With this Cinnamon Swirl Protein Cake, you can have cake for breakfast! It’s a tasty, high-protein treat that will make you excited to get out of bed in the morning.
I don’t know about you, but I love a breakfast that reminds me of dessert!
There is something so fun about crawling out of bed in the morning and starting my day with a sweet treat. I guess that’s why people love to wake up and have a big breakfast of waffles or pancakes drowning in syrup, right?
However, as someone with diabetes, eating sugary pancakes smothered in sugary syrup is not a good breakfast option. In fact, it’s not exactly a good breakfast option for anyone (even if it tastes great going down!).
I like to eat breakfasts that are high in protein and have a moderate amount of low-glycemic carbs and healthy fats. That’s why I created this nutritious (and very delicious) Cinnamon Swirl Protein Cake. Yes, cake for breakfast!
As you might expect with the name, this recipe has a ton of protein (34 grams), and it also has a moderate amount of carbs (18 grams) and fat (2 grams).
There are only 217 calories in the entire protein cake recipe, so it’s a healthy, low-calorie breakfast option.
I love to make Cinnamon Swirl Protein Cake in a small loaf pan because I can slice it up and eat one slice at a time, but you can make it in any oven-safe dish you want. As you can see in the photos, it also bakes great in a small round glass baking dish!
Make this protein cake the night before
One thing I really love about this recipe is it stores so well in the fridge. If you’re rushing around most mornings like I am, you probably appreciate a breakfast that you can make the night before and just pop in the microwave the next morning.
This recipe is perfect for that—if you store it in the fridge, you can warm it up in the microwave in only 30 seconds. It tastes good and it’s convenient. Talk about a win-win!
Great as a snack or dessert, too
Even though I told you this makes a healthy, low-calorie breakfast, that shouldn’t hold you back from eating it as a snack or dessert. With the high protein content (thanks mostly to the vanilla protein powder), it’s a great way to increase your protein consumption at any time of the day.
If you want to get a little decadent for dessert, you could spread a thin layer of almond butter on a slice. Yum!
Tip and tricks for making protein cake
- Although you might be tempted, don’t increase the ingredients and try to make a “giant loaf” for a bunch of meals. If you do that, it doesn’t get cooked all the way through… and the last thing you want is a mushy protein cake!
- Use the right protein powder. You want a protein powder that is suitable for baking and has a strong vanilla flavor. I use Met-RX Vanilla Protein but other brands should work as well. If you try this recipe and it doesn’t come out right, try changing your protein powder.
More high protein recipes
If you want to try more of my protein baking recipes, check out my Protein Pancakes and Protein Berry Crumble. Both recipes are packed with protein (more than 20 grams per serving) and taste AMAZING!
For even more healthy high-protein recipes, take a look at my roundups of the best low-carb breakfast ideas for diabetics and diabetic desserts.
When you’ve tried this healthy protein powder cake, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Cinnamon Swirl Protein Cake
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oats
- 1 egg white
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 2 tsp. Stevia
- ½ tbsp. cinnamon
- ⅓ Cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C)
- Blend oats, egg white, and water until the consistency is smooth (I use a Nutribullet)
- Pour the mixture into a bowl and whisk it together with the protein powder and 1 tsp. Stevia (the mixture should be like thick pancake batter).
- Pour half of the batter into a small (about 4.5 inches across) nonstick pan and sprinkle with two-thirds of the cinnamon and 1 tsp. Stevia. Pour the remaining batter over and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon.
- Pull a knife through the batter a few times to slightly mix in the cinnamon and Stevia.
- Bake for 25 minutes and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
- If stored in the fridge, reheat for 30 sec in the microwave before serving.
Nutrition Info Per Serving
What are good substitutions for the stevia. trying to reduce our sugar intake.
The best substitution for sugar is, in my opinion, Stevia. It’s a natural sweetener with no blood sugar impact. You can read more about sweeteners here: https://diabetesstrong.com/how-natural-artificial-sweeteners-affect-blood-sugar/
The taste is good and it’s filling, but the texture is a little hard.
This was not doughy at all for me after blending…
The choice of protein powder will make a large difference in how this turns out. You need to use a whey protein powder suitable for baking like the one I recommend in the recipe. Alternatively, you’ll have to reduce the water to adjust for your protein powder
Love the ingridiants and taste but mine always comes hard and flat 🙁 any suggestion to make it rize bigger?
Hm, you could whip the egg whites first and fold them in carefully. That might give you more volume. It might also come down to the protein powder you use
Mine also comes out flat and im using the same protein powder. Not sure what I’m doing wrong
Hm, that’s annoying. I think I’ll have to make a video for this recipe. Thank you for the feedback
Could I replace the egg white with aquafaba? Or any ideas for another vegan replacement?
I don’t know, I’ve never heard of or worked with that product
Great ecipe but what is a serving size?
This serves 1. On all our recipes you can find the serving size on the recipe card just above the ingredient list
Is the entire small loaf “one serving size” it lists all the nutritional info per serving, but doesn’t list what constitutes one serving
Thank you!
The whole loaf, all of the ingredients, is one serving