The Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe - My Natural Family (2024)

Rebecca Baron 31 Comments

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This is the best gluten-free cinnamon roll cake recipe that's like a cinnamon roll. It may just be the best cake I've ever eaten. Seriously, I had a hard time shooting a picture of it because I wanted to eat the whole thing right then and there. This is THE most tender cake I have ever had.

The Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe - My Natural Family (1)

I was asked to make the treat for a family party we were putting together and I gladly accepted. I have been wanting to experiment and create the best gluten-free recipe. I was very happy with the results and so was everyone who ate it. It was the hit of the party and no one cared that it was gluten-free or made from quinoa flour.

I can't taste the quinoa flour in this recipe because the cinnamon masks it so well. You could make it for breakfast, but I'm not the type of person to think regular cinnamon rolls are a suitable breakfast, so it's hard for me to want to recommend cake for breakfast. But, it doesn't seem any less healthy to me than regular cinnamon rolls.

The Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe - My Natural Family (2)

I thought that instead of rolls but making it in the form of a cake was a brilliant idea! This way a large piece can be cut or a small one depending on diet/preference. 🙂 If you want it to "look" more like a cinnamon roll you can take a glass or anything round and push it down into the cake to cut it after baking it. Doing it this way cuts out all the rolling and rising too!

This is so much easier and faster than traditional cinnamon rolls. I'm the kind of mom that's never going to make regular cinnamon rolls. That's just way too much work for me, so this is a compromise I'm willing to accept. I hope you enjoy thebest gluten-free cinnamon cake recipe ever.

Do you like cakes when they are hot or cold more? Let us know in the comments and how you enjoyed this cake.

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The Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe - My Natural Family (3)

The Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe

★★★★★5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Rebecca Baron
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Gluten-Free
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Description

This might just be one of the best cakes I have ever had. Seriously, I had a hard time shooting it because I wanted to eat the whole thing right then and there. I added tapioca starch to the quinoa flour and the texture was so tender and perfect. I reduced the sugar by ⅓ in the cake along with changing all ingredient amounts and the prep method(using melted butter instead of solid), and added milk. This is THE most tender cake I have ever had.

Ingredients

Scale

FOR THE CAKE:

  • 2 Cups Quinoa Flour *
  • ¼ Cup Tapioca Flour *
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • ¼ tsp Real Salt *
  • 3 Eggs
  • 10 Tbl Butter (melted, 1 ¼ sticks)
  • 2 tsp Vanilla
  • ¾ Cup Sour Cream
  • ¾ Cup Milk

FOR THE CINNAMON SWIRL:

  • 12 Tbl Butter (softened 1 ½ sticks)
  • ¾ Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Tbl Quinoa Flour *
  • 1 Tbl Cinnamon

FOR THE GLAZE:

  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 3 Tbl Milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the quinoa flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined.
  4. Pour the melted butter, eggs, and sour cream into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk together until combined. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan.
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter with the browned sugar, quinoa flour, and cinnamon until smooth. Scoop into a piping bag and cut the tip off(about ¼”). Pipe the cinnamon sugar/butter over the cake batter in swirls.
  6. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the middle is puffed and firm to the touch.
  7. While the cake is baking, make the glaze.
  8. In a mixing bowl, whisk the powdered sugar with the vanilla and milk until smooth, adding more or less milk for the preferred consistency.
  9. Remove the cake from the oven.
  10. Let cool for 5 minutes and drizzle the glaze across the top.
  11. Serve warm.

Notes

The quinoa flour will give the cake a very yellow color.

Keywords: Best, Tender, Healthy

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathie chapman

    Can you make this dairy free ? We follow a low fodmap diet, are gluten, dairy & soy free. By chance can you replace the butter & sour cream with something else ?

    Reply

  2. Brittany

    Tried this tonight, very good, moist and tender. I have celiac. My husband who eats gluten doesn't normally go for seconds of desserts and grabbed another piece, which must say something. I will make this again

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      Oh I am glad it worked well for both you and your husband! Thanks for the comment!

      Reply

  3. Rachel F.

    Hi! I was planning to make this cake again for my birthday in the next few days, however the recipe seems to have disappeared from this page. I tried loading the page on two different browsers and neither showed the recipe. Is it just my computer or did something change? If it's my computer is there a link you could give me to a printable page with the full recipe? Thanks, Rachel

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      Hey Rachel, Thank you for letting us know. That is really odd. I am not sure what happened there but I put the recipe back up. So you should be good now! Thank you for your patience. 🙂

      Reply

      • Rachel F.

        Thank you so much!! 🙂

        Reply

  4. Kelly

    Boy we miss cinnamon rolls at our house! I can't wait to make these for my boys this weekend. Yum.

    Reply

  5. Cydnee Knoth

    This cake sounds amazing! Your recipe has been pinned Rebecca.

    Reply

  6. Rachel F.

    This cake is incredible. I made it for Christmas and am going to make it again next week! I'm gluten intolerant and found out this fall I have to go off rice and potato as well. This was my first time making anything with quinoa flour, not to mention my first time attempting to bake a dessert since going off rice and potato, and it was PERFECTION. Thank you thank you thank you!!

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      You are so welcome. Glad we could be of help!

      Reply

  7. Diane

    HI Rebecca,

    I am so happy to see the post. First of all this inspires me in terms of making gluten free recipes. I have a child who is on the spectrum and who has serious health issues. I have been intending to try a gluten- free diet for him for many reasons. Also, I am so interested in the fact that you have biological and adopted children. I have 5 of my own and I have been thinking about adoption (sounds crazy). I would love to chat more!!

    Reply

  8. Jo-Lynne Shane

    I am positively DROOLING.

    Reply

  9. Karen

    What a brilliant idea! I may have to make this asap. 🙂

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      Please let me know how it turns out!

      Reply

  10. Kim G

    This cake looks delicious, I am anxious to try it for a Saturday morning breakfast at our house!

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      If you try it, please let me know how you like it.

      Reply

  11. My Natural Family

    Carrie Bernard - Please let me know if you like it!

    Reply

    • Carrie

      I made this for New Year's morning and we weren't crazy about the quinoa taste in this kind of sweet recipe. I'm making it for tomorrow morning, but this time I'm going to try it with a coconut blend four.

      Reply

      • Rebecca

        Will you please let us know how you like it with the alterations? Thanks for sharing!

        Reply

  12. Carrie Bernard

    Trying this as soon as humanly possible!

    Reply

  13. Jennifer Jones Simminger

    Yum

    Reply

  14. Bailey Dexter

    I am am so going to make this! These sound and look great!

    Reply

  15. christine

    was just thinking about making home made cinnamon rolls yesterday, yummm!

    Reply

  16. Leslie Harris

    I am so going to try this cake

    Reply

  17. Lauren

    SOOO Excited to try these! So happy I just found this 🙂

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      Please let us know what you think!

      Reply

  18. Sarah L

    Yummy looking recipe. I like cinnamon rolls.

    Reply

  19. Dani Osenbaugh

    These look delicious!! And thank you for making the recipe gluten free!

    Reply

    • Rebecca

      You're welcome. I LOVE cooking with quinoa flour.

      Reply

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The Best Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll Cake Recipe - My Natural Family (2024)

FAQs

Can I use gluten-free flour instead of cake flour? ›

Yes, but to reduce the protein content and make it more like cake flour, you should consider replacing about 5–10% of the all-purpose flour with corn starch. If you don't, the cake will still work, but it might be a bit less tender than if you had either used cake flour or ap+cornstarch.

What makes a gluten-free cake rise? ›

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

Does gluten-free flour take longer to bake? ›

Gluten-free goods tend to brown faster and take longer to cook through. So they need to be baked at a slightly lower temperature, for a slightly longer time. Every recipe is different, but in general, try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and baking the item for 15 minutes longer.

How do you keep gluten-free cake fresh? ›

Gluten-free baked goods don't tend to stay as fresh for as long as those with gluten, so freezing is a great option. Gluten-free also tends to dry out quicker than gluten-filled baked goods. For best results don't wait longer than a couple of days after baking to freeze.

Which flour is best for gluten free cakes? ›

What's the best gluten-free flour for baking? Bob's Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking mix is my favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for baking. It has a mild texture and plenty of "stick" thanks to a blend of sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour, plus some starches and xanthan gum.

What is the trick to baking with gluten-free flour? ›

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

Do gluten-free cakes need more liquid? ›

Add extra liquid: Gluten-free flours tend to absorb more liquid than regular flour, so you may need to add more liquid to your recipes to compensate. This can help to keep your baked goods moist and prevent them from becoming dry and crumbly.

Should you let gluten-free cake batter sit before baking? ›

We recommend covering your batters and doughs and letting them rest for at least half an hour. Note: This will also help batters become thicker and doughs to firm up.

What does cream of tartar do in gluten-free baking? ›

When combined with baking soda, it becomes a leavening agent (the stuff that makes baked goods puff up in the oven) by producing carbon dioxide gas. If you ever run out of baking powder, you can substitute 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar for 1 teaspoon baking powder.

Why is my gluten-free cake rubbery? ›

Gluten-free baked goods often benefit from extra liquid to hydrate the flour blends, eliminate grittiness, and achieve a less dense or dry texture. However, it's very important to drive off this extra moisture during baking, or you'll wind up with a gummy texture. The best way to do this? Longer baking times.

What gluten-free flour is closest to regular flour? ›

Brown rice flour is about as close to a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour as it gets since it provides structure and a “wheat-like” flavor.

What does baking soda do in gluten free baking? ›

Texture and Rise: Gluten-free baking often requires a bit of finesse to achieve the desired rise and texture. Baking soda's reaction with an acid can help achieve that necessary lift, while baking powder provides an extra boost when the batter or dough is exposed to heat.

Why do gluten free cakes fall? ›

Sinking cakes are a common complaint of gluten-free bakers but rest assured, it can happen to those who use wheat flour, too. A cake that puffs up as it bakes and deflates as it cools usually has had air beaten into the batter too quickly or vigorously.

Why does my gluten free cake sink in the middle? ›

YOUR CAKE IS SINKING IN THE MIDDLE OR NOT RISING

You may not have used enough raising agents. I do recommend experimenting with double action baking powders. Otherwise try using 25 percent more chemical raising agents (baking soda or baking powder) if you're converting a recipe to gluten free.

Why do gluten free cakes taste grainy? ›

The Cake Is Gritty:

If your cake turned out gritty, you used a gluten free flour blend that isn't milled as finely. Usually, rice flour is the main culprit of gritty gluten free cake.

Is gluten-free flour the same as cake flour? ›

No, cake flour is not gluten-free. Cake flour falls under the category of wheat flours. Although it does produce less gluten than all-purpose flour, it's still not recommended for people with gluten intolerance.

Does gluten-free flour affect cake? ›

Gluten is a protein and is found in all standard flours used for cake making. It gives cakes their structure and moist texture. Without gluten, cakes are drier, crumbly and have a shorter shelf life but there are a number of ways you can use to try and counter this.

What can I substitute for cake flour? ›

Making a cake flour substitute is easy with the following two ingredients: all-purpose flour and either cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Start with one level cup of AP flour, remove two tablespoons of the flour, and add two tablespoons of cornstarch or arrowroot powder back in.

Which gluten-free flour is closest to all-purpose flour? ›

Brown rice flour is about as close to a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose flour as it gets since it provides structure and a “wheat-like” flavor.

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