This Pumpkin Spice Coffee Bundt Cake with a Cold Brew Frosting is naturally gluten-free, surprisingly easy to make, and makes for the perfect special breakfast treat to enjoy with coffee.
This Pumpkin Spice Coffee Bundt Cake is really something special. My love of crumbly, not too sweet coffee cake started when I was in elementary school. My BEST friend (you know, the friend who you alternate houses with each weekend for sleepovers?) had (actually, still has) an incredible mom who would always make sure that we had some kind of tasty treat in the kitchen waiting for us. When I’d stay over at their house, I’d bounce down to the kitchen to see what Mrs. Evans had planned. The things I learned to love in Mrs. Evans’s home: coffee cake, peanut butter cheerio crispies (like rice crispies, but made with peanut butter and cheerios …and usually M&M’s), chocolate frosting donuts from Shipleys, and sour cherry balls (these weren’t for breakfast, but I frequently visited the secret stash on the den entry table). SURE it was essentially all different forms of sugar and SURE that probably had something to do with my adoring her treat-selection skills, but gosh it formed some fun memories.
Note: (in case my equally sweet Mamma reads this) my Mom TOO was (IS) an incredible cook …but the sweet treats were slightly more few and far between in our home. Something for which I’m also thankful!
Okay, back to the Pumpkin Spice Coffee Bundt Cake with a Cold Brew Frosting.
My favorite treat in Mrs. Evans’s home (even when compared to the donuts), the one that would make me squeal, clap, and come back for 2nds, was fresh coffee cake. Though I didn’t drink coffee at the time, I could still appreciate the baking marvel that is coffee cake. It’s part fluffy cake, part crumbly pastry, partly sweet. It’s DIVINE.
Now, as an adult with my own home with my own set of visitors, I too like to make a special breakfast treat for when we have guests. My husband would joke with you that the *only* time he gets to enjoy things like coffee cake or blueberry scones are when we have visitors. Coffee cake is one of the easiest breakfast pastries out there and I’m thrilled that I landed on a solid adaptation from a conventional (wheat flour-filled) recipe to a gluten-free one.
THIS Pumpkin Spice Coffee Bundt Cake is even *more* special because of the following:
- It’s made in a bundt pan. This fact alone causes me to spontaneously quote the My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie. “There’s a hole in this cake…“
- It calls for a COFFEE icing. While you can absolutely use a few teaspoons from yesterday’s coffee, I made this variation with cold brew from my refrigerator. Not to be dramatic, but this frosting is life-changing.
- The crumble topping. Note that you will probably have a little leftover if your finished product looks like mine in these photos, so feel free to just plop the rest on the cake or on your plate.
- The dense, but still somehow fluffy, almond flour cake base. This cake bake is Paleo-friendly and one of the recipes I’m more proud of. It took a lot of work to get the chemistry right. Note that if you can’t eat almonds, you can substitute with other nut flours here 1-for-1! It will probably change the texture a bit, but it’s definitely a way you can modify. Think: cashew flour, hazelnut flour, etc. Do NOT think coconut flour …it calls for an entirely different chemistry.
- The Pumpkin Spice!! While you can skip this step (using simple cinnamon instead), the flavors really help bring out some Fall magic.
Can this be made egg-free?
It can! In fact, we tested a TON of different egg substitutes in several different baked goods, took all kinds of notes, and then laid it all out for you in this super helpful guide to egg-free baking. For cakes and cupcakes, we recommend subbing in plain Greek yogurt (¼ cup of yogurt per egg) – Greek yogurt made for fluffy and slightly crisp on the outside cakes that had a really delicious flavor and held together really well.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I love coffee cake, Mrs. Evans, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, cold brew coffee, and Fall.
Over and lovingly out,
Cassy Joy
Pumpkin Spice Coffee Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake Batter:
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 cup arrowroot flour
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter melted and at room temperature (may substitute with coconut oil or ghee))
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice may substitute with apple cider vinegar
For the Crumble:
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons almond flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice mix
- 2 tablespoons grass-fed butter room temperature (may substitute with coconut oil or ghee)
For the Icing:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons cold brew coffee
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease a bundt cake pan with butter, ghee, or coconut oil.
- Add all the dry cake batter ingredients (to include almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut sugar, spice mix, baking soda, and salt) together in a bowl and whisk until all clumps are broken up and it’s fully incorporated.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients (to include the melted coconut oil, eggs, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and lemon juice) together until even.
- Whisk in about ½ cup of the dry ingredients into the wet at a time. Continue to add ½ cup at a time until the dry is fully incorporated into the wet.
- Pour this cake batter into the bundt pan.
- Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
- In either a new bowl or the bowl you used for the dry ingredients, add all the ingredients for the crumble together (to include the coconut sugar, almond flour, spice mix, and room-temperature butter). Using either a pastry cutter or your fingers, thoroughly mix the ingredients together – making sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the icing (cold brew and powdered sugar). If the icing is too thick, add additional cold brew until you get your desired consistency.
- Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes, then remove from pan and plate face-down.
- Drizzle icing over cake and then sprinkle the top with the crumble.
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Can you use King Arthur Paleo flour blend?
Hey there Cassy Joy-you have your prep and cook time in hours 🙂
I made this a few weeks ago and it was a HUGE hit so I’m making it again the Thursday. YUM!!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Kimberly!
I made these as 18 mini bundt cakes and they did not disappoint. Freezing the leftovers to take to a halloween party next Saturday.
Do you have any suggestions for replacing almond flour? I am allergic to almonds wondering if you have a suggestion?
Thanks!
I LOVE coffee cake! And I love those memories of your friend’s mom – I hope my kids’ friends remember me the same way – I love making special treats for visitors!
What can you use in place of arrowroot flour? Or is it worth it to buy some? Do a lot of your other recipes call for the arrowroot flour?
You should be able to replace it with Tapioca flour/starch, which is a little bit more widely available!
So sorry! I was all set to make this but there is way too much sugar in it even if it is coconut sugar. I can’t even imagine making this with brown sugar. Maybe Paleo but over the moon for sugar content.
We definitely consider this one to be a treat! However, I think you may be able to cut the sugar content in half and have a less-sweet cake without affecting the texture too much.
I can’t wait to make this! Can this be made in a loaf pan?
It should be fine in a loaf pan! If you do go that route you may want to half the recipe, but still bake it for 30 minutes.
This looks DIVINE! Once I restock my arrowroot and get some organic powdered sugar I am so making this.
I hope you love it!
Looks so so yummy!! Did you try this with other sugars besides coconut? I’m thinking a light brown sugar would add really yummy caramel-y flavor but I don’t want to make it more dense. What do you think?
I haven’t tried this with anything other than coconut, but I think brown sugar could be an easy substitute. I’d love to know how it comes out if you give it a try!
Our beautiful recipe, very well explained and I believe it is not difficult to do, I will take the risk in the kitchen now, thanks for sharing!
I hope you love it, Berenice!