The BEST Healthy Coffee Cake Ever–keto, paleo, and sugar-free with vegan option
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This Healthy Keto Coffee Cake is truly one of the best coffee cakes you will ever have. It’s a healthified take on a classic and is easily converted into a Vegan Coffee Cake too. Believe me, this is a very special recipe you’ll want to make over and over again.
Today I am sharing with you one of our new favorite recipes, a low-carb coffee cake.
And by favorite I mean, kids practically jumping up and down whenever I tell them I am going to make it.
When I was little, one of my favorite things to eat was coffee cake.
My family would occasionally buy those Entenmann’s coffee cakes — you know, those perfect-looking cakes in those clean, white boxes. The crumbly stuff on top was sooo delicious – some people (ahem) would be tempted to pick the crumble off the top and leave the plain cake for others.
Well, this grain-free coffee cake has yummy special stuff all the way through, so the whole thing is a treat. I don’t think “topping pickers” will have much work to do :).
Plus, with some easy substitutions, this is easily low carb. Our family has really worked on eating lower carb since we knew we were dealing with candida. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
Even when you remove sugars, grains have a lot of carbs, so moving towards more grain-free recipes is a good move. I already have some grain-free treats that we love like these No Bake “Almond Joy” Bars, Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Balls, and Coconut Delights, but a Grain-free Coffee Cake that’s also low carb and vegan (my son has life-threatening allergies to dairy and egg) was something I never really thought was possible.
This recipe is originally from Kelly Smith of The Nourishing Home–it was my idea to make it vegan and low-carb. And it was a great idea at that.
Everyday Grain-Free Baking: Over 100 Recipes
If you'd like to do more gluten-free and grain-free baking, this cookbook is for you. Kelly is a friend of mine, and her recipes are so delicious!
Kelly came out with an amazing cookbook, The Everyday Grain-Free Baking cookbook and it’s just loaded with amazing recipes, like this one.
Quite a few of the recipes call for eggs, but typically if you are dealing with almond flour (or some other nut or seed flour) and not coconut flour, you can use an egg substitute (like this Homemade Egg Substitute) and get pretty good results.
In the case of this cake, using my Homemade Egg Replacer, we got almost perfect results. Using a flax egg or chia egg, the cake was pretty “gooey” in the middle especially, but it still tasted great.
In other words, my family really didn’t care what I made this paleo coffee-cake with, as long as I made it. They did prefer the egg replacer version, but the other egg-free coffee cakes got gobbled up pretty quickly too with all their yummy gooeiness.
I didn’t try it with a gelatin egg, but I suspect the results would be about the same as with the flax or chia eggs.
Regardless of what form of a binder you use–make this cake.
You’ll love it.
In fact, make two. Or four.
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Ingredients
You will need the following for this recipe:
- Blanched Almond Flour
- Low-carb sweetener (or other sweetener of choice)
- Butter, Palm Shortening, Coconut Oil, or Coconut Butter
- Ground Cinnamon
- Coconut Flour
- Salt (I recommend Real Salt or Himalayan Salt)
- Stevia Extract
- Coconut Milk
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Egg or Egg Alternative
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 315°F.
- Combine butter (or coconut oil), sweetner, and cinnamon until well blended then add walnuts (or other nut or seed) and toss well to combine. Set aside.
- For cinnamon swirl, combine butter (or coconut oil), honey, and cinnamon.
- Using a food processor, combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Then add the remaining ingredients except the eggs and egg whites. Cover and pulse a few times to combine. Then process until the batter is smooth and creamy.
- Add the eggs and egg whites (or alternative). Cover and pulse a few times to combine.
- Transfer half of the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth out the top.
- Drizzle with cinnamon swirl across the top of the batter. Then carefully spoon the remaining cake batter on top. Next, add the toppings.
- Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes until light golden brown along edges.
How to Make This Cake With Gluten-free Grain Flour
Almond Flour has a lot of fat content, so you can double the fat in the recipe and then also reduce the leavening by about 1/4 or 1/2.
I haven’t tried this recipe this way, but if you want to try it with oat flour only, I would try 1.4x the amount of flour, then double the fat and use about 3/4 the amount of leavening.
If anyone tries it this way, I’d love to hear how it turns out. I’ll try to do some trial runs too and report back!
Recipes Notes and Special Diet Options
- Butter Alternatives: You can use organic coconut oil instead of the butter in the topping and swirl, and you can substitute either organic palm shortening or organic coconut butter – here’s how to make your own, for the butter in the cake.
- Egg Alternatives: If you use a vegan egg alternative, the cake won’t be as light and will be a little gooey in places, but it still tastes great. We make it this way all the time and it never sticks around often.
- Sweetener Options: The cake is low carb as written. You can substitute 1/2 cup honey for the sweetener in the cake, 4 teaspoons of honey in the topping, and 2 tablespoons in the swirl. Coconut sugar could be subbed easily 1:1 for the low-carb sweeteners.
- Nut alternatives: You can substitute in other nuts or seeds instead of walnuts. We have used almonds with success. You could also try coconut chips to go nut free.
- Homemade Coconut Milk: See Homemade Coconut Milk for a homemade coconut milk option.
- Egg Substitutes: Use a flax egg, chia egg, or gelatin egg. This egg replacer works great as well (see my homemade version here).
- AIP: substitute organic tiger nut flour or organic cassava flour for the almond flour. Use gelatin egg or an AIP version of this Egg Substitute, or another egg substitute for the eggs.
- Optional Egg Whites: I made the vegan version of this cake for years using only 4 egg alternatives and it turns out great that way. However, using the additional egg whites makes it lighter. Either version is great.
Other Healthy Breakfast Recipes
Blueberry Chia Pudding–super tasty and full of great blueberry flavor
Strawberry Avocado Smoothie–refreshing, dairy-free and low-carb
Teff Waffles (or pancakes)–rich tasting, gluten-free and vegan
Cinnamon Crumb Healthy Coffee Cake – grain free with low-carb & vegan options
Ingredients
Topping
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 6 teaspoons low carb sweetener (see Recipe Notes for alternatives)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup walnut pieces (finely chopped)
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons low carb sweetener (see Recipe Notes for alternatives)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cake
- 3 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup low carb sweetener (see Recipe Notes for alternatives)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
- 5/8 cup coconut milk
- 4 large eggs (use an egg substitute for a vegan option–See Recipe Notes / Special Diet Options for details.)
- 2 egg whites (optional but recommended.)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 315°F. Lightly oil a 9″ x 9″ baking dish; set aside.
For the Topping
- In a small bowl, whisk together the butter (or coconut oil), honey, and cinnamon until well blended. Add the finely chopped walnuts (or other nut or seed) and toss well to combine. Set aside.
For the Cinnamon Swirl
- In a small bowl, whisk together the butter (or coconut oil), honey, and cinnamon until well blended. Set aside.
For the Cake
- In a food processor, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the eggs and egg whites (or egg alternative) to the top of the dry ingredients in the order given. Cover and pulse a few times to combine. Then process until the batter is smooth and creamy (about 20-25 seconds).
- Add the eggs and egg whites (or alternative). Cover and pulse a few times to combine. Then process just enough to blend the eggs into the batter (about 10-15 seconds). Use a thin spatula as needed to scrape down the sides.
- Carefully spoon half of the batter into the prepared baking dish. Use an offset spatula to smooth out the top.
- Drizzle with the cinnamon swirl across the top of the batter. Then carefully spoon the remaining cake batter on top. Use an offset spatula to smooth the top of the batter. Next, starting at the edges of the cake, crumble the topping evenly across the cake. Use your fingers to gently press the topping into the batter a bit.
- Bake the cake for 45-55 minutes until light golden brown along edges and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on the stovetop about 5 minutes. Serve warm with your favorite coffee or tea.
Notes
-
- Butter Alternatives: You can use organic coconut oil instead of the butter in the topping and swirl, and you can substitute either organic palm shortening or organic coconut butter – here’s how to make your own, for the butter in the cake. If using coconut oil, you will need to soften or melt in a pan in order to use it.
-
- Egg Alternatives: If you use a vegan egg alternative, the cake won’t be as light and will be a little gooey in places, but it still tastes great. We make it this way all the time and it never sticks around often.
- Optional Egg Whites: I made the vegan version of this cake for years using 4 egg alternatives (no whites) and it turns out great that way. However, using the additional egg whites makes it lighter. Either version is great.
-
- Sweetener Options: The cake is low carb as written. You can substitute 1/2 cup honey for the sweetener in the cake, 4 teaspoons of honey in the topping, and 2 tablespoons in the swirl. Coconut sugar could be subbed easily 1:1 for the low-carb sweeteners. (While the recipe as written calls for honey, I have personally always used a low-carb sweetener and it’s worked out fantastically. I use 1/2 – 3/4 of the amount since honey is sweetener than sugar. Personally I love using Lakanto or another erythritol / monk fruit sweetener.)
-
- Nut alternatives: You can substitute in other nuts or seeds instead of walnuts. We have used almonds with success. You could also try coconut chips to go nut free.
-
- Homemade Coconut Milk: See Homemade Coconut Milk for a homemade coconut milk option.
-
- Egg Substitutes: Use a flax egg, chia egg, or gelatin egg. This egg replacer works great as well (see my homemade version here).
-
- AIP: substitute organic tiger nut flour or organic cassava flour for the almond flour. Use gelatin egg or an AIP version of this Egg Substitute, or another egg substitute for the eggs.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Time to start baking!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this coffee cake–I’m sure you will LOVE it!
I made this and it was delicious. I added raisins, used Stevia in place of honey in the cake only, and used 3 flax eggs to replace all of the eggs plus about 1/2 cup water to make the batter manageable. Yum, thanks for the recipe.
You are so welcome!!
Just made this and I was not happy with the results. The cake came out dry and dense with no flavor and the texture was gritty. I did have to substitute Almond milk for the Coconut milk so maybe that did not add enough fat although when mixing the batter it seemed to be too dry but I did not add any more liquid. Maybe I should have.
Might try this again and hope for different results.
I’m so sorry! I have made it so many times and it’s always been fantastic. What kind of almond flour did you use?
Hi Adrienne, How big is your baking pan?? Is it 8 by 8 or the larger- (I think 11 by 13) Best
Hi there. I indicated 9×9 so that’s a little tough….I’ve made it in 8x8s and it’s worked out pretty well. You will love it!
Hi . K thanks- getting ready to go do this now so I can have it for breakfast- I looked around at lots of recipes for this last night and yours looked the most appealing. Thanks again. Best
How did it go? We LOVE this!!
Do you think if I double the recipe and freeze one *before* baking will it work fine just to thaw and bake as usual?? Looking forward to making this, going to try it tomorrow!
Oh I don’t know. I haven’t thought about that. Have you ever done that with a cake? Maybe make 2 and freeze the baked one and reheat?
I just up on freezing cake batters. It should work!
Hi Adrienne, I love the look of this recipe! Maybe I’ve missed it but I can’t see any mention of coffee on the ingredients list…can you help?!
It’s a good one. Coffee cake is called coffee cake b/c you eat it w/ coffee — not b/c it has coffee in it. I hope you enjoy it!
Can you really sub xylitol for honey 1:1? Does it benefit from any extra liquid? That would be a find! I’ve been passing up all those otherwise-perfectly-low-carb paleo dessert recipes that are sweetened with honey, because honey is so hard to sub for.
Yes, you can – here is more info: https://wholenewmom.com/whole-new-budget/baking-with-honey-sugar-for-baking/
When you said to use food processor, did you mean something like a Vitamix? Can I use a mixer instead?
Can I skip the 2 egg whites and still get the same result? I prefer not have to use extra 2 eggs just for the egg whites if possible.
I don’t have a 9 x 9 pan so hopefully my 8 x 8 doesn’t overflow.
Thanks
I mean a food processor – not a blender. If you search on Amazon for a food processor it’s a bowl w/ a blade inside. I would not skip the egg whites. You could maybe do an extra 1 egg?
Hope it works!
We’ve been working on a lower carb lifestyle at our house too. It’s not easy, but as you say, it’s worth it. We feel better and have more energy when we do.
Totally agree. When did you start moving in that direction?
After the holidays we did The Whole 30 and it was a tough but good experience.
Good for you!
This recipe look awesome! You said ‘yes double it’ in your comments do you have a dish size suggestion for doubling? Would a 9×13 work? Also are you using glass or aluminum pan?
I just made 2 cakes :). You would have to do the calculations of the area of the pans to put it in a different pan.
I used stoneware but I think all would work.
Can you give a net carb count? Thanks
Hi there. I’m sorry but typically I don’t do a nutritional count b/c of all the variations in the post. I will consider it in the future. There are some good sites where you can upload the ingredients you will use to get what you are looking for. Thanks for reading!
I made this Cinnamon Crumb Coffee cake 2 days ago. Delicious! Used real eggs. Looks just like the photos, but the layer of cinnamon-y goodness in the middle was an actual stripe through my cake– very pretty. People who think my way of eating (gluten-free, high-fat, low-carb, etc.) is “gross” love this cake. I just don’t tell those people until their second pieces have been devoured! Spot on! Wonder if a doubled recipe would work. It would be worth it, as it disappears so fast!
Yes – double it for sure!!! I know- this is a total winner!
Is the oven only set at 315 degrees ?????
Yes – hope you enjoy it!
ok but HOW MANY egg replacers? and how to do you calculate it based on eggs as opposed to egg white? Can you be more precise? Thanks!
Hi there. This post should help. https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/energ-egg-substitute-egg-replacer-without-eggs/
Coffee cake is one of my favorites. I’m glad to have this Paleo version. It looks delicious.
You’ll LOVE it, Judee!!! Can’t wait to hear what you think if you try it!
All i get is the pic. I was hoping to make it tonight or tommow. Is there a trick. I cant seem to find itvin my email link or the website
That’s all you say when you look at the post or when you try to print it? Has your browser been updated? Maybe try a different browser? Can you see other recipes on my site?
Please tell me how to get the receipes i never can get the whole thing
Crumb cake
Oh no – what do you see – you can’t see it all or can’t print it all? thanks!
I just began a paleo diet & miss my sweets. I can’t wait to try this recipe! However, I don’t have a food processor…..will a stand alone mixer work??
I think it should work! Enjoy! You’ll love it!
Maybe I missed it, but how much egg replacer to replace 4 large eggs + 2 egg whites? I plan to use EnerG. (And am so happy to have stumbled on your recipe for egg replacer so I can make my own when my EnerG is gone!)
There is info in this post: https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/energ-egg-substitute-egg-replacer-without-eggs/
I tried to print this recipe, and got alot of ‘programmer’s gobbledegook!!?? Would appreciate if you would check this out… thanks. the recipe looks awesome… I know what you mean about the coffee cakes we used to buy from Sara Lee… I always wished I could eat the whole thing by myself!!
I’m so sorry! We missed that. We had an update and it looks like some things on the blog weren’t working well together. It’s got a temporary fix – so you should be good to go now :). Enjoy!
I love coffee cake! What size baking dish do you use?
Yay! It’s supposed to go in a
Thanks for asking – adding it to the post right now :).