Low Fat Apple Banana Spice Coffee Cake

I've hesitated posting a low fat coffee cake recipe. My philosophy on baked goods is "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." I say this as someone who has lost 50lbs in a year. I'm not trying to be flip, but the ugly truth is that you need some fat in baked goods to make them taste good. Nevertheless, I realize that others might count calories and fat grams. I've done a couple of things to try to retain the taste and texture: (1) I've substituted oat flour for some of the wheat flour as oat flour contains more fat; (2) I've added spices and orange zest for flavor. There is no icing or crumb topping on this cake...only chopped apples with cinnamon sugar.

Coconut Coffee Cake w/Chocolate Icing

Today, I decided to make a simple, not-too-sweet coffee cake with coconut. I don't bake with coconut nearly enough and that needs to change.  In my opinion, the coconut gives this plain old simple vanilla coffee cake an added flair and extra sweetness. That's why I called it Coconut Coffee Cake instead of Plain Ol' Vanilla.  ☺

Apple Cornbread Coffee Cake w/Honey Icing

It's almost a requirement at our house to slather butter and honey on the cornbread. When I came across the recipe for a peach cornbread coffee cake, I knew I wanted to try it. But, I'm not a huge peach fan. I mean, I can take 'em or leave 'em, and I definitely didn't want to used canned pie filling. The result: sauteed apples as a substitute for the peaches. I like apples and I like cornbread. I hope you will, too. 

Orange Coffee Cake w/Sugared Almonds & Orange Chocolate Icing

Yes, yes I do like orange and chocolate together. My kids don't; but I do. Besides, I can't always cook just for the kids. Sometimes I have to cook for me, and in so doing I broaden their horizons whether they like it or not. :-) If they don't like it, well that just means more for me! It's a win-win. Sugared almonds are the crunchy topping for this coffee cake. Believe it or not, they add just a little spice. Also, notice that I don't list "orange juice" as an ingredient, meaning that I didn't use reconstituted orange juice that you buy from the store. I actually squeezed the juice from a couple of oranges. I had some time to kill.

Buttermilk Banana Coffee Cake w/Maple Icing

I like bananas, but when it comes to banana in baked goods, I admit that I only make them so as to placate my conscience by not throwing away really ripe bananas. This time, I deliberately saved a banana to make a coffee cake. All kidding aside, a mashed banana makes for a moist cake. The key is a really ripe banana. As you look at it you should be thinking to yourself, "If I don't use it today, I'm gonna toss it tomorrow."

Lemon-Lime Coffee Cake

Lemon-lime sodas are okay. I can take them or leave them...usually I leave them. I do, however, like lemon and lime pastries - like lemon bars or key lime pie. I cannot promise that this coffee cake will taste like either lemon bars or key lime pie, but I will say that it is a scrumptious breakfast or afternoon treat. If you want more lemon flavor in your cake, then try adding 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Swirl w/Cinnamon-Vanilla Glaze

Chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla - the holy trinity of baking. OK, maybe that's taking it a little too far, but nonetheless, these three delights work well alone, or in combination. This coffee cake is an easy answer to the question, "What am I going to serve for breakfast when I have guests?"