This Blackberry Coffee Cake is my new favorite breakfast. It is moist and flavorful with a crunchy almond topping. It pairs perfectly with fresh berries and a good cup of coffee. This easy recipe is low carb, keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
In this free 5-day email series learn all my tips for incorporating a low-carb lifestyle into the life of your family.
Cake for breakfast is one of the great pleasures in life. Whoever came up with coffee cake is a genius. Every good cup of coffee needs a bite or two of something sweet alongside. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that way.
This is based on my Cranberry Walnut Crumb Cake from last fall. I love that cake but cranberries scream fall to me and I wanted a springier version. You can use any berries you like in this. I enjoyed the blackberries but the batch I had did have extra large seeds. If that would bother you choose another berry instead.
Does Coffee Cake have Coffee in it?
Nope. My kids still can't believe this. Coffee cake is called coffee cake because it goes well along with a cup of coffee. This Blackberry Cake is a traditional Coffee Cake that is lightly sweetened so it isn't overpowering in the morning. But it is still sweet enough and enough of a treat to be a great dessert at the end of the day.
I try to keep my recipes simple, with the exception of a few fancy special occasion desserts. As far as homemade, from scratch, cakes go this one is very simple. You can just mix the batter in a bowl with a wooden spoon and then dump the crumb topping ingredients in the food processor and pulse. This is delicious even without the topping if you want to simplify it further.
What baking pan should I use?
Any 8 x 8 pan will work. But, isn't my new glass baking dish pretty? I use 8 x 8 glass baking dishes several times a week so when I saw this one I had to have it. It's a nice change from the two pyrex dishes I've been rotating between for the last 10+ years.
Blackberry Coffee Cake Ingredients:
Almond Flour - I’ve really come to prefer almond flour in baked goods. It gives a tender crumb in cakes, cookies, and biscuits.
Coconut Flour - Just a little bit of coconut flour goes a long way. Coconut flour helps to balance the oiliness of almond flour since it is naturally drier and absorbs more liquid than other alternative flours.
Sugar-Free Sweetener - I like to use a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia in my recipes. You can purchase this pre-mixed from the Trim Healthy Mama website or mix your own according to my recipe. By using a combination of sugar alcohols and stevia you can use half the amount required of regular sugar. Since these sweeteners can be more expensive this helps with my food budget.
Coconut Milk - coconut milk helps keep dairy-free baked goods moist and tender.
Baking Powder
Vanilla - With the price of vanilla being astronomical I decided to try a Mexican vanilla extract and have been happy with the results. It is much much cheaper than other vanilla extracts. I got 5 oz for under $6.
Coconut Oil - I use refined or butter flavored coconut oil in recipes that I don't want a coconut flavor like this Blackberry Coffee Cake.
How to make crumb topping
This topping is made in a food processor by grinding the nuts and then mixing them with oil and sweetener. Just top the batter with berries and sprinkle the crumbs on top!
Can I use other nuts?
Yes, you can use any type of nuts you like. I chose almonds for this recipe since they have a mild flavor.
Can I use other berries?
Yes, you can use any berries! The color of the blackberry juice seeping into the cake underneath is beautiful. My daughters love the color purple and this is a great way to get a naturally purple cake.
Try these dairy-free baked goods next:
Keto Coconut Flour Blueberry Muffins
Coconut Waffles with Strawberries
I hope you enjoy this Blackberry Coffee Cake Recipe! Try my Almond Flour Blackberry Muffins next!
Like what you see? Follow me on Facebook! Love this recipe? Leave a comment & 5-star rating right here! Make sure you don’t miss new recipes by getting email updates!
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ cup canned coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs
Topping Ingredients:
- 2 cups blackberries
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 tablespoon Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Stir together the dry cake ingredients in a medium bowl. Add all the other cake ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. Spread in a greased 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the blackberries on top of the cake batter.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the topping in a food processor. Process until the nuts are chopped and wet crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over the partially baked cake.
- Bake for an additional 40-55 minutes until the cake is firm to the touch, golden, and doesn't jiggle when lightly shaken. The center should feel as firm as the edge when lightly pressed with your fingertip.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published April 27, 2017. Revised and Republished March 15, 2019.
Gail says
hi. i use monkfruit sugar in mist of my life carb recipes. do you know how it compares to the mix you use?
thanks
Gail says
sorry- “most of my lo carb “is what i meant to say!
Taryn says
My sweetener is twice as sweet as monk fruit blends like Lakanto.
Margaret Burgess says
That was super easy, super delicious and even my super picky one loved it!!! Thank you
Donna says
What does THM S mean?
Taryn says
Trim Healthy Mama Satisfying. It is a common term for that way of eating. Similar to low carb.
Melissa Moore says
Would you recommend only using fresh blackberries, or would frozen blackberries work as well?
Taryn says
Frozen work too. Just add them frozen, don't thaw them first.
Melissa Moore says
Thank you!
Jessica says
I would love to make this but I only have granulated sucralose and plain liquid stevia drops. Any suggestions?
Taryn says
I would look up a similar cake that uses sucralose to see how much is recommended. My guess is you will need 1.5 times as much. You could also just taste the batter as you go.
Jessica Jackson says
Thank you!
Lexi says
If wanting to just use raw cane sugar, would that still work? What amounts would you suggest?
Taryn says
1.5 to 2 times as much. The sweetener I use is sweeter than sugar.
Heather says
We can not do coconut, do you think I could change the recipe and it still work out?
Taryn says
Do you need it to be dairy free?
Majda says
It's delicious!!! So juicy and soft and flavorful! Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
I mixed 1/8 cup of stevia and 1/4 cup of xylitol for the batter and it's perfectly sweet for me and my family. Kids love it:)
Toni says
Looks amazing! Planning on making it for breakfast tomorrow morning. Just wanted to check what other sugar substitute would work since I don’t have the blend. I have xylitol and stevia and erythritol. Thanks!
Taryn says
You can make my sweetener with those three. It can substitute for gentle sweet. Joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
TheaMaria says
I have this in the oven right now for my birthday brunch on Sunday! (I made your cranberry walnut cake a few weeks ago and it was delicious.) Just a quick question in hindsight - did you use blanched almonds in the topping? (I went with raw un-blanched one's, hoping they won't get overcooked.)
Taryn says
I think mine were raw too. It should be fine 🙂
TheaMaria says
Coffee cake turned out great! Thanks!
Caroline Snowman says
I just bought a large bag of Raw Stevia and tried it out in a muffin dish. Horrible!!!!! I may have used too much. I'm wary about investing in more sugar substitutes, but do you think the stevia will work in your recipe
Taryn says
I personally do not like plain stevia. I don't mind it in combination with xylitol and erythritol though. I'd recommend mixing it with a sugar alcohol to cut the bitterness. This is my recipe: http://www.joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
Kaysan says
Yummm. Making this for a potluck. Can I use pecans or walnuts in place of almonds?
Taryn says
Yup!
Jennie says
I didn't realize you meant canned coconut milk. I used Silk protein milk and it turned out great!
Lauren says
Can i use butter instead of coconut oil? I prefer butter in baked dishes and we're not dairy free over here 🙂
Taryn says
Sure!
Jessica says
Can I use baking blend? Also almond milk for the coconut milk?
Taryn says
Baking blend should work. I'm not sure if almond milk would. I use the full-fat canned coconut milk. Almond milk has a much lower fat content.
ANGELA CONRAD says
CAN OR CARTON COCONUT MILK?????
Taryn says
Can
Elle says
Well done on your restrained response to the above question, and for taking the time to share this lovely recipe...delicious!
Mollie says
I'm not sure what we did wrong but it ended up very dry and had no sweetness to it at all.
Taryn says
I'm happy to help you troubleshoot. Did you use gentle sweet? Are you sure you only used 1/4 cup coconut flour? Could you have forgotten an ingredient? This is definitely not dry. It is very moist. If the coconut flour measurement is off it can through off the whole recipe since it absorbs so much moisture.
Kori Ireland says
Do you use can or carton coconut milk?
Taryn says
I used canned coconut milk.
Bridget says
This is delicious, dense and moist! We did a mix of raspberries and blackberries and it turned out great! My daughter loves this before school in the morning. It keeps nicely in the fridge for at least 3 days and is now in our morning breakfast rotation. Thank you!
Elizabeth Dykstra says
This looks so delicious! Will it dry out if I bake it ahead?
Taryn says
Nope, it is very moist. Even after a few days in the fridge 🙂