Did you know you can bake a coffee cake in your slow cooker? Although you might typically use your slow cooker to make things like chili, party dips, or shredded chicken, you’ll be surprised by just how amazing it works when making coffee cake! Today, I’m going to share with you exactly how you can do this. The best part? This Weight Watchers-friendly slow cooker coffee cake is only 4 points per serving.
This classic coffee cake has a delicious cinnamon streusel on top. With the help of zero-calorie sweetener and a butter replacement, I was able to keep the points at a much lower level than other coffee cake recipes. This recipe is special because the crock pot helps retain the moisture in the cake. Unlike in the oven, where the cake might dry out, more moisture is contained inside the crockpot with the lid. As a result, you end up with an ultra-soft cake!
It is pillowy and sweet but not overly sweet—just the right amount of sweetness to enjoy with your morning coffee or tea. Also, the cake has a nice golden brown crust with a caramelized flavor. This makes it easy to remove from the crockpot in one piece. So no, you don’t need to serve this directly from the slow cooker, although you certainly could if you wanted to. Let’s take a look at this slow cooker coffee cake recipe so you can try it out for yourself!
Why You Should Try This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe requires simple ingredients. You probably have most of them on hand already since most are baking staples! No need to go to a specialty store for this recipe.
- It’s Classic: Coffee cake with a crumb topping is a timeless classic treat that everyone will recognize, but you will amaze them when they find out you made it in a slow cooker!
- Versatile: You can enjoy this scrumptious coffee cake for breakfast, with brunch, or as a dessert! It is also perfect for holiday mornings like Mother’s Day or even Christmas. Make it the day before, wrap it, and it will be ready to go when you wake up.
- Serving Size: 70g
- Number of Servings: 11
- Time to Cook: 2- 2.5 hours
- WW Points Per Recipe: 4
Ingredients Needed for Slow Cooker Coffee Cake
Cinnamon Streusel:
- 1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup low-fat butter substitute (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light)
- ½ cup zero-calorie sweetener (use a cup-for-cup sugar replacement)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Coffee Cake Batter:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup zero-calorie sweetener (use a cup-for-cup sugar replacement)
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp melted low-fat butter substitute (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light)
- 5 tbsp plain 0% Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
How to Make Slow Cooker Coffee Cake (Step by Step)
- For the batter, mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Separately, in a large bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients except for the melted butter.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, followed by the butter, and mix until a batter just barely forms. It will be thick; don’t overmix.
- In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the streusel crumb topping. Add small flakes of the butter substitute and toss until crumbly. Store in the fridge for later.
- Spread the coffee cake batter into a greased 7-quart slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker with paper towels first and then the lid (this prevents condensation from dripping onto the cake).
- Bake the coffee cake on HIGH for 1 hour, then carefully rotate the slow cooker insert. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the cake, and cover the appliance with paper towels and the lid again.
- Bake the coffee cake for 1-1.5 hours longer until it is set. It should be springy when you touch the top with your finger, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Note: The surface of the slow cooker cake will not brown as much as when baked in an oven. This doesn’t mean it is undercooked. However, the top might feel really soft when just baked. If the center comes out clean, you can turn off the slow cooker and let the cake sit, covered, for another 20 minutes or so in the appliance. The carryover cooking and allowing it to rest help improve the surface texture of the cake.
Variations and Substitutions
- Add fun mix-ins: For example, make an apple coffee cake or blueberry coffee cake by mixing those fruits into the batter before spreading it in the slow cooker. You can also add walnuts, almonds, or pecans!
- Sour cream: If you love sour cream coffee cakes, you can swap the Greek yogurt for sour cream. However, this might affect the WW points.
- Buttermilk: For a coffee cake with buttermilk, use it as a substitute for the fat-free milk. For best results, use fat-free buttermilk.
- Garnish: You can make a simple glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and water (or milk) to decorate the cinnamon coffee cake if you have some extra points to use up!
Tips and Tricks for Making CrockPot Coffee Cake
- Flipping the ceramic insert halfway through the cooking time is especially important if your Crock-Pot has hot spots. Otherwise, one side of the cake might form a super dark crust while the other side will be undercooked.
- Whether you want to serve it with or without the edges is up to you. You can slice it into triangles or square slices. The crust forms thick on the edges and has a nutty, caramelized taste, which some people enjoy, and some people prefer it without.
- This coffee cake tastes even better the next day! I suggest making it in the evening, removing it from the slow cooker, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and then enjoying it in the morning. Once all of the ingredients have melded, its texture and flavor are extra delicious.
- If you have a slow cooker of a smaller size, I suggest checking out this chart and adjusting the recipe accordingly. On the other hand, I think it would turn out well in an 8-qt slow cooker, but the batter will be thinner, so it will probably cook faster.
- It is normal for the cinnamon streusel coffee cake to have a softer texture due to the butter replacement, so you should put the streusel in the fridge for about an hour to distribute it more easily on top.
Related Recipes
Cinnamon French Toast Bubble Up
Slow Cooker Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 7-quart slow cooker
Ingredients
Cinnamon Streusel:
- 1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup low-fat butter substitute , (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light)
- ½ cup zero-calorie sweetener , (use a cup-for-cup sugar replacement like monk fruit sweetener)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Coffee Cake Batter:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup zero-calorie sweetener, (use a cup-for-cup sugar replacement like monk fruit sweetener)
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp melted low-fat butter substitute, (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Light)
- 5 tbsp plain 0% Greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the batter, mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Separately, in a large bowl, mix all of the wet ingredients except for the melted butter.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, followed by the butter, and gently fold with a rubber spatula until a batter just barely forms. It will be thick; don’t overmix.
- In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the streusel crumb topping. Add small flakes of the butter substitute and toss until crumbly. Store in the fridge for later.
- Spread the coffee cake batter into a greased 7-quart slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker with paper towels first and then the lid. (The paper towels do not touch the batter, the lid holds them up. This prevents condensation from dripping onto the cake).
- Bake the coffee cake on HIGH for 1 hour, then carefully rotate the slow cooker insert. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the cake, and cover the appliance with paper towels and the lid again.
- Bake the coffee cake for 1-1.5 hours longer until it is set. It should be springy when you touch the top with your finger, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I need to try & make healthier dessert