Raspberry Breakfast Cake

by The Meal Makeover Moms on September 4th, 2009

Last week I celebrated my birthday (let’s just say it wasn’t “the big one” but it’s getting way too close for comfort).  Tim was out of town on business, so Josh and Simon did their best to fill in. Together they bought me a charm bracelet, “took” me to see Julie & Julia (Josh said, “it’s a movie for old people,” but he seemed to enjoy it nonetheless), and they even bought me a chocolate birthday cake at Wilson Farms, a family-owned farm that lucky for me, is less than a mile from my house.

So what does my birthday have to do with today’s post for Raspberry Breakfast Cake?  Well, actually not a whole heck of a lot other than the fact that when the boys tried it, they actually admitted that it tasted better than my birthday cake. Yes, it’s hard to believe that a cake with raspberries could outshine one with chocolate, but I promise I’m not making this up.

This cake is super easy.  I was inspired to create it after making Raspberry Buttermilk Cake from the June issue of Gourmet magazine.  Gourmet’s recipe calls for a cup of flour, half a stick of butter, half a cup of buttermilk, and 2/3 cup sugar (among other things). It was yummy, but I knew that with a few simple tweaks, I could lighten it up, boost the good nutrition, and still keep the same delicious flavors.

Basically, I replaced half the white flour with whole wheat, replaced all of the butter with canola oil (a heart-healthy oil), tossed in some vitamin E-rich wheat germ, cut the sugar a bit, and added lemon juice with the milk in lieu of the buttermilk. Here’s what I came up with:

Raspberry Breakfast Cake
Makes 8 Servings

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup wheat germ
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup 1% lowfat milk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries

1.  Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined.

3.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the canola oil until well combined. Whisk in the milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

4.  Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top. Arrange the raspberries evenly over the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5.  Bake until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool in the pan and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving:   210 calories, 8g fat (1g saturated, 0.7g omega-3), 190mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 5g protein

This cake is so nutritious I feel comfy serving it for breakfast!  The next time I make it, I’m going to try frozen raspberries, and the time after that, I’ll use 2/3 cup blueberries.  I suspect this recipe will become a regular around my house.

If you get a chance to try it, be sure to let us know if your family likes it. We’d love to hear from you.

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12 Comments | Filed Under Breakfast, Desserts, Fruits, Snacks 

12 Responses to “Raspberry Breakfast Cake”

  1. Pam on September 4th, 2009

    I’m totally trying this! I’ll have to do it while the kids are at school though, because my 13 year old has raspberry radar and he’ll devour them before they make it into the cake! I know what is for breakfast tomorrow!

  2. Meal Makeover Moms on September 4th, 2009

    I’m also making this cake today to take with us over Labor Day weekend. My girls ate one of the containers of raspberries from our CSA yesterday and I hid one to make the cake! Let us know how your family likes it!

  3. Nancy on September 6th, 2009

    I’m going to make this cake today too, just picked a boatload of raspberries yesterday! Thanks Liz, nice timing for Fall raspberry season, especially with the Winchester MA organic raspberry field opening up!

  4. Pam on September 7th, 2009

    I just made this cake…it is most excellent…and so easy (I hate to bake!) My husband loves it and he hates when I put healthy stuff in food! I’ll be making this again.

  5. Penny on September 9th, 2009

    Great flavor! I added about 3/4 of a cut of chopped walnuts into the batter, so my cake came out a bit dry, I probably had to adjust the wet ingredients to make up for this. Probably because the batter was thicker, my raspberries stay on the top. I wonder what the adjustment should be?

  6. Heather on October 3rd, 2009

    This was soooooo good. I did use the buttermilk because I had it around for something else and needed to use it up anyway. We had local strawberries, so I used those instead. I also used the big chunky raw turbinado sugar on top (okay, it was 2 tablespoons!). Yum!

  7. Podcast 76: Healthy Brunch Recipes … and it’s a Small World After All | Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen on October 14th, 2009

    [...] other recipe in the show is our Raspberry Breakfast Cake which we shared right here back in early September. It’s one of those recipes that everyone [...]

  8. April on October 18th, 2009

    Ooooooh! This looks yummo!!!! I am for sure going to make this!!! I like that it is comfort food and that it is healthy!!!!!!!!!! =) Can’t wait to try!!

  9. Annie on January 2nd, 2010

    This turned out perfect! I used frozen raspberries and they worked great! I will be making this for a family brunch next weekend! Thanks for the great recipe!

  10. The Meal Makeover Moms on January 2nd, 2010

    Hi Annie: That’s excellent- glad the frozen raspberries worked well. Happy New Year!

  11. Miranda on January 10th, 2010

    Hi! I just made this this morning using frozen blueberries. It came out very yummy, my picky 6 year old and 17 month old loved it. I thnk they ate half of it already!

  12. Marin Sandholdt on January 25th, 2010

    I know I will have to make a double batch of this tomorrow, it sounds very tasty and my whole family loves raspberries! (reminds me of a scone recipe I used to make years ago before I misplaced it) I will have to tweak it a little bit to turn it into a Gluten Free and Egg free version but it would be a very simple adjustment.
    (and as for the walnuts, try just 1/4c next time)

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