Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

This gluten-free chocolate chip coffee cake is soft, tender, and loaded with mini chocolate chips. The batter is made with sour cream for extra moisture, and half the chocolate chips get folded right into it while the other half go on top so they melt into a thin chocolate layer as it bakes. A buttery cinnamon streusel and a drizzle of vanilla glaze finish the whole thing off.

I make this for holiday mornings and weekend brunch, but it doesn’t need a reason. It holds up well at room temperature, so you can make it a day ahead and it’ll actually taste better once the flavors have settled. A warm slice with a cup of coffee is one of my favorite ways to start a slow morning.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Mini chocolate chips in every layer. Half get folded into the batter and half get sprinkled on top before the streusel goes on. The ones on top melt together and form a thin chocolate layer that firms up as the cake cools.
• Sour cream keeps it moist for days. The sour cream makes the crumb tender and adds just enough tang to balance all the sweetness. This cake actually tastes better the second day.
• Make it ahead. Bake it the night before and it’s ready to slice and serve in the morning. No reheating needed, though a few seconds in the microwave with melted chocolate chips is pretty great too.

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour – I’ve tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (blue bag), which contains xanthan gum. I haven’t tested other blends, so I can’t guarantee results with them since gluten-free flours vary a lot.
• Sour Cream – Full-fat sour cream works best and gives the cake its tender, moist crumb. You can substitute full-fat Greek yogurt in a pinch, but sour cream is worth using if you have it.
• Unsalted Butter – You’ll need butter at two different temperatures for this recipe. Room temperature for creaming into the cake batter, and melted and slightly cooled for the streusel. If the melted butter is too hot when you mix it into the streusel, it’ll melt the sugars instead of forming clumps.
• Mini Chocolate Chips – Mini chips distribute more evenly through the batter and don’t sink the way standard-size chips do. You’ll use half in the batter and half sprinkled on top before the streusel. The top layer melts together as it bakes and firms up into a thin chocolate layer as it cools.
• Cinnamon – Two teaspoons go into the cake batter and another half teaspoon goes into the streusel. It’s a noticeable amount, which works well against all the chocolate and brown sugar.

Don’t Skip the Streusel Chill

Refrigerating the streusel while you make the batter lets the butter firm back up. That’s what gives you those big, crumbly pieces on top instead of a flat, sandy layer. Even 10 minutes in the fridge makes a difference.

Step-by-Step Instructions

While it may seem like making gluten-free coffee cake has a lot of steps, they’re each really simple. There are three components to the chocolate chip coffee cake you need to make: the gluten-free streusel, the coffee cake, and the glaze. The below steps with matching photos are not meant to be the full recipe, but are there to help you see the recipe made at various stages so you can make it perfectly every time.

For the ingredient list with measurements, full instructions, printable recipe, and additional notes, please scroll down to the recipe card.

Make the gluten-free streusel by mixing together the gluten-free flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. You want a mix of small and big pieces of butter, about the size of a pea. Set aside. Cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar. Add the sour cream, milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix to combine. Mix In half of the mini chocolate chips. Pour the coffee cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the remaining mini chocolate chips. Top with the gluten-free streusel. Bake until golden brown and cooked through. Keep in mind that if you insert a toothpick into the center it may look wet because you are going through a layer of mini chocolate chips. Once cool, drizzle the top with the vanilla glaze. Once the glaze is set, slice into pieces and serve.

Recipe FAQs

What gluten-free flour blend works best for this coffee cake?

Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (blue bag). That’s the only blend I’ve tested this recipe with, and it’s what I’d recommend. If you use something else, I can’t guarantee you’ll get the same results.

Can I use regular-size chocolate chips instead of mini?

You can, but the cake won’t turn out the same. Regular chips are heavier and tend to sink in a batter this tender. The top layer also won’t melt into that thin chocolate sheet the way mini chips do.

Can I use a 9×9 pan instead of 8×8?

A 9×9 pan will work, but the cake will be thinner and will bake faster. Start checking around 25 minutes instead of 30.

Expert Tips

• Scrape down the bowl after each addition. Sour cream and egg like to cling to the sides and bottom. If they don’t get fully mixed in, you’ll end up with pockets of dry flour or streaks of unmixed batter in the finished cake.
• Check doneness with a thermometer, not a toothpick. There’s a layer of melted chocolate chips sitting right under the streusel, so a toothpick will look wet even when the cake is done. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the cake should read between 200 and 210°F. Start checking at 30 minutes.
• Let it cool completely before glazing. If the cake is still warm, the glaze will melt right off and soak into the streusel instead of setting on top. Give it at least 30 minutes on the counter.

Storage Instructions

Room Temperature : Store covered or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It actually tastes better the second day once the crumb has settled and the chocolate layer on top has firmed up.

Refrigerator : For longer storage, keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Let it come to room temperature before serving, or warm a slice in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.

Freezer : Cool completely, then wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature or warm in a 300°F oven for 5 to 8 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

A cup of coffee is pretty much mandatory with this, but it’s also great alongside tea or a mimosa if you’re doing brunch. For a fuller spread, set it out with something savory like my gluten-free quiche or crustless mini quiches to balance out the sweetness. If you want to keep the whole table sweet, my gluten-free blueberry muffins and gluten-free cinnamon rolls are both easy to make alongside this. And if you want to set out a coffee cake spread so people can try a slice of each, my gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake and gluten-free blueberry coffee cake are the obvious pairing.