Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

This apple cinnamon breakfast cake has the perfect balance of dark brown sugar, lightly tart apples, and cinnamon! Complimented subtly by a tiny bit of whiskey (don’t worry, it cooks off!) and cardamom. The flavor is simple yet complex. Warm fall flavors. Yummy, moist, and….healthy! That’s right, healthy!

What makes it healthy, other than containing some apple? Well, its made with whole-grain protein pancake mix (kodiak cakes brand, but you can sub it), flax, and blended chickpeas! One large slice has 15 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber! And, don’t worry. You can’t state the chickpeas at all. It’s also a lower sugar recipe. It uses a mix of sugar-free sweetener and dark brown sugar. This way you get plenty of brown sugar flavor without it being a total sugar bomb. I recommend using Splenda, erythritol, allulose, granulated monk fruit sweetener. Anything that measures cup for cup with sugar. You should use Braeburn or granny smith apples for this recipe. You want a tart apple that’s good for baking.

If you want this cake to cook faster, use a larger pan. I used an 8-inch springform pan, but I’d actually recommend using a 12-inch springform pan or a 9×13 baking dish. If you use a 9x 13 pan you should start checking this cake after 55 minutes instead of 75 minutes. It’s done when a wooden skewer comes out clean!

As its name suggests. you can serve this apple cinnamon breakfast cake as a breakfast treat. Your kids (or, just you) won’t even guess that it’s healthy! This cake is also beautiful served for brunch. It’s also sweet and rich enough to be served as dessert. Healthy protein-packed dessert? Yup!

This cake takes a while to make, but it freezes and thaws super well! That makes this a really fun meal prep option. That’s how I recommend storing this cake, in the freezer. Though, it’ll also last on the counter for a couple of days.

Print Recipe

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Cake

Author: Mary Ellis

Difficulty: Easy Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 75 mins Total Time 1 hr 35 mins

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Servings

• 2 large granny smith or braeburn apples
• 5 tbsp salted butter
• 1 ¹⁄₂ tsp cinnamon
• ¹⁄₂ cup dark brown sugar
• 15 oz can low sodium chickpeas
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cup fat free milk (I prefer fairlife brand)
• 1 ¹⁄₃ cup sugar substitute (erythritol, splenda, etc)
• 1 ¹⁄₂ tsp butter extract
• 2 tsp whiskey (optional)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp avocado oil (or canola oil)
• ¹⁄₂ tsp nutmeg
• ¹⁄₄ tsp cardamom (or allspice)
• ¹⁄₂ tsp salt
• 1 ³⁄₄ cup kodiak cakes buttermilk power cakes mix (or other buttermilk pancake mix)
• 4 tbsp golden flax meal

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and butter a large cake pan or 9x13 baking dish.
2. Peel and chop two apples and place in a skillet with the butter and cinnamon.
   
3. Turn heat on medium and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring often.
4. After 8 minutes add the dark brown sugar and whiskey to the pan and stir.
   
5. Cook an additional 2 minutes stirring often.
   
6. Remove from the heat and set aside.
7. Drain the chickpeas, rinse, and add to a blender with the milk. Blend until smooth.
   
8. Add the blended chickpeas to a large bowl.
9. Add the eggs, sugar substitute, butter extract, oil, nutmeg, cardamom (or allspice), flax meal, and salt. Whisk thoroughly.
   
10. Add the pancake mix and flax meal and whisk until combined.
    
11. Pour the cake batter into the greased pan.
12. Spoon/pour the apple brown sugar mixture over the top as evenly as you can. Drag a toothpick through the batter and marble the top.
    
13. Bake for 55-75 minutes depending on the size of your pan. About 55 minutes for a 9x13 pan, up to 75 for a deep cake pan.
    
14. Enjoy!