Throughout my childhood, my family went camping at least twice each summer. We’d stuff our minivan full of duffels, sleeping bags, inflatable mattress pads, maps, coolers, a portable stove, and as much bug spray as we could find in the drugstore before driving for 3 hours on spacious city freeways that turned into narrow winding roads, which led us up into the mountains.
Upon arriving, we scoped out the area for the best (aka flattest) campsite, and after pulling to a stop, we immediately jumped out of the car to stretch our legs. My younger brother and I offered to help Dad string together the poles for our tent while Mom hid our big containers of food in the bear lockers. (We knew Smokey was nice, but as for the rest of his friends…)
We spent the rest of the week soaking in the great outdoors. My parents planned a different hike for every morning before the temperature and sun rose too high (and no, my brother and I weren’t above M&M bribes to make it through the whole trail without complaining!), and we walked down to the lake every afternoon to relax and wash off the dust.
Although we ate lots of peanut butter, crackers, and dried fruit for lunches and dinners, every morning started with the same ritual. Mom boiled a large pot of water on our little gas-powered portable stove and set out two mugs for each of us: one for instant oatmeal (I always chose the cinnamon apple pouches!) and another for a morning drink. My mom, brother, and I sipped on hot chocolate, complete with mini marshmallows, while Dad opted for coffee to get his morning caffeine fix.
Those were some of my favorite summer moments: the sun barely beginning to peek through the pine needles, the birds chirping a cheerful hello, and the cozy smells of coffee and chocolate wafting around the quiet campsite.
Back then, the only kind of coffee I would tolerate was “cake” (aka something without any coffee flavor at all!), so I combined that with one of my favorite summer fruits to create a new happy summer memory: this Peach Streusel Coffee Cake!
Cake that’s acceptable for breakfast… Who wouldn’t be happy about that?
The base for this clean-eating cake starts with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is lighter in texture than regular whole wheat, closer to that of all-purpose, which creates a very moist and tender cake. Whole wheat pastry flour does the same thing, if you store than in your pantry instead.
Next comes the cinnamon. It’s my favorite part of any coffee cake! I usually take a “some is good, more is better” approach with this cozy spice in my baking, so it’s in both the cake batter and streusel topping. But if you’re a huge cinnamon fanatic like me, feel free to add a little extra!
The cake batter contains just 1 tablespoon of butter—yes, that’s it! The rest of the tender texture comes from Greek yogurt. It’s my secret weapon in almost all of my healthy baking recipes because it provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories. Plus Greek yogurt adds a little protein boost too!
And now for the most important part… Peaches! (Although I generally argue it should be the streusel…) We’ll fold 1½ cups of diced peaches into the batter. The smaller the peach pieces, the easier it is to slice and serve the coffee cake. Fresh, canned in 100% juice, or frozen and thawed will all work, so you can make this breakfast treat all year round.
Like I mentioned, the streusel is always my favorite part, whether it’s on coffee cakes, muffins, fruit crumbles—you name it! This streusel is somewhat different than traditional recipes because it uses melted butter and maple syrup, instead of cold butter and brown sugar. These ingredients mean the topping comes together much quicker, but it’s slightly stickier and may adhere to your fingers while sprinkling it over the batter.
Then bake, cool, slice, and take a big bite…
Does life get much better than dessert for breakfast?
| Peach Streusel Coffee Cake | | Print |
- for the topping
- ½ cup (60g) white whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup
- for the cake
- 1 ¾ cups (210g) white whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup (80mL) pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (310g) diced peaches (about 3 small)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the topping, stir together the flour and cinnamon. Thoroughly mix in the butter and maple syrup. Set aside.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix in the yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Fold in the peaches.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the crumb topping over the batter. (The crumb topping tends to clump, so try to break it up into pieces the size of mini chocolate chips.) Bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
For a gluten-free version, I recommend the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1½ teaspoons xanthan gum.
Coconut oil may be substituted for the butter. Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Peaches that are fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned in 100% juice and drained will all work.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Can you recommend an egg substitute?
Thank you!!
Theresa
Absolutely! My brother is actually allergic to eggs, and Ener-G is my favorite substitute. Ener-G is a flavorless, shelf-stable powder that keeps for ages. It works perfectly as an egg replacer in nearly all of my recipes, including this one! For my recipes, use 1 ½ teaspoons Ener-G + 2 tablespoons warm water for each egg white, and you’ll need an additional ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil {or Earth Balance, if you’re vegan!} for each egg yolk.
I’d love to hear what you think of this cake if you try making it, Theresa!
I am SO excited to try this! It looks amazing!!! Thank you, Amy, for all of the delicious recipes you have blessed us with.❤
You’re so sweet — it’s my pleasure, Shay! I’m really looking forward to hearing what you think of this cake! 🙂
I tried it, and it is SO delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will be making this again soon!♥
I’m so glad!! That’s the best kind of compliment, if you already think you’ll make it again. Thanks for taking the time to let me know Shay!
Baking took much longer than the recipe. Total bake time an hour.
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Pamela! That’s strange your cake took so long to bake. I’d love to help figure out why that was! In order to do so, I have some questions for you. 🙂
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients, especially the flour, maple syrup, and peaches?
If you used measuring cups/spoons, can you describe how you used them to measure?
Did you use fresh peaches, canned peaches, or frozen and thawed peaches?
If fresh, did you happen to measure the peaches by “3 small peaches,” rather than cups or grams, by any chance?
If canned or frozen and thawed, did you happen to drain any of their juice before adding them to the batter?
Can you describe the consistency of your batter? Was it thick, thin, runny, etc?
What happened when you inserted a toothpick into the center of your cake after baking it for 45 minutes?
What was the texture of your cake like once you finally removed it from the oven after an hour and waited 10 minutes before slicing to serve?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Can I freeze this? It looks so good but is a lot of points of WW blue (8). I think I would need to freeze portions right away. Thanks.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Marcia! I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, so I’m not personally sure and don’t want to lead you astray. However, when I’ve stored it in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it’s often lasted more than 5 days without spoiling (even up to 7 or 8 days!), if that’s any help!
I’d love to hear what you think of this cake if you try making it!
Amy, I have made your recipe before and they don’t disappoint, however, this one did not taste good. I bake quite frequently. Used all the ingredients you mentioned, measured with a scale, baked 35 min, toothpick test was clear after 35 min. Let cool 15 min. Used thawed peaches, no excess water. Used king arthur white whole wheat flour. Would you kindly let me know what could have gone wrong?
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Robin! That sounds really disappointing. I’m happy to help figure out what happened! In order to do so, I have some questions for you. 🙂
Could you describe what was disappointing about the flavor in a bit more detail? Not sweet enough, too bland, couldn’t taste the spices, couldn’t taste the peaches, etc?
How was the texture of your cake once you cut into it after letting it rest for 15 minutes?
Did you use your kitchen scale to measure all ingredients, including the milk, maple syrup, and vanilla? Or only the ingredients given in gram measurements?
When you measured your frozen and thawed peaches, did you do so before or after thawing?
What brand of cinnamon did you use?
Just to double check, you used pure maple syrup, correct? Not pancake syrup or sugar-free syrup?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Describe the flavor: not sweet enough. Tasted more of the flour then anything else. Tasted the peaches and the spices.
Texture: it was firm, not gooey or hard.
Scale: Used kitchen scale for flour only. Used measuring cups and spoons for other ingredients. Used a liquid measuring cup for the milk.
Peaches: I used an entire bag of peaches that were frozen and thawed. The bag said it contained 3 cups of peaches, not sure if this means 3 cups frozen or 3 cups thawed. Does it matter?
Cinnamon: Costco brand, just opened it.
Maple syrup: Pure.
Looking forward to your response. Thanks, Amy!
Thank you for sharing your answers, Robin! I have a few more follow-up questions for you. 🙂
How was the sweetness level compared to muffins? Was it comparable, or was it closer to the “sweetness” level of regular sandwich bread? (This is a breakfast cake, not a dessert cake, so it’s not supposed to be overly sweet! It’s supposed to have a sweetness level closer to muffins than “dessert” cake. However, it shouldn’t be as “unsweet” as sandwich bread, bagels, or anything of that nature!)
Did you use the full amount of pure maple syrup? (Again, I’m assuming you did, but I just wanted to double check!)
Yes!! In general, the amount of peaches does matter. This is because the peaches usually release juice as the cake (or muffins, scones, cookies, etc!) bakes in the oven. That juice then impacts the texture. If you use more peaches than the recipe calls for, they can add too much liquid to the batter and prevent your baked good from fully setting properly. It sounds like it worked out in this particular case, but in the future, I highly recommend using the exact amount of peaches called for in my recipes (because that might not always be true!). If you have a kitchen scale, then I highly recommend using it for all ingredients given in gram measurements in my recipes (but not mL!). That should help ensure your baked goods turn out with the correct taste and texture!
How sweet were the peaches that you used? Sometimes, certain brands of frozen peaches aren’t quite as sweet or have as strong of a flavor as fresh peaches or ones that have been canned in 100% juice, so I’m also wondering if that factored into the taste of your coffee cake.
Thanks for your patience and answering these questions as well!
Thanks for answering my questions, Amy.
Sweetness: didn’t taste any sweetness. Tasted more like flour. Did not have the sweetness of a muffin.
Maple Syrup: Yes, I used the correct amount.
Peaches: The peaches tasted like canned peaches except they were frozen and thawed. Nothing compares to using fresh, sweet, ripe, peaches, but I chose frozen for the convenience. In the package, there was no “juice”, only peaches. Do you think it came out dry because the peaches were not in “juice”?
You’re welcome, Robin!
I’m a little confused by parts of your most recent comment. There wouldn’t be added juice in a bag of frozen peaches, but if the frozen peaches were fully thawed, then they would’ve released moisture while thawing. Did you completely drain that off or thoroughly dry them with paper towels (or something similar) before adding them into the batter?
Again, like I mentioned above, the sweetness level of the peaches generally plays a role in how sweet this breakfast cake tastes. If you use peaches that aren’t as sweet, then that will impact the overall sweetness of your breakfast cake. If you’d like to use the same brand of frozen peaches again (the convenience is hard to beat! 😉 ), then I’d recommend replacing the milk with pure maple syrup (so a total of ⅓ cup + 6 tablespoons of maple syrup and no milk!), which should make your cake much sweeter. Hopefully you like that version much better!
Forgot to ask can I use almond milk instead of nonfat milk?
I’ve actually covered the answer to this exact question in the Notes section of the recipe! That section is located directly underneath the Instructions inside of the recipe box. I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this cake, Marcia!
The cake was great, moist and full of peaches. However, the topping did not look like the photo, crumbly, instead it was kind of granular and just rested atop the streusel, looking like a dry floury topping. And suggestions on how to adapt to get the more textured, crumbly topping? I followed the direction to the T, but it’s real dry.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cake portion, Irene! That doesn’t sound like how the streusel is supposed to turn out at all, so I’m happy to help figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients, especially the flour?
If the latter, did you use my fork method to measure the flour? (It’s the one I outlined if you clicked on the pink “measured correctly” link in the Ingredients list!)
Did you use the full amount of butter and pure maple syrup in the topping?
I know I just asked a lot of questions, but I’ll have a better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
No substitutions, I used your measuring method, and used the right amount of butter and pure maple syrup. Can’t figure out why it didn’t crumble up?
Maybe I’ll just have to make it again. Maybe a little more butter and maple syrup? I did use white whole wheat flour BTW.
Thanks for sharing this info, Irene! If it didn’t crumble, it’s because the ratio of flour to “wet” ingredients (aka the melted butter and maple syrup!) was off, so it sounds like there was either too much flour or not enough of the “wet” ingredients in your mixture.
When you say you used my measuring method, I’m assuming you mean the fork method, correct? If so, did you happen to gently shake or sift your measuring cups back and forth at all while filling them with flour (perhaps to “even out” the top of the flour inside of the measuring cups!) before leveling with a knife?
I replaced the peaches with apples (using the same weight as written in the directions) and doubled the streusel for the top, and it was so delicious! It’s a perfect Fall dessert. I will definitely be making this again!