{Skinny} Honey Banana Coffee Cake: This coffee cake has no oil or butter in it, but packed with tons of honey and banana flavor! Eat cake for breakfast.
Recently, I bought Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred workout DVD. I must have been going through some sort of mental crisis, because I actually thought it had the potential to be fun. And maybe, just maybe, it would convert me into being a morning workout person.
The workout’s only 20 minutes. That’s half a Gilmore episode. A whole Friends episode. It should be a piece of cake.
Ha.
Yeah, nope.
All it makes me want to do is eat cake.
Like clockwork, I set my alarm for o-dark-hundred each night with every good intention of dragging myself out of bed to finish 20-minutes of pure pain, and every morning (except for like three) I’ve either slept through my obnoxious alarm or have spent so long deciding if I really, actually, maybe, kind of want to get up that I actually do have to get up for work and have conveniently missed out on having to do so many push-ups that I actually want to die.
You see, the workout was fine until I actually did it. And I’m only on level one.
I realized that when it comes to the morning, all I really want to do is wake up, have my morning cup of coffee, and sip it while eating this coffee cake or something of the like.
I want to crunch on food not crunch my abs.
But, hey, if you’re going to skip your morning workout, it might as well be for a coffee cake that has no oil or butter in it! Applesauce and bananas take the place of the heavy stuff, and plus, some of the added sugar in this is replaced with honey! All the exclamations for that.
Of course, because I just can’t help myself, I topped it with a butter and brown sugar crumble, but really, when measured out, it’s only like .000245 calories per giant slice. Totally accurate.
But in all honesty, without the butter or oil in the actual cake itself, the coffee cake is much lighter than the original version. Bananas, honey, applesauce (with no added sugar)–all the makings of a nutritious breakfast.

- 3 medium bananas
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 8 oz Greek Yogurt
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp butter
- orange zest optional
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x9 square baking pan.
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In a large bowl, mash bananas until only a few lumps remain. Add in applesauce and honey. Stir until combined.
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Add in sugar; mix. Slowly mix in eggs, 1 at a time.
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In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
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Mix together Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and milk.
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Alternatively mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients into the banana mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
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Once combined, pour mixture into baking pan and bake for 45-55 minutes.
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While the coffee cake is baking, combine cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, and orange zest. Cut in butter and mix until the topping looks like coarse crumbs.
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At the 10 minute mark, pull the coffee cake out and sprinkle the topping as evenly as possible over the cake. Return to the oven and continue baking for 35-45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
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If desired sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy! Cake can be eaten warm, cold, or at room temperature.
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