Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I love baking but I don’t like that recipes call for so much sugar which is why I rarely make baked goods on the weekend. And like most people, I underestimate the amount of sugar we eat because the sweet stuff is hiding in some of our favorite foods and beverages, like vanilla lattes, fruit flavored yogurt, salad dressing and cereal. Experts recommend women consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar a day, yet the average American eats 22 teaspoons daily! Yikes, right.

And with my efforts to eat healthier, I am always looking for ways to certainly cut my sugar intake.  This month, I decided to see if by swapping out sugar with SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, if my daughter or me could tell the difference in taste. I decided to make an easy cinnamon coffee cake that I haven’t made in a couple of years and substituted SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend for the brown sugar. Well, lo and behold, in no way could either of us taste the difference. In fact, my daughter made me save her coffee cake  for her lunch that week. So happy,  I found a winner of a recipe and that I saved calories without sacrificing taste.

Definitely consider  swapping sugar  for SPLENDA® Sweetener Products which will go a long way to  to reduce the added sugar and calories in your recipes. And eheck out my easy Cinnamon Coffee cake, your friends and family will love it.

Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients

1 package plain butter recipe golden cake mix (feel free to substitute  white cake mix)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup sour cream (or use reduced-fat sour cream)
4 large eggs
1/3 canola oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
flour for dusting
non-stick spray

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist cake pan with non-stick spray, then dust it with flour. Shake excess flour and set aside.
2. Mix cake mix and flour in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the cake and flour mixture into a small bowl. Add SPLENDA® Brown Sugar Blend, cinnamon, and pecans (if using) to the small bowl and stir to combine. Set the filling mixture aside.
4. Add the sour cream, eggs, oil, water and vanilla to the large bowling mixing bowl with the cake mix and flour.
5. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds.
6. Spoon half the batter into the pan. Scatter all but 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar, cinnamon filling on top of the batter. Spoon the remaining batter into the pan and carefully spread it so as not to disturb the layer of filling. Sprinkle the remaining filling on top of the batter and place in the oven.
7. Bake the cake until lightly brown, 52-55 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for 20-25 minutes.
Serves 12 to 16

The Splenda brand is dishing out 365 ways to swap out sugar for SPLENDA sweetener products. You can visit www. 365SweetSwaps.com for tips and recipes to help you save calories from added sugar.  And definitely don’t forget to review the sugar to Splenda conversion charts as well as cooking and baking tips.

Disclosure: This post is part of the Splenda 365 Sweet Swaps Blogger Program by McNeil Nutritionals, LLG and The Motherhood, who sent me products and compensated me for my time. Opinions, experiences and photos shared here are my own, and I hope you enjoy them.