Strawberry Oatmeal Snack Cake
Cake at snack time? Yes! Or really, any time of day because Strawberry Oatmeal Snack Cake is made from super wholesome ingredients and easy enough to stir up before breakfast. I love the combination of sweet strawberries and comforting oats in this cake. However, you can really use any fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand. As always, this is a great recipe to get kids in the kitchen to measure, mix, and taste! 
Kids in the Kitchen: Strawberry Oatmeal Snack Cake
- Measure first! There are quite a few ingredients to measure in this recipe. When baking with toddler and younger kids I suggest measuring a least half of the ingredients ahead of time. You could even add all the wet ingredients to one bowl and the dry to another and just let your child mix everything together.
- Use a large bowl. Mixing in a large bowl means less mess when cooking with kids. I try and always and demonstrate what speed I’d like kids to stir before letting them have a turn. Most likely, their mixing will result in at least a little spillage, but that’s ok. With practice, kids will eventually learn to better control the spoon or spatula.
- Dice the strawberries. Kids can help remove the green stem from fresh strawberries and/or chop up fresh or frozen strawberries. Great for practicing those knife skills. If you need a child-safe knife recommendation or tips for teaching kids to use a knife, check out my blog post Teaching Knife Skills Toddlers and Kids.
Subs and Tips Oatmeal Snack Cake
- No applesauce? Use a 1/2 cup mashed banana instead!
- Gluten-free? Use a cup-for-cup style gluten-free flour mix and be sure that your oats are certified gluten-free
- Egg free? I have not tried it, but since there’s only one egg in this cake, I think using a flax “egg” substitute would work well.
- No quick (instant) oats? Take 1 3/4 cups of regular rolled oats and pulse them in a food processor until it’s broken down into a rough meal (not ground all the way into flour and with a few larger pieces of oat remaining).
- No strawberries? Lots of different fruits would work well in this cake. Blueberries, diced apple, peaches… Use fresh or frozen fruit just don’t defrost the frozen fruit before adding it to the cake or the fruit will be too mushy.
- Pan size. I like to use a 9-inch square cake pan for this recipe. However, you can also use an 8-inch pan or other square baking dish. Bake time will be longer for smaller pans and the cake will be thicker. I think a metal baking pan like this one works best.
Strawberry Oatmeal Snack Cake
A simple, lightly sweetened, wholesome cake that's delcious anytime of day.
Equipment
- 8 or 9 inch square cake pan or baking dish
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 egg
- 6 Tbsp neutral oil such as avocado, vegetable, or canola
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 cup milk any kind
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking "instant" oats see post above for using regular rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour all-purpose or gluten-free blend
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 2 cups diced fresh or frozen strawberries only defrost enough to cut if using frozen
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degree. Grease a 9-inch square cake pan then line partially with parchment paper (This just makes it easier to remove from the pan but you can skip that step if you’d prefer.)
- In a large bowl, whisk together applesauce, egg, oil, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla.
- In a second bowl, mix remaining ingredients besides the strawberries. (You can also just add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients one-by-one if you prefer not getting another bowl dirty. However, I think the dry ingredients incorporate better if they are mixed together first.)
- Add the bowl of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until almost all the flour is combined. Stir in about 3/4 of the diced strawberries and mix just until combined to avoid overmixing. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and spread it evenly into the pan. Scatter the remaining strawberries over the top, then sprinkle on a pinch of extra oats. (The oats are just for a garnish so totally optional.)
- Bake until golden brown around the edges and cooked through, about 27 to 35 minutes (depending on what type of pan you are using). Allow to cool completely then cut into squares. Store in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days.
Save to Pinterest for another day!
Other recipes you’d love:
Super Green Mini Blender Muffins
Banana Pumpkin Blender Muffins
A great start to a gloomy quarantine Friday! We used the flax egg and it worked well. We will be making this on repeat!
So happy that you enjoyed making the recipe and thank you for letting us know that the flax egg worked well.
Big hit! We substituted blueberries because that’s what was in the house. Loved by my 19mo, my husband and FIL. I look forward to trying more recipes.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Can you freeze this?
Yes, usually any type of muffin, bread, or cake will freeze well when wrapped and sealed well. 🙂
Thanks so much!
I used frozen strawberries, ground the oats like you suggested to get the instant oatmeal quality and replaced baking soda with baking powder (multiplied baking soda by 3) because my husband does not like the baking soda taste. I topped with shredded coconut and left the cinnamon out. They turned out wonderful. Next time I do it, I migh try it with lemon zest and blueberries or orange zest and dried cranberries. Thanks for sharing.
Can we substitute the maple syrup? Not ready to introduce sugar just yet.
Yes, it’s just a 1/4 cup so you can replace it with more applesauce or mashed banana. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂 Heather
This was so good! I LOVED it, as did my toddler. Thanks! Texture is PERFECT.
Hi Melinda! Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂 Heather
The best! I make this for my daughter all the time, and we love it too! Wondering if we can incorporate pumpkin at all?
Hi Emily! So awesome to hear you love the recipe. Yes, I have a pumpkin bread bar recipe on my site. You can leave out the chocolate chips to make it more breakfast friendly.
https://happykidskitchen.com/healthy-pumpkin-bread-bars/
🙂 Heather
My 5 year old and I enjoyed making and eating this! Easy and delicious!
Hi! Thanks great to hear. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. 🙂 Heather
They’re good and we wiped the pan clean. However I felt the wheat flour always makes it dry and flavorless although I guess oat alone needed to be offset or it would’ve been mush. Any other what flour alternatives that are healthy but add and don’t detract from the taste?
Btw I used pulsed dates with water mix as a maple syrup alternative and I think once sliced are cut up I can pour some next time over the top also.
Any other ideas to moisten?
Hi! I usually use “white whole wheat flour” because it has a little less of that bitter flavor that regular whole wheat flour has. Also, you could use half whole wheat and half all purpose to make it less whole wheat tasting. You could also try replacing some of the flour with almond flour which will add nutrients and moisture. I think also using the dates probably made it less sweet and/or moist than using the maple syrup. Hope that’s helpful! 🙂 Heather