wholegrain strawberry breakfast cake

Cake for breakfast? It’s a thing! Try this simple and healthy wholegrain strawberry breakfast cake. It’s perfectly sweet and quick to put together.

We planted grass seeds in the backyard.

And every morning, I turn on the sprinkler to water the soil. Then I turn it off. And then on again, once or twice in the afternoon. In 3 weeks, we should have fluffy green grass.

Snooze…

On the way back inside, I usually walk past my garden to check out what’s going on. I’ve done nothing to it so far; the soil is dry, there are yellow dandelion weeds everywhere and I’ve just learned that my cat, his Majesty, uses this outdoor space for his own personal litter box. I glare at him from a distance.

On the flip side, I’ve made some interesting discoveries during our first year living in this house- 

My mint grew back!

I planted one itty, bitty off-shoot last year and look at it now. It’s strangling my oregano.

We also have lots of strawberry plants, courtesy of our previous owner…

I have to say, these are some of the heartiest plants I’ve ever seen.

We’ve had about 20+ ridiculously cold snow storms this winter and I’m telling you, not one of those plants died. It seems contradictory since strawberries themselves are so delicate and sweet. But here they are, green leaves and white blossoms. We’ll have juicy, homegrown strawberries in the beginning of June.

So, one morning after my sprinkler duties had been fulfilled, I found myself in the kitchen staring at the makings of my son’s French toast: eggs, milk and cinnamon. Leftovers like this drive me crazy. Dillon likes French toast and Jake doesn’t which means, inevitably, I only make one slice. Now, not only do I have to make 2 separate breakfasts in the morning (yes, I’m that mom) I end up wasting the leftover egg batter. That’s practically a whole egg.

Then, I had an idea…

What if I used the leftovers to bake something?

I mean after all, most recipes call for at least one or two eggs, right?

Yes, excellent idea.

I made a quick batter in my food processor, followed by a spiced crumble topping to scatter over the top. Thick-slices of strawberries were wedged into the mix. I meant to add toasted walnuts, but I forgot. I love strawberries and walnuts together.

Then the big question at hand: bake in a 9×5 loaf pan? Or 8×8 square pan?

I went with the latter because of its shallow depth. This way, the crumble topping to cake ratio would be somewhat equal, and of course, suited to how I like it!

This is the important stuff, clearly.

And speaking of, it’s also important to note that I used whole wheat flour or possibly spelt flour (the bag is not labeled- either one is fine) in my cake. Therefore, I deem this recipe perfectly acceptable to eat for breakfast.

Wouldn’t you agree?

Tips:

• The base of this cake is sweetened with maple syrup, not sugar. To save a couple of bucks, use Grade B maple syrup instead of Grade A. The quality is totally fine and is better suited for baking.  You could also sub 1 cup brown sugar instead if you’d like.
• No strawberries? No problem. Use blueberries, apples, pears or even peach slices. Pitted cherries and plums would work too, so basically, use whatever you want… except for green grapes. That might be weird.
• Eat this cake within 1-2 days. Any longer than that, the strawberries will get soggy.

wholegrain strawberry breakfast cake

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• Author: Emilie Raffa | The Clever Carrot
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 8 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

A simple and healthy recipe that’s sweet, delicious and quick to put together. Cake for breakfast- it’s a thing!

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Ingredients

Crumble Topping

4 tbsp butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

dash of cinnamon & nutmeg

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped (optional)

For the Cake

2 eggs

1/3 cup coconut oil or vegetable oil

1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)

1/2 cup milk

3/4-1 cup pure maple syrup, Grade B if possible OR 1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour

1 heaped tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup of strawberries, halved or quartered depending on size

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking.

To make the crumble topping, add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix together with your hands. It should look crumbly, not blended. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

For the batter, crack the eggs into the bowl of a food processor. Add the oil, yogurt, milk, maple syrup-use 3/4 cup for lightly sweet and 1 cup for more flavor- (or sugar) and vanilla extract. Pulse until well combined.

Add both flours, cinnamon and baking powder. Pulse the machine again, just a few times, until the batter has come together; do not over mix. Over blending is the cause of tough, heavy cakes.

Pour the batter into your lined baking pan. Scatter the crumble topping over the top and wedge in your sliced strawberries.

Bake in the oven, center rack, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted, about 30-45 minutes.

Cool for 30 minutes before slicing.

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