Easy Healthy Coffee Cake Loaf

This healthy coffee cake recipe is great for a low fat, dairy free or even vegan alternative to the traditional. Make into a loaf or coffee cake muffins.

Coffee Loaf Cake

If you’ve ever had one of those Sara Lee coffee cakes and looked at the nutritional information on the back afterwards, you’ve had a shock too. Not. good. Don’t get me wrong I know they are so darn good, but not great for your gut. With just a few tweaks you can still make this quick easy dessert recipe, but with far less fat and carbs.

With this you can make a full loaf. Not only is this better for you but if you have someone in your house like I do who needs a lactose free dessert, they can have a slice or two as well. That’s a win win as far as my husband is concerned. Now it isn’t quite as fast to make than our coffee cake with yellow cake mix, but a lot less processed.

Ingredients

• Whole grain flour is key to this
• 1/2 c all purpose flour, a bit is needed
• Cinnamon a must for sure
• 4 tbsp brown sugar creates a deep sweet
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Baking powder will allow it to rise
• 1 egg is best added at room temperature
• 2 tbsp room temperature coconut oil
• Dairy free milk is what we used, regular is fine too, or Greek yogurt
• 1/4 tsp salt, just a pinch
• I do not add coffee or tea to this but you could add 1 tbsp instant coffee crystals if you wanted

Coffee Cake Crumb Topping

Yes you could skip the crumble topping part but if you want it to look, feel and taste like that old fashioned breakfast treat, you need it. We use a version of this streusel topping on top of our Instant Pot coffee cake recipe too. It’s fab.

• 3 tbsp brown sugar, or coconut sugar works too
• 1/2 c almond flour
• Coconut oil
• Cinnamon

Variations

If you have never used almond flour before it is great. Brings a whole different flavor and texture to your dish as well as cutting the carbs too. You could alternatively use our other version made with our cherry coffee cake recipe.

Dairy Free Option

It is quite easy to alter all sorts of sweet breads now. I have found a great plant based vegan butter at the store I use to make our banana bread bundt cake, and my kids don’t even know the difference. In this case it is butter free so you don’t even have to worry about that! Instead, coconut oil is used. I love love this stuff.

Healthy Coffee Cake Loaf Recipe

1. You are going to start off by preheating the oven to 360 degrees F. I find that a lower temperature will make the overall dish more moist. Same goes for making sweet rolls in the morning too. Don’t rush it, low and slower is the key.
2. Mix two types of flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a bowl. Mix with a whisk.
3. Whisk the wet ingredients; egg, melted coconut oil and vanilla in another bowl.
4. Pour beaten egg, almond milk into a bowl with dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. You will get a thick batter without lumps.
6. To make crunchy crumbs, combine brown sugar, almond flour, cinnamon and coconut oil in a blender. Transfer the cake batter to a baking dish.
7. If necessary, you can line the baking dish with foil or parchment. Place a crumb layer on top of the cake.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the toothpick inserted to test the cake comes out dry with moist crumbs attached.
9. Let the cake cool slightly in the baking dish, then take it out and serve .

How long should you let loaf cool before removing from the pan?

I would give it a good 10 minutes minimum before lifting it out of the pan. This will give it time to solidify a bit more, but not too long that it continues baking and starts to dry out. I wouldn’t allow it to cool completely in the pan as that will suck out some of the moisture. Follow these same tips for our banana coffee cake and any other baked goods.

How Long to Bake Healthy Coffee Cake Muffins

If you wanted to make this in a smaller form it will definitely cut down on the baking time. You would be looking at closer to 18-22 minutes for this. Even more fun, this is how long to bake mini muffins too! If you have kiddos these are always a huge hit. Hosting a brunch? I love this size for that too. They become a grab and go, pop them in your mouth item.

I have yet to tweak this to use gluten free flour. That is a whole other ball game if you ask me with different liquid ratios, temperatures and baking times needed. I have a friend who is very sensitive so I wouldn’t feel comfortable creating something 100% safe for her, and thus for y’all. I would suggest Googling that specifically if you need that swap out.

As far as add ins or ons there are a few options out there that work really well, and are delicious. Crushed nuts as you see here are on the top of the list. Either fold 1/2 cup inside or on the top, or both. Walnuts usually works the best but candied pecans chopped up are amazing as well.

Want to add a sweet and savory element to this baby? Think about this. Make a batch of candied bacon and chop that up into little pieces, OH Yes. I would sprinkle that on top and kinda’ gently push into the very top and bake. Better yet so it doesn’t soften up the texture, cool, squeeze on frosting and sprinkle it on top of that!!

Vegan Coffee Cake

The only thing you would need to substitute to make this with no eggs you’d need an alternative. If you didn’t know that there are other alternatives to what comes out of a chicken, there are a few. There are dry egg substitutes out there, but they aren’t all certified vegan. Look at the label on those. You can use;

1. 1/4 cup of applesauce instead of an egg
2. or flaxseed egg which is 2.5 tbsp water + 1 tbsp flaxseed meal
3. this already uses dairy free alternatives so your vegan friends can enjoy this one as well

No matter what version you decide to use you may have leftovers and they save well. You want to keep them tender and moist which requires proper storage. Use a container with a sealed lid or a freezer bag to do it well. For both you want to keep as little air in there as possible.

How to save leftover coffee cake

Your best bet is to wrap what is left tightly with plastic wrap. Only slice what you are eating then and there. On top of wrapping it this way you will slide it into a freezer bag, suck the air out and store that on your countertop NOT the fridge. Cold air is the enemy too and it is not necessary anyway to store in the cold.

Instead just sit it on your counter and every time you want a slice, cut it and wrap it back up in saran wrap. Back in the bag or sealed container it goes and it will stay well like this for up to 4 days. Of course every day that passes will change the texture so the next day is always the best of the best as far as that goes.

Reheat your piece with a bit of butter on your slice in the microwave for 30 seconds for best results. It will taste fresh again if done this way and within 48 hours of coming out of the oven. This makes great gifts if wrapped up well and cute with a bowl around the middle. Our neighbors love this every holiday on their doorstep!