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This cinnamon roll coffee cake is decadent, moist, and has a gooey cinnamon sugar swirl in the center. It’s topped with gluten free streusel, and finished with a simple vanilla glaze icing.
If you love coffee cake and cinnamon rolls, meet your new favorite breakfast treat: cinnamon roll coffee cake! This moist and decadent paleo cinnamon roll coffee cake has a gooey cinnamon sugar swirl, a sweet and crisp crumb topping, and it’s finished with a vanilla icing that hardens once cooled. It’s cake for breakfast, and it’s a winner in our house!
This recipe is basically a mash-up of my Fluffy Paleo Cinnamon Rolls and Gingerbread Coffee Cake, otherwise known as a match made in heaven. While I love making cinnamon rolls on special holidays, coffee cake is one of my favorite things to make when we have guests over. It serves a large number of people, and it’s easy to baked ahead of time, freeze, and serve later.
This cinnamon roll paleo coffee cake is a bit different than traditional coffee cake because much like cinnamon rolls, it’s fluffy, thick, and decadent. So, if you’re used to coffee cake being dry, crumbly, and bland, this recipe is the opposite of that.
For this recipe, I used a combination blanched almond flour, cassava flour, and arrowroot starch. This trio is the secret to getting the perfect fluffy texture in grain-free baking. As a quick tip, always whisk your dry ingredients together—either with a whisk or stand mixer. It will ensure an even consistency and no clumps.
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Making the Cinnamon Roll Paleo Coffee Cake Crumble
The crumble topping is buttery, sweet, and gets slightly crisp when baked. It’s made with blanched almond flour, coconut sugar, arrowroot flour, cinnamon, ghee, and a tiny bit of maple syrup. All of the ingredients are included in the recipe for the cake, so you won’t have to get any additional ingredients for the crumble.
When making my paleo cinnamon roll coffee cake, start by making the crumb topping first. This will allow it to set, which makes it easier to crumble over the cake.
To make the crumb topping, whisk the almond flour, coconut sugar, arrowroot starch, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Add the ghee and “cut” it into the dry ingredients with the side of a fork until a crumble forms. Once the ghee is broken down into small crumb pieces, add one tablespoon of maple syrup. Gently cut it into the crumble until it’s just incorporated. You don’t want to over-mix it, or it will start to stick together. Add the last teaspoon of maple syrup and cut it into the crumble gently.
Creating the Cinnamon Roll Swirl
The make the cinnamon swirl in the cake, combine all of the ingredients for the cake in a medium bowl. Then, combine all of the ingredients for the filling in a separate small bowl. The cake batter is quite thick, so don’t be thrown off by that. It gives the cake a more decadent texture and taste.
Spread 1/2 of the cake batter into your prepared baking pan with a spatula. Then, drop small spoonfuls of the filling evenly on top of the cake batter in the pan. To swirl it around, just use the tip of a knife to gently swirl the filling up and down. It’s perfectly OK if the batter moves around slightly. Then, spread the remaining cake batter on top of the filling with a spatula. Because the batter is thick, it’s best to transfer the remaining cake batter in small spoonfuls and gently spread it around.
Use your hands to crumble the topping evenly over the cake before baking. While the cake is baking, whisk together the ingredients for the vanilla icing. Make sure the cake cools slightly before drizzling the icing on the cake. (I know, waiting is the hardest part!)
If you’re not serving this cinnamon roll paleo coffee cake immediately, wait to add the icing until just before serving.
What I Love About This Paleo Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake Recipe
- This paleo coffee cake is moist, decadent, and has a gooey cinnamon sugar swirl in the center.
- The crumb topping on this paleo coffee cake is everything! It melts into the cake and turns slightly crisp went baked.
- This cinnamon coffee cake uses simple, whole ingredients. It’s paleo, grain-free, and dairy-free, but no one will know!
- You can serve cinnamon roll coffee cake for breakfast, brunch, or dessert with a little coconut milk ice cream! It’s great for holiday gatherings, too!
Tips and Tricks for My Paleo Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
- Make sure to whisk the flours and dry ingredients together well. This will improve the texture of the paleo coffee cake, and make it more fluffy.
- For the best texture and flavor, go with ghee for the crumble topping. If you’re dairy-free, use coconut oil instead.
- If you’re serving this up for breakfast, you can bake it ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container. Simply make the icing that morning, and pour it over the coffee cake just before serving.
- This coffee cake looks gorgeous when baked up in a traditional round coffee cake pan! Just grease the pan well, and remove the cake from the pan before pouring the icing on top.
Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake (Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, Paleo)
This cinnamon roll paleo coffee cake is decadent, moist, and has a gooey cinnamon sugar swirl in the center. It’s topped with a grain-free streusel, and finished with a simple vanilla glaze icing.
Ingredients
Crumb topping:
- ½ cup blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup ghee or coconut oil, room temperature (not melted)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
Cake:
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1 cup cassava flour
- ⅓ cup arrowroot flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup ghee or coconut oil, melted
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling:
- 3 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil, melted
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze (optional):
- ½ cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8 x 8 glass baking dish with coconut oil.
- For the crumb topping, whisk the almond flour, coconut sugar, arrowroot starch, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Add the ghee and “cut” it into the dry ingredients with the side of a fork until a crumble forms. Once the ghee is broken down into a crumble, add one tablespoon of maple syrup. Gently cut it into the crumble until it’s incorporated (don’t over-mix). Add the last teaspoon of maple syrup and cut it into the crumble gently. Set aside.
- For the cake, whisk together the almond flour, cassava flour, arrowroot flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and coconut sugar. Fold in the melted ghee, eggs, maple syrup, honey, and vanilla extract, and mix until a dough forms. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the ingredients for the filling.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the prepared baking dish with a spatula. Drop spoonfuls of the filling on top of the cake batter in the pan and use a knife to gently spread it around. It’s perfectly OK if the batter moves around slightly.
- Add the remaining batter to the pan and carefully smooth it over the filling. You may need to add the batter to the pan in small spoonfuls and then gently spread it overtop of the filling to get it to spread evenly.
- Using your hands, crumble the topping evenly on top of the cake.
- Bake for 38-40 minutes, or until the center is cooked through and a toothpick comes out clean.
- For the glaze, add the powdered sugar to a small bowl. Add the coconut milk and maple syrup and mix well with a small spoon until a glaze forms. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes prior to adding the glaze.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
Did you enjoy this paleo cinnamon roll coffee cake? Come back and let me know in the comments below!
Ally says
Can you make this ahead and just bake it the next morning?
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Yes! I would make the day before and chill the sliced rolls in the fridge in the pan you’re going to bake them in. Cover the pan tightly with food storage wrap. Then, set it out the next morning while the oven warms up before baking!
Arletta says
I made it for my son and he looooved it… so good, great taste and texture
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
Hi Arletta! Love hearing that, so glad he loved it!