Who doesn’t love a good coffee cake? The problem is that many of the classic recipes are packed with sugar. This healthier cinnamon swirl coffee cake has reduced sugar, swaps a good amount of white flour for oat flour, and uses maple syrup in the cinnamon swirl to reduce the amount of refined sugar even further. Best of all is that this healthier cinnamon swirl coffee cake tastes exactly like the classic version, so you won’t miss anything! This is by no means a health food, but I have made a lot of swaps that reduce the guilt while still providing the same delicious flavor and texture.
Healthier Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake Ingredients
- 1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter at room temp
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2% but you can use whatever you like)
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
- 1 ½ tbs ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup + 1 tbs maple syrup
- ½ cup walnuts, finely chopped
Icing: (optional)
- 1 egg white
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar + more if needed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well to combine after each addition, then add in the vanilla and Greek yogurt beating everything to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix the oat flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and baking soda. With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture in three batches until everything is just combined and the dry ingredients are moistened. This is a lot of batter, so I like to go through and give it one good mix by hand with a rubber spatula to make sure that everything is mixed and evenly distributed. The batter will be very thick.
In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon, maple syrup, and finely chopped walnuts and set aside.
Prepare a Bundt pan and spray it well with cooking spray. Place half of the batter in the pan, distributing it evenly, and tapping the pan on the counter to remove the air bubbles. Next, spread the cinnamon mixture evenly on top of the cake batter. Once the cinnamon mixture is evenly distributed, add the remaining cake batter to the pan, and spread it out to cover the cinnamon mixture.
Again, tap the bottom of the Bundt pan on the counter to help remove any air pockets from the coffee cake.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the healthier cinnamon swirl coffee cake sit in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a plate or cake stand to cool completely.
Once the coffee cake has cooled completely, you can add the icing if you’re using it. To make the icing, mix egg white and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until frothy, then beat in the powdered sugar until a glossy and smooth icing forms. If you want a thicker icing, add more powdered sugar, 1 tbs at a time.
Drizzle the icing on top of the coffee cake, and let it fall down the sides. You can serve this coffee cake immediately, or wait a few minutes for the icing to set up.
This healthier cinnamon swirl coffee cake is still an indulgence, but a few simple swaps make this a lot healthier than the original!