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 living 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!
How to make cinnamon swirl protein cake
This delicious, breakfast-approved cake is very simple to make and only requires 6 ingredients (and one of them is water!)
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C).
Step 2: Blend the oats, egg white, and water until the consistency is smooth (I use a Nutribullet).
Step 3: Pour the mixture into a bowl. Whisk it together with the protein powder and 1 tsp. Stevia. The mixture should be like a thick pancake batter.
Step 4: Pour half of the batter into a small (about 4.5 inches across) nonstick pan and sprinkle with two-thirds of the cinnamon plus 1 tsp. Stevia. Pour the remaining batter and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon.
Step 5: Pull a knife through the batter a few times to slightly mix in the cinnamon and Stevia.
Step 6: Bake for 25 minutes and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
I love to make this 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!
Nutrition and macros
As you might expect with the name, this recipe has a ton of protein (34 grams). 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, which makes it a healthy, low-calorie breakfast option.
Who knew eating cake for breakfast could be so good for you?
Making ahead of time
One thing I really love about this recipe is that 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 for 30 seconds. It tastes good and it’s convenient. Talk about a win-win!
But just because this cinnamon swirl cake makes a great breakfast, that shouldn’t hold you back from eating it as a snack or dessert as well. 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 this recipe
I have two important tips when it comes to this recipe.
First, although you might be tempted, don’t try to increase the ingredients and 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!
Second, make sure you’re using 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.
Storage
This delicious cake keeps very well in the fridge, so it’s a great recipe to make ahead of time to have for breakfast or a snack!
You can store this dish in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
More high protein recipes
I love incorporating protein powder into my baked goods. If you want to try a few more of these recipes, check out a few of my favorites that I know you’ll love!
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 dish, 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 teaspoon Stevia
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon
- ⅓ Cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (165 C)
- Blend the oats, egg white, and water until the consistency is smooth (I use a Nutribullet)
- Pour the mixture into a bowl. 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 plus 1 tsp. Stevia. Pour the remaining batter 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.
Can’t wait to try this! I just want to clarify the Stevia… are the measurements for powder or liquid? Thank you
I used powdered stevia
Ok I admit it was the whey. I tried it again with plant protein (I mixed it half and half with whey the first time) and ta-da! Cake batter consistency! Sooo goood!
Yay, I’m glad it worked out. Thank you for letting us know
I can’t seem to find a 4.5 backing pan anywhere …even on amazon. Well, 4.5 wide but 8.5 long and way to big. where did you find this pan and its 4.5 by what? baking it now on a 5 2/3 x 3 1/2 and still too big. thank you for your help. and it looks so delish
Hm, I think I found that pan at TJ Maxx or one of those other warehouses. You could also use a round pan (like the glass one I showed in the first picture. I think that was about 4.5′ across as well
Mine was verry VERRY thin like 2cm thick. Followed everything right. Verry little batter aswell. I blended it in a mixer, would it be better if I used my nutranija to blend it up as it spins at like 8000rpm? I swapped out the added stevia on top put shredded coconut on top tastes great! I just want it thick not 2cm lol
Oh no, I do give it a serious whip to get the egg whites all fluffed up. You could try with the faster blender or try whipping the egg whites first (I haven’t tried that, so that’s just an idea). But glad you liked the taste 🙂
I did change the stevia for sugar free maple syrup and I added some cornflour as my mixture was not thick
Baked in a mini loaf pan and it was perfect
My protein is why and I believe 40g per scoop
I also just blended everything together
Will definitely make again
When I read the recipe there’s just a small box in front of. Cup water.
How much water do I need?
Also protein scoops seem to varying in size. Can u give me a more exact measurement for the protein powder please?
Thank you
That’s odd, the amount of water shows up when I look at it, it’s ⅓ Cup water. A scoop is 1 oz. / 28.5 grams. Enjoy
The consistency of my batter is just watery… I’ve followed exactly, using 30g if whey and its just milk… Anyone else found this?
no way on earth could it be watery, if you’ve followed exactly. I even had to put a bit more water, you must have forgotten to add the oats, I just took my out from the oven, and it even raised, the consistency is firm and the cake is super soft, excellent recipe, thanks.
don’t use protein powder with whey whey can cause it to be watery
I found the same thing. I was like what the heck is going on? After looking at her response I went back and read everything again. This recipe is not set up in a way that is clear and concise in regards to its serving. It is photographed in a loaf pan, it is suggested to use a loaf pan in her written directions but her ingredient list doesn’t reflect the right amount to properly fill a loaf pan. Who makes batter for ONE muffin at a time? Weird.
Mine was also very watery. I might try a different whey powder next time to compare. It did not rise or fill the pan like in the pictures either. But it was very tasty! I still make this recipe, I have just changed my expectations of what it should look like.
Ok, I’ve tried this route the different ways and seemed to have found solutions to some of the issues we seemed to be having.
No rise: a different protein powder send to have done the trick. Still whey, different brand. (Levels was flat, READY was not)
I made two loafs with the READY brand. One loaf I put just over half the recommended water and the other three full amount. The one with less water rose more.
I did not try to thicken the batter. It was very watery with all three varieties.
Still tastes delicious!
It didn’t rise?? Stayed as flat as a pancake??
I followed it exactly…..would you have any idea where I went wrong
Regards
Janice
Since there’s no gluten in the recipe you don’t get a lot of rise, but it shouldn’t be flat as a pancake. It could be your protein powder or maybe not enough air was whipped into the egg whites. You could try whipping the egg whites first and then fold in the remaining ingredients
Christel, you mention ▢ 1 scoop vanilla protein powder. Could you please let me know what the true measurement is in cups?
Thank you
That’s about 1 oz., looks like ~1/3 cup
My concoction is in the oven right now but it’s such a small amount that I don’t think it’ll take 25 minutes to cook. It barely filled the bottom of the small loaf pan that I’m using. I was hoping this would be enough for me to eat throughout the week. Was I supposed to double/triple the recipe to yield more than one serving?
This recipe is only for one serving. If you want enough for a few days you’d have to double or triple the batch
What size pan do you use for one serving?
A 4.5 inches across nonstick pan
Hello,
I am in Canada and can’t seem to get that specific protein powder. Can you recommend on that’s available on Amazon.ca with a strong vanilla flavour?
I found the Met-RX vanilla protein powder on the Canadian Amazon (searched: met-rx protein powder). If you’d rather go with something different you can also try the Quest protein powder brand
How many grams of whey did you use and can i use Xylitol instead of stevia?
One scoop of the brand I use is about 1 oz. / 28.5 grams. And one scoop has 20 grams of protein.
A different sweetener than Stevia should work