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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.
Adriel
I can’t wait to try this! I was looking at the nutrition facts, how much is a serving? The whole cake?
Christel Oerum
That is correct. Enjoy
Patti Ward
Can’t wait to try this! I just want to clarify the Stevia… are the measurements for powder or liquid? Thank you
Christel Oerum
I used powdered stevia
Lori
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!
Christel Oerum
Yay, I’m glad it worked out. Thank you for letting us know
ivy
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
Christel Oerum
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
James
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
Christel Oerum
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 🙂
Crystal
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
Christina
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
Christel Oerum
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
Mia
The consistency of my batter is just watery… I’ve followed exactly, using 30g if whey and its just milk… Anyone else found this?
Zuzana
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.
susan
don’t use protein powder with whey whey can cause it to be watery
Maria
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.
Jennifer Lundberg
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.
Jennifer Lundberg
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!
Janice
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
Christel Oerum
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
Olga
Christel, you mention ▢ 1 scoop vanilla protein powder. Could you please let me know what the true measurement is in cups?
Thank you
Christel Oerum
That’s about 1 oz., looks like ~1/3 cup
Kat
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?
Christel Oerum
This recipe is only for one serving. If you want enough for a few days you’d have to double or triple the batch
Natalie Stevens
What size pan do you use for one serving?
Christel Oerum
A 4.5 inches across nonstick pan
Diana
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?
Christel Oerum
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
pedro
How many grams of whey did you use and can i use Xylitol instead of stevia?
Christel Oerum
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