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My breakfast cake recipe is light, fluffy, and filled with warm cinnamon spice. It’s gluten-free, oil-free, and made using only your blender!
Love dessert for breakfast? Check out my no-yeast cinnamon rolls, oatmeal brownies, and breakfast muffins.
Does anyone else think breakfast and cake go hand in hand? I sure do.
That’s where the magic of breakfast cake comes in. It’s light, fluffy, and sweet like all cake should be, but it’s also packed with fiber, protein, and healthy fats. It’s the best of both worlds…plus frosting for good measure.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Works with all diets. It’s gluten-free, oil-free, and dairy-free.
- Made in one blender. There are no bowls, no whisk, and clean-up is done in seconds.
- Pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee. Like all good breakfast desserts should!
- Make it the night before. If you want to bake a cake first thing in the morning, go for it. Personally, I prefer to bake it the night before (and maybe have a slice before bed!).
Ingredients needed
- Rolled oats. The oats will be blended to a flour texture. Be sure to use certified gluten free oats, if needed.
- Sugar. I used coconut sugar, but any type of sugar or sweetener can be used.
- Baking powder. Helps the cake rise. Don’t use baking soda as it won’t have the same effect.
- Cinnamon. For a warming flavor.
- Salt. Brings out the sweetness of the cake.
- Egg OR flax egg. I used regular room temperature eggs, but you can use flax eggs to keep it vegan. Simply combine 1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water, sit for 10 minutes, then use.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any good cake!
- Almond butter. For richness. Use smooth, drippy almond butter with no added sugar or salt.
- Milk. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk works.
- Frosting. Optional, but what cake isn’t made better with some cream cheese frosting? I’ve included a healthier protein-packed frosting too.
How to make breakfast cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep work. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
Step 2- Blend. In a blender or food processor, blend the oats until you have a flour-like consistency. Add the remaining ingredients and blend to a thick batter.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and cool completely before frosting.
Arman’s recipe tips
- No blender? Use a large mixing bowl and an electric mixer, or stir by hand.
- Consider your pan. I used a metal pan for this recipe, but if you used a glass pan, you’d want to bake the cake for an extra 5-7 minutes since glass takes longer to heat up.
- Don’t overbake. The cake will continue to cook as it cools, so pull it from the oven when there are still a few moist crumbs on the toothpick.
- Add mix-ins. Gently fold in fresh blueberries, lemon zest, or chocolate chips.
Storage instructions
To store: Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To freeze: Wrap slices in plastic wrap, transfer them to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to three months.
Frequently asked questions
While I haven’t tried this, I imagine blanched almond flour would make a suitable replacement. I wouldn’t use whole wheat flour or all purpose flour as they won’t yield the right texture.
More sweet breakfasts
Breakfast Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats gluten free, if needed
- 1/2 cup sugar I use allulose
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 large egg or egg substitute
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons almond butter ** See notes
For the frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a high speed blender or food processor, add your oats and blend until a powder-like consistency remains. Add the sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, milk, egg, vanilla, and almond butter and blend until a thick batter remains.
- Transfer the batter to the greased cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes on clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting, if desired.
- To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and maple syrup.
Nutrition
Originally published October 2021, updated and republished October 2024
Which frosting did you use in the photos?
Hi Elise! I used the protein frosting 🙂
Thank you so much for listing so many options of how to make this. It sure makes things easier for those who have multiple food sensitivities. ?
You are so welcome, Michelle 🙂
Mmmm this cake looks delicious! I put cinnamon on everything, and a cinnamon bun cake for breakfast sounds pretty awesome.
Wait just a hot pickin’ second there, mate. A cinnamon bun that’s a cake? Say what? As strange as it might sound, I think I can get behind this one. It looks incredible…and I want the whole darn loaf. For breakfast. 🙂
Dude, it’s healthy so pretty much it’s an appetiser TO breakfast 😉
Oats again ! This is wonderful! You are def on an oat roll Arman! And that topping (in order to lay low I will call it topping since frosting is a dead giveaway for upping the pounds) is to DIE for…thank you, thank you, thank you! I MUST Google SAIGON CINNAMON – have never heard of this before…if all I have is powdered cinnamon in a spice type container, will that kill this recipe? 🙁
🙂 You are so welcome, Carine!
Ohhhhhhh Carine- If you can find Saigon Cinnamon your life will be changed- It puts normal cinnamon to shame! 🙂
Okay thanks for that…I Googled Siagon Cinnamon – very interesting – BTW another really great side effect to following Arman here is the great NEW stuff I learn all the time! So now am on a search for SAIGON CINNAMON – first stop our local health/bulk food shop in our wee town…and then on to various markets around…and then to the next town where there are a few more health food type shops – from there to the BIG city – or maybe just skip all that and get it online! Yeah that might work better….Thanks Arman!
I can’t eat eggs (also why I love many of your vegan options!) so brunch can be a bit of a struggle BUT I do love brunch cocktails. #Mimosa
🙂 That’s perfect then! 😀
Hard to believe but you once more managed to get even me as a non-cake fan intrigued. It must be the thick layer of frosting ;). I’d eat it with a spoon. Actually, that’s what I used to do when I was younger: eat the frosting off my mum’s cake. Now that I’m older I skip the cake part and just prepare the topping to eat straight up and call it a snack. So classy.
You’d love the frosting, it’s so creamy!
Brunch is the beeeeest! Now, hand over a bowl of that frosting, and no one gets hurt.
Coming right up 😀
I love it how you guys all went for sweet breakfast/brunch food! My kind of people!
🙂 Thanks Hilary- You always leave me craving potatoes and eggs 🙂
Both versions look so good, and I love that creamy icing on top!
Thanks so much, Joanne! 🙂
This looks delicious but it says it served 4 – in an 8×8 pan? Is that right?
Hi Chelsea! Apologies for the oversight- It’s serves 4-6 and I made the amendment to small baking pan- I prefer the loaf pan for thicker slices- An 8 x 8 would be slightly more flat 🙂
I need more brunch in my life! I don’t go to brunch enough! This looks amazing though. Well, anything resembling a cinnamon bun is bound to be good!
Thanks so much, Shannon!