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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
Turned out really great! Loved having it as a keto dessert!
Made this today because it was raining, I wanted to bake, and I was out of white sugar. I had to substitute the butter for natural, crunchy PB since I had nothing else, but it still turned out great. I appreciate your healthier options! (Especially your three ingredient brownies!)
Hi Arman, Looking forward to baking this…love all of your recipes! Quick question about almond butter. It says to see notes but I don’t see anything about any substitutions that can be used in its place.
Thanks,
Hi Rebecca- Try another nut or seed butter, like sunflower seed butter, tahini, cashew butter, etc. 🙂
Love the non keto recipes, just healthy low calorie goodness!!
Can I make this without the oats? This looks insane!
You could try quinoa flakes.
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I used 1/ 3 of a cup of maple syrup instead of the sugar, and it worked really nicely. I’m not much of a cream cheese frosting fan, so instead I diced an apple, tossed it with some cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped pecans, and lay that into the bottom of the pan before I poured in the batter. Perfect breakfast on an autumn day in New England!
This looks delicious! I have to make it, I could have breakfast any part of the day. Just one questions: the nutritional info is for the one cake layer with or without the frosting?
Yes, includes the frosting.
Ok since the Breakfast cake is 3 layers……did you make 3 of them or did you cut the one cake into 3 layers?