Cranberry Coffee Cake with Oat Flour
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This cranberry coffee cake is similar to traditional coffee cake but is gluten and refined sugar-free. It’s made with oat flour, studded with tart cranberries, and topped with an oat crumble. It’s the perfect treat for impromptu holiday hosting, and it’s ready in just 50 minutes.
This cranberry coffee cake is one of those festive treats I like to keep on hand during the holidays. It’s moist, flavorful, and just sweet enough, which makes it perfect for slicing any time of day—breakfast, afternoon coffee, or an easy dessert.
I make it with coconut oil instead of butter, oat flour in place of regular flour, and honey for sweetness. It starts with a quick cranberry layer made by simmering cranberries with honey until jammy, plus a simple three-ingredient crumble made from oats, coconut sugar, and coconut oil. The cake batter comes together the usual way—wet ingredients first, then dry—before everything gets layered into the pan and baked until golden.
I love serving this coffee cake at room temperature or slightly warmed, especially alongside a pot of coffee. It’s welcoming, unfussy, and exactly the kind of cozy bake that makes holiday gatherings feel relaxed and inviting.
Ingredient substitutions
This recipe is really flexible so you can use what you have on hand, or tailor it to your taste and preferences.
- Milk – you can use regular milk, or any non-dairy milk alternative like almond milk, oat milk, soy, or coconut cereal milk.
- Oat flour – you can also use whole wheat flour or a mix of both. Scroll down for tips on making oat flour with a blender. Use certified gluten-free oats if necessary.
- Oats – regular rolled oats are what we use, but you can use quick oats in a pinch. Use certified gluten-free if needed. Steel-cut oats will not work in this recipe.
- Coconut sugar – any type of sugar will work like cane sugar, brown sugar, or granulated sugar.
How to make your own oat flour
Buying oat flour can be expensive, but it’s easy to make at home. All you need is a blender and rolled oats. To make oat flour, place rolled oats in your blender and blend on high for 30 seconds, until the mixture resembles flour. If you like baking with oat flour, blend more and store it in a jar or container to save yourself a step next time!
Store and freeze
How long does it keep on the counter? This cranberry coffee cake will keep for 3-4 days when well-wrapped or sealed in a container on the counter.
Can I freeze it? Definitely! Bake it ahead and let it cool completely before storing it in a freezer-proof container. It will keep in the freezer for up to a month. Allow it to thaw on the counter at room temperature for 3-4 hours.
Cranberry Coffee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
The Coffee Cake
The Cranberry Layer
- 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¼ cup honey
The Crumble
- ¾ cups oats
- ¼ cups coconut sugar
- ¼ cup coconut oil (melted)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9×11-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Begin by making the cranberry layer, add the cranberries and honey to a small pot. Bring them to a simmer over medium-high heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the cranberries begin to break down.4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, ¼ cup honey
- To make the crumble, mix the oats, coconut sugar, and melted coconut oil in a small bowl.¾ cups oats, ¼ cups coconut sugar, ¼ cup coconut oil
- In a large bowl, whisk the milk, melted coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla.1 cup milk, ½ cup coconut oil, ½ cup honey, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the oat flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined.1 ¾ cups oat flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and dot the cranberries over the batter – the batter is quite thin so the cranberries will fall into the batter a little. Top with the crumble.
- Bake the cranberry coffee cake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until it puffs up slightly and the edges start to brown. Let the cake cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting it into 12 slices and serving.
Nutrition
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This is my second time making this. I had leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving and this is a great way to use it up. I used maple syrup in the topping and coconut sugar, as I didn’t have any honey on hand. It turned out great.
Great call on the cranberry sauce!