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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
awesome recipe, as are your other recipes
Thank you!
So welcome, Rachel!
Oh My Goodness, this is soooooo yummy. I did have to bake mine for 50 mins though. I did seem to be runny after I mixed everything together. I made the Protein frosting and would definitely decrease the amount to 2 scoops. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
You are so welcome, Sue!
Hello there! Love your recipes! How about a ginger cookie recipe someday? Thanks so much for considering this! Nancy
Sure, maybe in the future!
Wondering if you have the calories and macros for this? Any other nutrition info for those of us doing Keto
Sure! If you go to myfitnesspal and plug in the ingredients, it will provide it all for you! 🙂
Hi, the recipe looks great and the cake looks so fluffy.
What can I use instead of almond butter? Would applesauce or yoghurt work?
Thanks,
Priya
Hi Priya! You can use peanut butter, sunflower seed butter etc
Which frosting option is pictured in the photos above?!!!
Hi Amanda! The protein-packed frosting Option 🙂
I made this this morning with a couple of substitutions (out of some ingredients and no time to shop) and it was delicious!!! I used regular sugar because I was out of coconut palm sugar, and that was fine. The only nut butter I had was maple almond butter, and I figured the maple could only improve the flavor! I baked it in an 8×11 pan, and it was plenty thick. I also didn’t have all of the ingredients for any of the frosting options, so I decided to whip up a (slightly more unhealthy, because I lacked other options!) glaze. I used a bit of powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make a simple glaze, but it was too sweet on top of the dense cake. So i crushed some blackberries into the glaze to thin it out and make it a bit tart. Heavenly!! Cinnamon cake with a blackberry glaze…. a new favorite recipe!
LOVE the blackberry twist on this- I’ll need to try it out next time 🙂
Dumb question. Does T stand for teaspoon or tablespoon?
Hi Cindy! Not a dumb question at all- it stands for tablespoon, so 15mls 🙂
This was delicious! Made it for brunch on Christmas Eve, everyone loved it. Not too sweet, full of flavor! Will def make again 🙂
Jen, you absolutely made my day- Hope you had a fantastic Christmas and look forward to sharing more with you in 2017! Happy New Year!
This may have been asked, but is it a whole Tablespoon of baking powder? That seems like a huge amount, I want to double check before I tried this. Thanks!
What size loaf pan are you using and which version (Paleo, vegan…) did you photograph?
Hi Julia! That is using the vegan/oat based version and the loaf pan is 8 x 8 inch.
You are seriously taking over my pinterest, and I am not complaining! :)) Every single recipe I pin now is dessert. But thank goodness it is healthy! This recipe is SO going down this week. Thank you and keep ’em coming!
😀 That means so much- Glad to have you here, Olivia!
What does T stand for….tablespoons or teaspoon?
Hi Cassandra! It stands for tablespoon 🙂