Healthy Snickerdoodle Coffee Cake

I had the super fun opportunity to make this recipe for my team at my internship. Since all things work-related are virtual this summer, my team started doing weekly cooking events! One person gets to showcase a recipe over Zoom that others can either follow, replicate later, or just watch for fun! This cake was perfect as it took under 20 minutes to prepare. The oven also smelled. so. good.

This healthy(ish) snickerdoodle coffee cake really hits the spot if you’re looking for a fluffy cake that’s free of guilt. As a lover of texture, I’m definitely a sucker for crumbles in cake — so this seemed like the obvious choice for me. The crumble is not only spread on top of the cake, but is layered in the middle as well! This adds a lovely cinnamon crunch to every bite!

I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, reduced the amount of oil, and used cottage cheese as my fat/butter substitute. It turned out extremely moist, soft, and tasted just as good if not better than any cake I’ve made pre-substitutions.

• Taste: ★★★★
• Difficulty: ★
• Ingredients: ★★
• Time: 45-60 minutes

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Crumble Topping

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 tbsp cold butter, cubed

Cake

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp milk or water
• 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Lightly grease and flour an 8 x 8″ baking dish.
2. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon in a small medium bowl.
3. Using a fork, or your hands, cut in cold butter cubes until mixture forms small crumbs. 
4. To make the cake batter, whisk together oil, Greek yogurt, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla in a bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
6. Spread half of the batter into the baking dish. Sprinkle half of the crumble topping over the batter. Spread remaining cake batter over the crumble, then sprinkle with the remaining crumble on top.
7. Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
8. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting and enjoy!