When we were growing up, my dad always went all out for Mother’s Day breakfast. I’m talking homemade cinnamon rolls (always a different recipe), flowers, cards from us kids. He even cleaned up. Only you can make sure all that flower/card/cleaning stuff happens, but I’m here to help with a healthier cinnamon roll coffee cake recipe.
Bonus: it’s easier than traditional yeasted cinnamon rolls too in case you aren’t quite as organized as my dad was.
Want to see it getting made?
What Mom Really Wants for Mother’s Day
I’m gonna let you in on a secret here. Your mom doesn’t need fancy things or elaborate plans for Mother’s Day. What she wants most of all is for you to think of her. And not just at the last minute.
From my own experience and the other mom’s I’ve talked to, here’s a list of what they REALLY want:
- Feel loved and recognized
- Get a break from the day in and out of caring for their family and everything that goes with it (Think: sleep in, not have to clean up, not have to be responsible for feeding everyone)
- Spend time with their loved ones (maybe…as long as it’s relaxing ;))
Want to show her that you thought of her ahead of time and planned something she’d really love? Start planning something personalized now. Breakfast in bed or brunch with family is a great place to start.
But here’s a secret, if you make brunch and then she has to clean up after it, that’s not a gift. Before I was a mom, I didn’t understand how weary someone could get of thinking of everyone else, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and just generally keeping it together. Trust me, if you relieve her from having to do that for just one day, that will be a fantastic gift that doesn’t go unnoticed!
That’s why making this Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is the perfect solution to your Mother’s Day brunch: it’s easy and healthy-ish, you can make it ahead, and the whole family will love it.
Hosting the Perfect Mother’s Day Breakfast
So how can you host the perfect Mother’s Day breakfast for your mom (or wife) so she knows just how much you love her?
It’s actually quite simple:
- Pick a menu that she’ll love: I’ve included some more ideas at the bottom of this post
- Plan Ahead: Make sure you shop for and prep as much as you can ahead of time so you’re not rushing around and destroying the kitchen on the morning of Mother’s Day
- Clean-up after yourself: Are you sensing a theme here? Dads/partners, it’s up to you to make sure this happens if you’re doing this on behalf of younger kiddos
Making as much as possible ahead of time is a great way to ensure that you can make the above happen! That way, you can relax and enjoy the morning with your favorite mom.
Make-Ahead Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
I recently polled the moms on my Facebook page and they overwhelmingly said they wanted “healthier cinnamon rolls”. Actually, some of them said that they wanted something else, but their families would like the cinnamon rolls better. Such a mom answer.
Rather than dealing with yeasted dough like traditional cinnamon rolls, this Paleo-friendly cake version is easy to make and can be done almost completely ahead of time. The benefit of that is that you’re less likely to leave a big mess in your wake and breakfast will be “on time” whenever mom decides to wake up.
Want to make this more of a complete meal? Here’s how I would do that:
- Brew or buy her favorite coffee. All the coffee.
- Fry up some breakfast sausages on the side
- Scramble some eggs
- Make a big fruit salad (also ahead of time)
Recipe:
Deemed "the best cake ever" by my son, this is easy to make ahead and clean up after. The bonus is that the combo of icing and topping will hide any imperfections, so no worries if you're not a big baker!
Ingredients
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ½ cup honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp hot water
Instructions
- Either by hand or in a food processor, finely chop together the1 cup each pecans and pitted dates
- Stir in the cinnamon and salt and set aside
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with oil (be liberal - this will keep it from sticking!)
- In a large bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups almond flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and 1/2 tsp baking soda.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup honey, 3 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
- Pour 1/2 of the batter into greased cake pan. Smooth around so it covers the bottom of the pan
- Add in 1/2 of the topping
- Pour the remaining 1/2 of the batter on top. Swirl everything together using a butter knife until the topping is swirled throughout
- Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes
- Check if it's done by sticking a toothpick in the middle and seeing if it comes out clean. If it needs more time return it to the oven and check again in a few minutes. Repeat as needed until done (mine took 20 minutes but your oven may vary)
- While the cake is baking, make the glaze
- The key is to start with room temperature cream cheese
- With an electric beater, mix together 4 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/8 tsp salt
- Slowly add in 1/2 cup powdered sugar and then add 1 Tbsp hot water
- Taste the mixture and adjust as needed: if it isn't sweet enough, add a touch more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, add a little more hot water
- Place in a piping bag or in a quart sized Ziploc bag. Cut off a small piece of the corner
- When the cake is baked and removed from it's pan, drizzle the cream cheese frosting over the top
- Sprinkle with the remaining topping mixture
- Store in refrigerator until you're ready to enjoy! (Up to 2 days)
Notes
Coffee Cake Recipe adapted from Elana's Pantry: https://elanaspantry.com/cinnamon-coffee-cake/ Cream Cheese Icing adapted from Saveur Magazine: https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Cream-Cheese-Glaze
Think your mom would like something else instead? Here are some other great make-ahead(able) – that’s a word BTW – Mother’s Day breakfast ideas:
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