Special thanks to a member of my recipe testing panel, the wonderful Cherie S, who helped me crank out and improve many MANY prototypes of this recipe. And now it’s ready for the world: A delicious, moist, cinnamony, crumbly cake which is leaps and bounds better for you than anything from an Entenmann’s box. I’ll admit it, I didn’t think a healthy coffee cake was possible until I sank my teeth into it.
We slashed sugar and calories, and boosted nutritional value with whole grain flour and oats. The extra fiber and protein in this delectable snack or dessert will help keep you full and satisfied, not just craving more and more sugar. Yogurt and applesauce keep the cake moist with very little oil. A small amount of real butter adds flavor to the streusel topping, but only one tablespoon is used in the whole cake. You won’t find butter used in many of my recipes, but every now and then, some of the real thing really is absolutely worth it. Does that mean this is health food? No. Don’t eat it all day long. But after a day of healthy eating, a 165 calorie treat definitely fits in most people’s food budgets. And this cake is worth every calorie.
If you can find a good quality cinnamon, (like Saigon Cinnamon from McCormick, my absolute favorite), use it! I know, there are big, cheap things of cinnamon, but you really do get what you pay for with cinnamon, so spend the extra $2 or $3. Saigon cinnamon is sweeter, warmer and more flavorful than the cheaper type, and less bitter. Plus, cheap cinnamon usually has fillers/starches in it, and I’ve noticed it makes oatmeal the consistency of ….phlegm.
Substitutions: If you don’t have rum extract on hand, omit it and double the amount vanilla extract. If you don’t have oat flour, you can use whole wheat instead, or make your own. Just process some oatmeal (instant, quick, or old-fashioned) in a blender or food processor until finely ground. You can also use additional flour in place of the whey protein if you don’t have any, but the cake may need the baking time extended by a few minutes. Lastly, if you prefer another sweetener, you can use real sugar in the cake or another sweetener of your choice equivalent to ¾ cup sugar in sweetness.
Cake:
- Cooking oil spray
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2/3 cup vanilla whey protein (2 scoops)
- ¾ cup Splenda granulated or sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 egg plus 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons canola or macadamia nut oil
- 2 tablespoons water
Streusel Topping:
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon rum extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup quick oats
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 13×9″ baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, whole wheat flour, whey protein, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir to blend.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine yogurt, eggs, applesauce, oil and water. Stir until smooth, then add wet ingredients to bowl containing dry ingredients; stir to blend just until uniformly moistened. Spread evenly in pan.
- In a small bowl, stir together cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla extract, rum extract, and salt. Add oats and stir to blend. Add butter and rub in with fingers until mixture is moist crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over batter, and use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke some of the streusel into the batter. (Poke it about 20-30 times)
- Bake 25 minutes; allow to cool before cutting into 12 pieces. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator or freezer.
Makes 12 servings
Per serving: 165 calories, 5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 21 g total carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar, 9 g protein, 294 mg sodium.
(If you use 3/4 cup sugar instead of Splenda) 205 calories, 5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 32 g total carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 17 g sugar, 9 g protein, 294 sodium.
This recipe comes straight from the pages of my second book Fuel Up. If you like it and would like other similar nibbles (tasty AND healthy) please consider picking up a copy of Fuel Up by clicking on the cover on the right hand sidebar. Thanks!
debby July 13, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Holy moly, that looks delicious, Georgie! If I had some applesauce I’d be making it tonight! I will be getting applesauce tomorrow to make it. Thanks for working on such good recipes for us!
Chuck July 13, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Wow that looks great! I love the recipe and definitely the health benefits of the cinnamon associated with it
Adena July 14, 2010 at 5:33 am
Oh Georgie why must you tempt me with these yummy recipes!! Why must I read them over coffee in the morning.
This looks amazing. Still lovin’ the site.
admin July 14, 2010 at 8:42 am
Thanks Debby-
I hope you love it, please let me know how yours comes out!
admin July 14, 2010 at 8:43 am
Thanks Chuck – it is super-delicious so I recommend giving it a try. Check back in if you make it and share your review!
admin July 14, 2010 at 8:43 am
Aw, thanks Adena! You MUST try this recipe, you’ll love it!
Kaitlin With Honey July 14, 2010 at 6:56 pm
This looks so good! My body can’t process sugar, so I’ll be trying this out soon (and featuring it on my blog!) slightly adapted. I love this healthified recipe!
admin July 14, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Thanks Kaitlin! I’m looking forward to seeing your version.
Tish July 15, 2010 at 8:19 am
Yum! Thanks for this recipe. It’s going straight into my desktop recipe folder.
Trish July 17, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Yummy. This recipe looks and sounds delish! I love the use of oat flour and yogurt. It is indeed a healthy twist on coffee cake. Thanks, Georgie!
PS You think regular rum can be used instead of rum extract?
admin July 18, 2010 at 6:36 am
Hm, I’m not sure on the regular rum but it can’t hurt to try! I think the extract might be more concentrated in flavor, but try it with rum and let us know! Worse case, you won’t taste it, but it’s yummy without it too. I made it without the rum extract as well and its still quite delicious.
G
Pubsgal July 25, 2010 at 9:48 pm
I made this recipe today, and it turned out great! 3 out of 4 family members liked it (the only holdout was my 6 year old, and she doesn’t really care much for muffins, which these reminded me of quite a bit).
I made a couple of variations. One was using a packet of plain instant oatmeal + oat bran in the streusel topping, doing the vanilla instead of rum extract sub, and subbing 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp orange extract for 1.5 tsp of the 2 Tbsp water. I also put in zest from 2 oranges…I’m kind of a cinnamon orange fiend.
One oops will make you laugh: I put the batter in the pan and realized I forgot the splenda! So I sprinkled it on top and mixed it in really well with a whisk. Still turned out fantastic! And very blood glucose level friendly for me-116 at 1 hour after eating 1.25 serving (granted, 1/2 of that serving had no streusel; it was the part I made for my daughter to try, because she doesn’t like cinnamon). My husband was impressed with the generous serving size.
TeamLeader August 2, 2010 at 8:57 pm
I made these and loved them. Problem is that I overdid them, so they were a bit try. So, the next day for breakfast I took one serving and turned it into bread pudding that took three minutes to make. Tonight, I sliced two of them into ten slices and made tiriamisu with them (greek yogurt, cream cheese, splenda, vanilla, almond extract). Thanks.
roger October 18, 2010 at 6:20 am
Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake know im hungry thankyou for the information ahhh……..
qiting93 November 22, 2010 at 7:14 am
Hi! Do you think there is anything i can substitute for the whey powder? I really want to try this recipe but its not available in singapore. Thanks
qiting93 November 22, 2010 at 7:15 am
Oops i meant whey protein thanks
admin November 22, 2010 at 9:56 am
Ive had success using 1/3 cup flour instead of 1 scoop protein. Good luck!
jetna July 22, 2011 at 10:53 am
Hi – this is my first time on your website and if the 2 recipes I have printed out (the cinnamon streussel coffee cake and the lemon poppy Protein Bars) come out like people are saying, I am looking forward to making them both this weekend. I’m not a knowledgeable baker, so I have a question on doubling the recipe for the coffee cake. Do I simply double everything, or, are there some things I should be using other amounts for? Thanks for any info.
admin July 22, 2011 at 11:09 am
Hi! You should be able to double it without a problem (double everything), just watch it during baking, it may need a few minutes more or less. Look forward to hearing what you think!
Georgie
jetna July 22, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Thank you so much.