Healthy Peach Oatmeal Breakfast Cake

Yields: 1 cake (16 square slices)

This oatmeal cake is supremely moist and tender with a hint of cozy spices and plenty of sweet, juicy peaches. It’s perfect for breakfast meal prepping or quick grab-and-go snacks! Leftovers will keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and individual slices freeze really well too!

4.34 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (150g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free, if necessary)
1 ¼ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 tsp almond extract
¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
6 tbsp (90mL) pure maple syrup
5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk, divided
¾ cup (150g) diced peaches, thoroughly drained (see Notes!)

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, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, and almond extract. Add in Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps of yogurt remain. Stir in the maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of milk. Alternate between adding the oat mixture and remaining 4 tablespoons of milk, beginning and ending with the oat mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the oat mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the peaches.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing and serving.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will dry out your cake and give it a crumbly texture — especially the oats! They act like little sponges and soak up moisture from your cake batter.

IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to make the batter. This results in a gummy, chewy, rubbery, or tough cake. Use a whisk where explicitly instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

IMPORTANT BAKING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s important to let the cake cool completely to room temperature before slicing and serving. This is because the cake’s structure hasn’t fully set until it has fully cooled. Do not cut the cake while it’s still warm!

IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: This cake isn’t overly sweet — and that’s intentional! It’s meant to have the sweetness level of breakfast bread, scones, or muffins. (It's not as sweet as a true "dessert" cake!) If you’d prefer a sweeter cake, then substitute an additional 2-4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup for an equal amount of milk. (For example, use an extra 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup for a total of ½ cup, and reduce the milk to 3 tablespoons.)

IMPORTANT PEACH NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Fresh peaches, peaches canned in 100% juice, or frozen and thawed peaches will all work. (If using fresh, it’s up to you whether you peel them. It’s fine to leave the skin on, and it’s also fine to remove it — whatever you prefer!)

It’s very important to thoroughly drain your peaches before adding them to the batter. Your cake will collapse if there’s too much peach juice in the batter! I intentionally devised this recipe so the batter is on the thicker and drier side before you fold in the peaches. Because they’ll release lots of juice while the cake bakes, you also need to drain off all of the excess juice before adding the diced peaches to the batter. If you add your diced peaches to a colander at the very beginning of the recipe, before measuring and mixing together all of the other ingredients, they should be thoroughly drained and ready to go when it’s time to fold them in.

OATS NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Instant oats are smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. They’re also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats. They’re not the ones that come in individual paper packets with flavors like apple cinnamon or maple brown sugar. They only contain one ingredient: oats! You can find them in canisters right next to the old-fashioned rolled oats at the grocery store. (You’ll also use instant oats in all of these oatmeal cookie recipes, these oatmeal muffin recipes, and these snack cake recipes of mine too!)

In a pinch, to make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned rolled oats to a blender or food processor, and pulse 10-12 times or until the oats are about ¼ to ⅛ of their original size.

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.

SPICES NOTES: I highly recommend Saigon cinnamon! It’s stronger, richer, and sweeter than the regular kind commonly found at grocery stores. I buy it online here (it's really affordable!), and it’s basically the only kind I use in my baking recipes now. The nutmeg provides a gentle background warmth and richness. It’s very subtle, but it makes this cake taste cozier!

EGG WHITES NOTE: You must use all 3 egg whites. The protein in the egg whites helps prevent your cake from collapsing while cooling. If you didn’t use all of the egg whites, your cake would sink some, especially in the center, and turn out pretty dense and somewhat soggy in texture. (But the flavors will remain the same!) If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 3 whole eggs, and decrease the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.

ALMOND EXTRACT ALTERNATIVE: If you’re not a fan of almond extract or don't have any, substitute vanilla extract instead.

SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. Do not substitute sugar-free maple syrup! It’ll make the cake collapse while cooling and turn out overly dense.

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: Use certified gluten free instant oats (like these). For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following blend: ¾ cup (90g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.