Coffee Cake Baked Oatmeal?

Ever since I was a child, I have loved coffee cakes and crumb cakes. My favorite part is (of course) the sugary, crumbly, cinnamon filled, streusel topping. Lately I have been experimenting with protein fortified baked oatmeal because delicious prep ahead breakfast that hold well are hard to come by. All of the baked oatmeal recipes I have come up with so far have been pretty good but this one “takes the cake”.

Happy Accidents

The texture of this baked oatmeal is very cake like and is the result of what I like to call a happy accident. Happy accidents are when you screw up what you were intending to do and end up with a better result by default. Some of my best recipes over the years are happy accidents.

Mise en Place

The day I decided to create this recipe I was in a hurry and was just throwing all of the ingredients in the bowl  as I measured them. This goes against everything I preach as a culinary instructor and chef, and it is something I rarely do. Normally I “mise in place” which means to measure out everything separately before putting the recipe together. Mise en place allows you to make sure you have all of the right ingredients, the right quantities and then lets you quickly put the recipe together in proper order. This ensures success every time and is key in professional baking.

Saved By The Blender

Since I threw everything in the bowl, and did not mix my dry ingredients together first, some of my protein powder clumped. In order to get rid of the clumps I skimmed them all off the top and but them in the blender with about half of the total batter mixture. What happened as a result is a “happy accident”.  By blending half of the batter, I created a thicker mixture because the oats that got blended were able to absorb more of the almond milk. I am certain this is what gave this recipe a more cake like texture than others.

The Best Part

For the topping I really wanted to get as close as possible, in flavor and texture, to a traditional cinnamon streusel. Traditionally streusel is a mixture sugar, flour/ oats/ nuts and butter. I replaced the flour with a combination of quick oats & protein powder and the fat with a mixture of almond butter and hazelnut mct oil. The sugar is replaced with a touch of maple syrup.  I hope you love it as much as I do.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Baked Oatmeal

Course: Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, dairy free, gluten free, Meal Prep

Keyword: Baked Oatmeal

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 173 kcal

Author: Alina Eisenhauer

This baked oatmeal is delicious served warm, cold or room temperature. I like it as is with a cup of coffee but it is also delicious topped with vanilla cashew milk yogurt, Greek yogurt or warm sauteed fruit.

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Ingredients

• 1 cups gluten-free quick rolled oats
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups almond milk vanilla unsweetened
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder *see notes
• 1 cup egg whites
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

Topping

• 1/2 cup quick rolled oats
• 1/4 cup walnuts measure then finely chop
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 tbsp MCT oil can sub with any oil you like
• 2 tbsp almond butter
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and lightly spray or oil a 9x13 pan.

Topping

1. Place the oats, protein powder, cinnamon and chopped walnuts in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

2. In a small microwave proof dish, combine the almond butter, mct oil and maple syrup. Warm for 15-20 seconds or until they loosen and mix together easily.

3. Pour the almond butter mixture over the oat mixture and use a fork to combine into a crumbly mixture, set aside.

   

The Batter

1. In a large bowl mix together the oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt

2. Add the almond milk, egg whites, vanilla and maple syrup. Whisk together until all of the ingredients are well combined.

3. Place half of the batter mixture into a blender, add the protein powder and blend until slightly thickened and well combined. Pour this mixture back into the bowl containing the original mixture and stir to combine well.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared 9x13 pan and bake (on the middle rack) for 15 min or until it is just beginning to set.

5. Carefully and evenly sprinkle the streusel over the top, rotate the pan and bake for an additional 15 - 20 min until it is set and the topping is just starting to brown.

6. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing.

7. This oatmeal will keep for a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

This recipe was created with  unsweetened vanilla almond milk but it will work with any nut milk you like or 2% dairy milk. 

For the protein powder I used The Dr. & The Chef vanilla whey protein - if you are non dairy you can use The Dr. & The Chef vegan vanilla protein powder or any protein powder you like just remember that it may change the nutrition profile and texture. 

For the oats you can use quick oats, which is what I use, old fashioned oats or a mix of the two - if you use old fashioned it will have a slightly denser chewier texture.

Nutrition Facts

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Baked Oatmeal

Amount Per Serving

Calories 173 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 2g13%

Sodium 188mg8%

Potassium 340mg10%

Carbohydrates 18g6%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 8g9%

Protein 11g22%

Calcium 178mg18%

Iron 0.8mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.