You may have heard me espousing the benefits of almonds and walnuts in recipes such as salads, or the Almond and Walnut Muffin recipe, I have previously posted, but what about the benefits of incorporating cinnamon in our diet?
I have to confess to being quite a fan of the cinnamon, especially in the crumble toppings you might find on a apple rhubarb dessert or a gourmet muffin. Combining cinnamon with almonds and walnuts, which are a fantastic source of Vitamin E and Magnesium, was a way of creating a light, and more importantly, HEALTHY cake recipe that if cut into bite-sized servings, is only a teeny bit decadent. Altogether a Perfect combination for a healthy morning or afternoon tea. Find the Recipe below.

What are the Health Benefits of Cinnamon?
Cinnamon is astonishingly good for you. Would you believe that a mere teaspoon of cinnamon contains 28 mg of calcium, almost one mg of iron, over a gram of fiber, and quite a lot of vitamins C, K, and manganese?
[Source:cinnamonnutrition.com/index
In traditional medicine, cinnamon has been used for its mild anti-inflammatory effects, and to treat digestive ailments such as indigestion, gas and bloating, and diarrhea. As little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control. Improving insulin tolerance can help in weight control as well as decreasing the risk for heart disease. Read More here.
Cinnamon Nut Streusel Cake
Ingredients
Base:
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Cup (55grams) soft Butter
- 1/2 Cups Milk
- 1egg
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Top Layer:
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoon Flour
- 2 Teaspoons (or more), of Cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons soft Butter
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts – I used a combination of walnuts and flaked almonds
Method
Base:
- Preheat Oven 175 ° C and Grease or line a 9″ x 12″ or 20 x 30 cm slice tray
- Cream butter and sugar in mixer
- Add remaining base ingredients and mix well
- Spread out evenly in the tray.
Streusel Topping:
- Mix Streusel topping ingredients together
- Spread about 1/4 of the Streusel topping onto the base layer and lightly swirl through with a skewer or knife.
- Spread the rest of the Streusel topping thinly over the top of the base.
- Bake for 20 – 35 minutes or till cooked through, when pierced with a skewer
- Allow Cake to cool and cut into small squares to serve.
Something healthy and delicious to savour about
Don’t you use metric down under?
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oh yes were do use metric down here. I was trained in both however, for some tray sizes I still think in imperial measures. I’ll update the post to include metric!!
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Great! It just seems easier weighing than measuring, but I can do both in a dollop or a pinch.
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We tend to use cups for flour and sugar and weight for butter so we are hybrids her in Australia!! I meant to put the metric size in for the pan though!
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I have updated the post with some metric measures. Some things are easier measured with cups or spoons due to the small amounts used.
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We read about the benefits of cinamon some time ago and now use it in lots of things, including sprinkling it on our morning yogurt. Your cake looks delicious with just enough healthy things added to leave a clear conscience if one is able to stick to that all important, bite sized piece. Me….. no such self discipline!
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Oh come on Chris, I think you could maybe start with two bite sized pieces and gradually cut them both a little smaller each time!! I hope you enjoy it if you do make it.
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Guilt free bite sized pieces versus no cinnamon. Toss the guilt and enjoy the cinnamon!!
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That cake looks fantastic. I love cinnamon. Like you, I’m bilingual when it comes to imperial and metric measurements.
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And if our bilingual language sensor fails, there is always Google to convert measurements for us, hey Peggy?
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I don’t quite like cinnamon,but I love this blog and these recipes haha<3Lots of love,keep blogging<3
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Oh thank you so much for taking the time too make such a lovely comment. Could you incorporate a small amount into a cake mix? Which means you may get the benefits of cinnamon without tasting it within the overall cake.
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I love cinnamon and sprinkle a little bit into the grounds before I make my morning coffee. I don’t bake much anymore as only me eating and I certainly don’t need a whole cake but that one looks yummy. I put cinnamon in the mix of eggs, milk and vanilla when I make a batch of french toast for company. It goes in anything I can possibly put it in. Always looking for the best cinnamon and vanilla I can find. You are so right about the benefits. I bought a cinnamon roll at the farmers market yesterday for my daughter and I as a treat. That way it’s just one. 😉 Have a lovely week.
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They are great ideas on other ways to incorporate a daily dose of cinnamon, Marlene! I wish I could still drink coffee, as I think cinnamon would go perfectly well with that. And the French toast sounds divine. Vanilla is also a lovely accompaniment to cinnamon. The aroma is delicious! All this talk of these foods make me feel like mixing vanilla and cinnamon into a low fat glass of coconut/cow’s milk or smoothie and having for morning tea.
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I have put both in yogurt. Coffee is made with half decaf, half reg and very weak these days. I can drink tea the rest of the day but need that little bit of coffee first thing at 5:30 a.m. 🙂 It is hard on the stomach. My sister says it’s colored water. 😉 French toast is only for company. 😉
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I always needed my coffee fix around 10am. Even when I switched to decaf however my energy levels improved so much when I gave up coffee altogether. That was probably 20 years ago!! Haven’t looked back and niw the aroma of coffee isn’t even appalling like it used to be.
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I love cinnamon. Grew up on cinnamon toast. Glad to hear it has anti-inflammatory properties and manganese. Might need to incorporate it into my running diet. Cake is also good. 😉
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Cinnamon toast is one of my daughters favourite snacks! It got her though Year 10 I think!
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Mmmm, I could go a slice of that cake with my cuppa right about now. Looks delicious, may have to try your recipe out during the week for an after school snack for the kids ( and myself, Lol) Thanks Amanda. X
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It is great for kids. A sneaky way of getting some vitamins and fibre into them while still tasting sweet. It was snavelled up rather fast in our house, if that is any guideline to what your kids might think?
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I’m sure it won’t last long here either!
Have a great week Amanda. X
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Thank too, Lorelle. Is it the Labour day long weekend down there too?
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No we have ours in March. It’s a regular Monday here☹️
But all good. Enjoy your long weekend ❤️
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I love anything with streusel in it … and if this is good for me, all the better! Have bookmarked it to make … soon!
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Let me know if you do make it. I would love to hear how it turns out.
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Hey Amanda! Was taking a second look at the recipe to prep for baking – noticed that there is a red middle layer in your 3rd photo. Is it a layer of fruit? or jam?
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You can layer it up with jam as an alternative at Step 2, Purple pumpernickel. You could also use stewed rhubarb, apple or fruit jam and then top with the usual streusel topping.
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Great! I caramelised some apple and put that in. Cake is in the oven ….
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So how did it Taste?
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Yummy! Younger Daughter and I loved the cakey texture with the nutty crumbly on top. We had ours with a dollop of low-fat Greek yogurt. Older daughter didn’t appreciate the cakeyness as much – she was expecting something crustier. Husband polished his piece off with vanilla ice cream.
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A nice combination, cake plus yoghurt or icecream. It is a soft cake, so understand the older daughter preferring something crustier, like the crunchy topping of Baked Apple crumble! Thanks for the valuable feedback. So glad you liked it!
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Nicculent made me smile. 🙂 🙂 I’m not much of a fan of cinnamon, or walnuts either, but I do love almonds. Funny how our taste buds differ. It does sound delicious, though.
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Yes, Jo! Our tastes do differ, but I see no reason why you couldn’t use almonds alone in this recipe and drop the cinnamon, just using the brown sugar, almonds and flour etc for the topping. It would be harder to detect the cinnamon in the cake as it diffuses throughout the mix. Thanks for stopping by. I have a couple of recipes using almond meal, do you like that taste in baked goods? And what about almond milk?
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I’ve not tried either almond meal or almond milk (unless it’s been in bought goods and I haven’t realised). I’m not a very imaginative cook, Amanda, and very lazy in the kitchen. 🙂 🙂
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Oh that is a shame seeing as almonds are a favourite of yours. If you do feel like cooking here is my lemon cake recipe with ground almond or almond meal.
https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2015/02/15/lemon-and-ricotta-ring-cake/
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It sounds delicious. Thank you very much. I’m currently in the garden trying to learn some Polish for my upcoming visit x
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Nastrovya!!! Is all you need when visiting Poland! I have forgotten the basic phrases I learnt when I was there. I am a bit jealous. Wish I was heading over ther too.
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