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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.
There is something so fun about starting the 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 syrup is not a good breakfast option.
That’s why I created this nutritious (and very delicious) cinnamon swirl protein cake.
Why you will love this cinnamon swirl protein cake
- It’s high in protein (34 grams per serving) and low in carbs (13.7 net carbs per serving)
- It only takes 30 minutes to make
- You can store it in the fridge for days so you always have breakfast or a snack ready
- It’s very filling and will give you energy for hours
Reader review
Best protein cake ever! I have never had much luck baking with protein powder before, but this was amazing. I have had it 4 days in a row now 🙂.
Madison
How to make cinnamon swirl protein cake
This delicious, breakfast-approved cake is very simple to make and requires only 6 ingredients (one of which is water!).
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 390 F (200 C).
Step 2: Blend all the ingredients except the cinnamon. The mixture should be like a thick pancake batter.
Step 3: Pour half the batter into a small (about 4.5 inches across) nonstick pan and sprinkle with the cinnamon.
Step 5: Pour the remaining batter on top.
Step 6: Pull a knife through the batter a few times to slightly mix in the cinnamon.
Step 7: Bake for 12 minutes and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Don’t try to increase the ingredients and make a “giant loaf.” If you do that, it won’t get cooked all the way through… and the last thing you want is a mushy protein cake!
- 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 smaller than 6 inches in diameter.
- Make sure you’re using 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.
Substitutions and variations
- You can use almost any sweetener you like. Most low-carb sweeteners are ok for baking, and of course, regular sugar works great (if you don’t mind the carbs and calories)
- You can use a different protein powder, but it may take some trial and error to find one that works. Not all protein powders are great for baking, and it is hard to know which ones work without testing them.
- Using milk instead of water makes the cake slightly richer in texture.
- This recipe uses a lot of cinnamon. You can make the taste milder by reducing the cinnamon and adding a dash of vanilla essence.
What to serve with protein cake
When I eat this cake for breakfast, I typically drink a Skinny Vanilla Almond Latte or Orange Cinnamon Breakfast Tea (if I want to go all-out on cinnamon flavor).
For an afternoon snack, I often pair it with a low-carb smoothie. My favorites are a Low-Carb Carrot Smoothie or Low-Carb Watermelon Smoothie with Mint. The freshness from the smoothies is excellent with the heavy cake.
If you want to be a little crazy, you can slice the cake into pieces and put Sugar-free Cinnamon Applesauce on them. This is A LOT of cinnamon, but I love it!
Storage and freezing
- You can store cinnamon swirl protein cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- To reheat, place in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- I don’t recommend freezing it. It will get soggy when you defrost it.
More high-protein recipes
I love incorporating protein powder into my cooking. Here are a few of my favorite high-protein recipes that I know you’ll love!
For even more healthy high-protein recipes, take a look at my roundups of the best high-protein breakfast recipes.
Cinnamon Swirl Protein Cake
Ingredients
Batter
- ½ cup oats
- 2 egg whites, (2 ounces or 6 tablespoons)
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, (2 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon Stevia
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 390 F (200 C)
- Blend everything except the cinnamon until the consistency is smooth. The mixture should be like thick pancake batter.½ cup oats, 2 egg whites, ⅔ cup water, 2 scoops vanilla protein powder, 1 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon Stevia
- Pour half of the batter into a small (about 4.5 inches across) nonstick pan and sprinkle with the cinnamon.1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Pour the remaining batter on top.
- Pull a knife through the batter a few times to slightly mix in the cinnamon.
- Bake for 12 minutes and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Madison
Best protein cake ever! I have never had much luck baking with protein powder before, but this was amazing. I have had it 4 days in a row now 🙂
J H
Can you use the whole egg instead of just the white?
Christel Oerum
Yes, the macronutrients will just shift a little
Victoria
I just made this and it worked out great for me. I used the following:
1/3 cup cashew milk/water instead of just water
Added a pinch of salt
Pinch of baking powder
I used half the amount of cinnamon and made the recipe in a muffin tin with 6 slots and made 3 muffins. I cooked them for 17 minutes at 325 as mentioned in the recipe.
I used 30 grams of quest vanilla protein powder. Loving this recipe so much. I plugged it all in to myfitnesspal and it told me it was 145 calories with 28 grams of protein.
Victoria
Edit: sorry everyone. Forgot to add in the oats. Oy vey. Revised nutrition per myfitness pal: 216 calories, 30 grams of protei n
Kirsten
Hey there! Thanks for the great recipe! I swapped out whole oats for powdered oats, cut out the Stevia altogether and added in a dash of vanilla essence in case my protein powder wasn’t vanilla-ey enough. After reading the comments, I also threw in 1/8 tsp of baking powder too and it rose…boy, did it rise! All over the bottom of my oven xD
The only things I would change would be a) the amount of cinnamon…I only used a teaspoon but it overpowered everything. I might only put in half next time and see how it goes, and b) slightly greasing the dish, as I’m staring at what is going to be a nasty washing up job!
I think I messed up the amount of protein powder though…my scoop is 50g but, from the comments, I thought it was approx 30g I should put in…should it have been 60g? The cake felt a little wet, and I wasn’t sure if that was why.
Great recipe though, and I’ve bookmarked it as I know I’ll come back to it again and again for my afternoon snack 🙂
Christel Oerum
Hi – glad you liked it enough to make it again 🙂
A scoop is usually about 30 grams (which should be about 20 g of protein) and if it feels wet I’d suggest cutting back the water a little
Dannah
Would you perhaps be interested into making a step by step video?
I’ve tried your recipe multiple times but it still does not rise how I’d like it to.
However whipping the egg whites and folding it at the end does help a lot:)
Love your recipes!!
Christel Oerum
Thank you for that suggestion. You’re unfortunately not the only one who’s having issues with this recipe. I’ve redone it at home and it works for me but we might just have to take it off the site. I’m debating it
Linda W
Please don’t take this recipe down! I love it as a change from my usual eggs n oats, protein pancakes and protein muffins. Sooooo yummy! I’ve usually double it and add 1/4 tsp of baking powder to help it rise.
Christel Oerum
Thank you for that feedback. Let me try and make it with a rising agent as well and then I can just update the recipe
Tammy Howlette
What are good substitutions for the stevia. trying to reduce our sugar intake.
Christel Oerum
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/
Linda
The taste is good and it’s filling, but the texture is a little hard.
Stacey
This was not doughy at all for me after blending…
Christel Oerum
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
Amanda
Hi, could you tell me how many grams of protein powder one of your scoops equals? My protein powder requires two scoops for a shake which equals 30g. I’m wondering if I didn’t put enough in by using only one scoop.
Christel Oerum
Yes, that’s a great clarifying question. This recipe calls for 1 scoop which with the powder I used is about 1 oz / 29 grams and 20 grams of protein. So with yours, I’d use 2 scoops
Edit Fried
Love the ingridiants and taste but mine always comes hard and flat 🙁 any suggestion to make it rize bigger?
Christel Oerum
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
Jon
Mine also comes out flat and im using the same protein powder. Not sure what I’m doing wrong
Christel Oerum
Hm, that’s annoying. I think I’ll have to make a video for this recipe. Thank you for the feedback
Laura
Could I replace the egg white with aquafaba? Or any ideas for another vegan replacement?
Christel Oerum
I don’t know, I’ve never heard of or worked with that product
Ed
Great ecipe but what is a serving size?
Christel Oerum
This serves 1. On all our recipes you can find the serving size on the recipe card just above the ingredient list
Kelly
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!
Christel Oerum
The whole loaf, all of the ingredients, is one serving