Throughout elementary school, my parents tucked a little treat into our lunches every day for my younger brother and me to enjoy. Since Mom rarely baked, we usually found store-bought sweets when we opened our lunch boxes.
With so many options to choose from at the grocery store, we rarely ate the same treats for more than one week in a row. Things like small soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, circus animal cookies, sugar wafers, elf-shaped cookies with fudge filling…
But our favorites were always Little Debbie sweets! We weren’t picky with the type. Oatmeal crème pies, cream-filled chocolate cupcakes, chocolate cake rolls with vanilla frosting… We slowly savored every single crumb of those treats!
During December, Mom often snagged some of the holiday-themed sweets, like Little Debbie’s small cakes cut into the shape of Christmas trees and decorated with festive red and green sprinkles. If we behaved really well, she even let us each eat one as our after school snack!
When I spotted a prominent display of those tree-shaped cakes at the grocery store last week, I smiled at the childhood memories of eating those as a special treat after returning home from school. But I’m sure this Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal Snack Cake would’ve been a much better — and even tastier — option!
It’s bursting with festive and cozy holiday flavor, but it contains no artificial ingredients, refined flour or sugar like those store-bought cakes… And each slice is barely 100 calories!
And since my brother and I have always been huge gingerbread fans, I bet we even would’ve picked this healthier snack cake over those store-bought ones as kids too!
HOW TO MAKE A GINGERBREAD OATMEAL SNACK CAKE
To make this healthy gingerbread snack cake, you’ll start with whole wheat flour (or gluten-free – see the Notes section of the recipe for my recommendations!) and instant oats (like these… or these for a gluten-free option!). Instant oats are smaller and thinner than traditional rolled oats, which means they soften faster, so they give this cake a supremely tender texture. They’re also called “quick-cooking” or “one-minute” oats, and you can find them right next to the old-fashioned oats at the grocery store.
To really boost the supremely tender texture, you’ll also mix lots of Greek yogurt into your cake batter! I bet you already knew I was going to say that, right?… It’s one of my favorite ingredients for a reason! It adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your gingerbread snack cake a protein boost, too!
You’ll skip the refined sugar and sweeten your snack cake with pure maple syrup (like this!) and molasses (like this!) instead. I do not recommend substituting anything for the molasses! It’s a key ingredient in all gingerbread-flavored treats and provides that deep, rich, cozy, warms-you-from-your-nose-to-the-tips-of-your-toes flavor. Molasses is shelf-stable and inexpensive, and you can typically find it on the baking aisle near the honey. (This is the kind I use!)
Of course, we can’t forget the most important ingredients… The spices! You’ll sprinkle in ginger (pretty obvious!), cinnamon (← I’m obsessed with that type!), nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Yes, I know that’s a lot of spices! Although it might be tempting to use store-bought gingerbread spice, I find those blends often have a flatter, duller flavor compared to when I make my own with the individual spices. (And you’ll use those spices in most of these recipes of mine, too!)
Snack time just might be my new favorite time of day! Or maybe breakfast… Since this snack cake is definitely healthy enough for that too! 😉
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy gingerbread oatmeal snack cake!
Healthy Gingerbread Oatmeal Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (150g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten free, if necessary)
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat or gluten free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp (10g) ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses (not blackstrap!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, and vanilla. Add in Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps of yogurt remain. Stir in the molasses and maple syrup. Alternate between adding the oat mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the oat mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the oat mixture in 3 equal parts.)
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 22-26 minutes or until the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing and serving.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Banana Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Gingerbread
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread
♡ Healthy Gingerbread with Maple Glaze
♡ Healthy Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones
Would these freeze well or not as I could make a batch and just take our s bit when ever thanks x hope you are well
Yes! Once this oatmeal cake has fully cooled, the individual slices freeze and thaw really well. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this oatmeal cake if you try making it, Lily!
I must have done something wrong. Flavours were amazing, but otherwise drier than a nun’s chaff.
I’m glad you at least enjoyed the flavors of this oatmeal cake! That doesn’t sound like how the texture is supposed to turn out at all, so I’d love to help figure out why yours was so dry. 🙂 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, especially for the oats, flour, molasses, and maple syrup?
Can you describe the consistency of the batter right before you spread it into your baking pan?
How long did you bake your cake?
I’ll have a much better idea of the potential culprit once I know your answers to all of the above questions!
Hi from Australia,
I made this very yummy cake for my Nanny family, they loved it!!!!
I love the healthy cake recipes,I’ll be making them all with my 3 year old assistant 🙂
Thanks
Jane
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed this oatmeal cake, Jane! It means a lot that you’d take the time to let me know. I can’t wait to hear which recipe you and your 3-year-old assistant pick to try making next! 😉
So are we using whole oats or making oat flour to use
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Debra! This recipe calls for whole instant oats, not oat flour. If you don’t have instant oats (also called quick cooking or one minute oats), then you can pulse old-fashioned rolled oats in a food processor until they’re about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size (but don’t grind them until they’re a flour!). 🙂
I’d love to hear what you think of this gingerbread cake if you try making it!
Just baked this for the first time. I love how spicy it is and I went with the 4 tbsp of maple syrup option. That’s the perfect sweetness. I love your site and trying your recipes. Thanks for the weights on things like flour and other ingredients. I truly believe this is where the magical perfection lies. Keep up the great work 🙌🏻
I’m so glad you enjoyed this gingerbread oatmeal snack cake, Sarah! It truly means a lot that you’re enjoying my recipes and find the metric measurements helpful too. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
I must be gluten free, dairy free and EGG free.
Do you have a suggestion to replace the egg white?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Elaine! One of my close family members 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, although that doesn’t apply to this particular recipe!).
I’d love to hear what you think of this snack cake if you end up making it!
You explain how to measure flour properly but do not mention how to measure oats. Can I safely assume it is the same way using the folk method since I do not have a scale?
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe, Cathy! I’m really sorry about my delayed response. I was out of the office to take care of some family things, and it took a lot more time than I anticipated. I completely understand if it’s too late and this reply isn’t very helpful, but just in case…
Yes, that’s exactly right! On my Baking Basics page, I actually included oats in the section about flour — but I know it can be REALLY easy to miss that detail. 😉
Again, I know it might be too late… But if you do end up making this gingerbread cake, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
The gingerbread snake cake is delicious. However, it did not raise. I measured everything. Any ideas?
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Jaye! That sounds disappointing and not like how this cake is supposed to turn out at all, so I’m happy to work with you to figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you! 🙂
Did your cake rise while baking but collapse while cooling — or did it not rise at all?
How was its texture? Was it moist inside?
How was its flavor? (It sounds like that was okay, but I just wanted to double check!)
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, oats, maple syrup, and molasses?
If you used measuring cups, did you happen to dip them directly into your containers of flour and oats? Or did you gently shake them back and forth at all while filling them (ie to “level off” the mound of flour or oats)?
If you used a kitchen scale, did you use grams, mL, or ounces to measure the maple syrup and molasses?
Did you use the full amount of maple syrup and molasses?
Did you use sugar free maple syrup, by any chance?
Can you describe the consistency of your cake batter before you transferred it to the pan? Was it really thick (almost like cookie dough), really thin, or somewhere in between?
How long did you bake your cake? Closer to 22 minutes, closer to 26 minutes, or a different amount of time?
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!
Hi from Australia
Can I put in pieces of ginger
Ie stem ginger
I love ginger flavour or would this be too much
Thanks
Tanya
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Tanya! As written, this cake has a strong spicy ginger flavor. If you do end up adding another form of ginger, in addition to the 2 tablespoons of ground ginger, it might be a good idea to decrease the ground ginger a bit so the ginger taste isn’t too strong or overpowering.
I haven’t tried adding stem ginger, so I’m not personally sure and don’t want to lead you astray. My main concern about stem ginger is that it can often have some of the preserving liquid, and adding too much additional liquid will cause the cake to collapse. So if you’d like to try adding stem ginger, I’d recommend thoroughly draining it and maybe even patting it dry with paper towels first. However, I have a feeling that candied or crystallized ginger wouldn’t affect the cake’s texture since neither are preserved in liquid!
If you end up making this gingerbread cake, whether as written or with additional stem ginger, I’d absolutely love to hear what you think of it! 🙂
Hi Amy. Would coconut yoghurt work, instead of Greek yoghurt, in this recipe?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Casey! Yes, any non-dairy yogurt would work as a good replacement in this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think of this snack cake if you end up making some! 😉
Thanks for your response, Stacey – it’s much appreciated 😊
I’m happy to help! 🙂