This orange gingerbread coffee cake is perfectly moist, full of sweet gingerbread spices and orange flavor. It’s topped with plenty of cinnamon crumbles and an optional paleo white icing. Perfect to serve for a holiday brunch, dessert, or anytime! Gluten free, paleo, dairy free, refined sugar free.
Coffee cake is most definitely up there in my “top 3” things I love to bake. Maybe it’s even number 1!
Honestly, when it comes to paleo baking, I find coffee cakes to come out, MAYBE, almost identical to their non-paleo counterparts.
Or maybe I’m just imagining that – after all, it’s been awhile since I’ve eaten gluten. In any case, coffee cakes are my favorite thing to bake because they happen to taste damn incredible, and this orange gingerbread one is no exception.
Also, just an FYI, coffee cakes (along with banana breads) have the fastest rate of consumption in my house compared to anything else. Even cookies and brownies – seriously.
And by “rate of consumption”, I just mean how fast my family members and I finish a batch of something. Fancy schmancy way of telling you what we stuff our faces with without coming up for air.
But now for the details! I made an orange cranberry coffee cake last year that rocked my world. But really, it VERY MUCH did. So much so that I also made orange almond poppy seed muffins and cranberry orange pecan muffins with a similar mix of ingredients, and loved them every bit as much.
But now, it’s time for another coffee cake recipe, don’t you think? I felt like all the spicy gingerbread flavor would complement the orange so well, and it worked out just as I imagined!
The cake is sweetened with both coconut sugar and molasses, so all the flavors are balanced and nothing is overpowering. I used both almond and tapioca flour to get a moist but not too dense texture, and topped everything with lots of cinnamon crumbles mixed with raisins, pecans and spices. Are you dying over this yet?!
Because I was totally in that “go big or go home” mood when I made this coffee cake, I decided to add a coconut butter/honey drizzle that looks just like a white icing.
If you’re not a coconut fan, you can omit the icing without missing anything, BUT if you happen to like coconut, it definitely adds something special to the cake and takes 2 minutes to make.
This orange gingerbread coffee cake would be perfect for just about any occasion over the holiday season, especially if you need to bring something special AND healthy to a gathering. Then again, you might just want to bake this one and keep it all to yourself – you’ll see why soon enough. Let’s bake!
Orange Gingerbread Coffee Cake {Paleo, GF, DF}
Orange Gingerbread Coffee Cake {Paleo, GF, DF}
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 eggs room temp
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice room temp
- 2 tsp grated orange zest or from 1 large orange
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted and cooled (or melted butter)
- 6 Tbsp organic coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 tsp pure almond extract or vanilla if you prefer
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 6 Tbsp tapioca flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp Primal Palate gingersnap spice plus 1/2 tsp cinnamon OR
- 2 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp ginger + 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup raisins chopped if desired
Crumble Top:
- 1/4 cup grass fed butter or coconut oil cold, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 3 Tbsp organic coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup pecans chopped
- 2 Tbsp raisins
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- Pinch salt
Optional coconut butter glaze
- 3 Tbsp coconut butter melted**
- 1 1/2 tsp raw honey
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8 or 9” cake pan with parchment paper*
Prepare the topping first:
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Combine all ingredients except for pecans and raisins in a mixing bowl, and blend the mixture with a pastry blender or fork until a thick, crumbly mixture forms (see photo)
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Add the chopped pecans and raisins and use the fork or pastry blender to evenly distribute. Chill this mixture in the refrigerator until ready to sprinkle on the cake.
Prepare the cake:
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Combine the dry ingredients (except for raisins) in a mixing bowl by gently whisking, set aside
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In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the orange juice and zest, coconut sugar, and molasses until well combined. Add the melted coconut oil or butter and almond extract and whisk until smooth.
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With a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stir the dry ingredients into the wet gently until just moistened and no flour spots show, then fold in the raisins.
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Pour batter into prepared cake pan, scraping the bowl to get it all in. Sprinkle the prepared (and chilled) crumb topping over the top of the batter evenly to cover.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes* or until center is set and a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean/with crumbs)
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Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack to nearly room temperature before slicing. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm. Add optional coconut butter glaze if desired for serving. Enjoy!
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*For a 9” cake pan baking time will be about 25 minutes (ovens vary) and for 8” the time will be a few minutes longer. Check for doneness at 25 minutes to avoid overbaking!
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**Coconut butter needs to be melted gently. You can melt in a glass bowl in the microwave in increments of 5-7 seconds, stirring between each one, or allow the jar to sit in hot water until creamy.
Recipe Notes
*For a 9” cake pan baking time will be about 25 minutes (ovens vary) and for 8” the time will be a few minutes longer. Check for doneness at 25 minutes to avoid overbaking! **Coconut butter needs to be melted gently. You can melt in a glass bowl in the microwave in increments of 5-7 seconds, stirring between each one, or allow the jar to sit in hot water until creamy.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Orange Gingerbread Coffee Cake:
Want More Paleo Holiday Baking Recipes? Try One of These!
Paleo Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
Perfect Paleo Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Gingerbread Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies {Paleo & Vegan}
Thick Chewy Snickerdoodles {Paleo & Vegan}
Almond Butter Blossom Cookies {Paleo & Vegan}
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Natalie says
December 10, 2017 at 1:19 amYUM! This cake looks so good and so easy to make! I will definitely try this recipe soon ♥
Fruit Drinks says
April 12, 2018 at 5:38 amOrange Gingerbread Coffee Cake is new and unique item, I can not control to eat this one, very delicious item this is, I will eat very soon this Item, Thank you so much for sharing this cake with us…
Chelsea Villalba says
May 14, 2018 at 8:45 amThis is a really good, healthy alternative to traditional meatloaf. We loved it!