee made from organic butter of pastured cows is one of the highest natural sources of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid).
Dietary Modifications for This Recipe
This recipe is naturally gluten-free, and paleo
- Dairy-Free – Use coconut oil in place of ghee
- Vegan – Use coconut oil in place of ghee
I can’t wait for you to try this Apricot Almond Coffee Cake! When you make it, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram @abrapappa or use the hashtag #abraskitchen so I can feature your photo!
If you’ve tried this recipe, don’t forget to rate and leave a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!
Apricot Almond Coffee Cake
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS
- 2/3 cup coconut palm sugar
- 3 tbsp ghee, melted
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Crumble Topping
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup ghee
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° prepare an 8×8 baking dish or use parchement paper
- In a medium bowl combine ingredients for the crumble topping. Your ghee should not be melted and the crumble should be clumpy. Use a spoon or two forks to combine. Place the bowl in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
- In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients, set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together wet ingredients until well combined, except apricot jam!
- Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour batter into prepared pan, top with apricot jam, and top with crumble topping.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake for 20 minutes, remove from the pan and serve. Top with powdered sugar (optional)
Notes
Nutrition
Try These Gluten-Free Baked Goods
Dana Suss says
Apricot and coffee?!?! I never would have thought but this recipe is my new favorite! Love all the flavors and how they compliment each other.