Healthy Pumpkin Cake with Spiced Butterscotch Frosting
Do you believe me when I say that this Pumpkin Cake with Butterscotch Frosting is actually healthy? Well, you should, because it is!
This healthy gluten-free Pumpkin Cake with Butterscotch Frosting is whole grain, refined sugar free, and contains ZERO butter (I think Paula Deen just shuttered there for a moment). This cake may be good for you, but trust me, you’d never know it.
See that wonderful texture? The fork just sinks right through.
This cake is soft and moist, you’d never guess that it’s made without a copious amount of butter and oil. The entire recipe only calls for one tablespoon of oil!
The cake and frosting together are sweet and packed with flavor, you’d never know that the slice in front of you is refined sugar free and all natural.
This cake is unbelievably delicious, everyone who tried it loved it. Especially the frosting, my friend and I ate the extra bit leftover straight out of the mixing bowl… don’t judge us, you will too. It’s the holidays people, celebrate and relax. Drink a little vino and eat some of this (secretly healthy) cake 😉
Healthy Pumpkin Cake with Spiced Butterscotch Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 136g (1 cup) Sweet White Sorghum Flour
- 120g (¾ cup) Brown Rice Flour
- 40g (¼ cup) Organic Corn Starch
- 1 tbs Double-Acting Baking Powder
- Ground Cinnamon **
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 250g (1 cup) 100% Pure Pumpkin Puree (canned)
- 1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Soy Milk
- ¾ cup Egg Whites (fresh, not cartoned)
- 96g (½ cup) Homemade Vanilla Sugar (or dry sweetener of choice)
- 14g (1 tbs) Hazelnut Oil (or any other neutral oil)
- 2 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbs White Vinegar
Frosting:**
- 111g (~3.5 scoops) Vanilla Vega Performance Protein Powder
- 31g (1.5 scoops) Vanilla Brown Rice Protein Powder
- 14g (2 tbs) Coconut Flour
- 1¼ cups Unsweetened Vanilla Soy Milk
- 2 tsp Liquid Stevia Extract
- 2 tsp Natural Butterscotch Flavor
- 1 tsp Natural Butter Flavor
- 1¾ tsp Apple Pie Spice
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray three 6" cake pans with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sorghum flour, brown rice flour, starch, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a stand mixer bowl with whisk attachment, add the pumpkin, soy milk, egg whites, vanilla sugar, oil and extracts. Whisk on medium/low speed.
- Add the vinegar to the mixing stand mixer, then slowly add in the dry ingredients. When all is incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whip batter on medium/high speed for 20-30 seconds.
- Pour batter into the three prepared pans and bake for 28-33 minutes, or until the surface of the cakes spring back when tapped.
For the Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together both protein powders and the coconut flour.
- Whisk in the soy milk, then whisk in the extracts, spices and natural food coloring. Frosting should be thick (add coconut flour or protein powder if you want it thicker, added teaspoon by teaspoon).
- Frost the cake, refrigerate for 30+ minutes to set, then slice, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
I know the frosting recipe here is a little wacky, I made it on a whim. Some other frostings include:
Healthy Maple Cinnamon Frosting
Look at all that frosting! I wish I could scoop some off the cake and hand it to you through the screen, but technology hasn’t caught up with Wonkavision yet 😉
Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
Jess, this cake is just out of this world gorgeous. How did you ever think of making icing out of protein powder? It looks so yummy! I just have to try it. Now stevia is one ingredient that I still haven’t worked with, but it looks like I’m gonna have to get me some, because I just have to try some of your recipes. This cake is definitely one of them! 🙂
I like to take some spare time during the busy holiday season to unwind by watching a favorite holiday movie with my parents while snacking on healthy brown bag popped popcorn.
My holiday tip….always bring a dish so you know there will be something good to eat. And always have a glass of wine handy in case of emergency interviews from relatives 😉
my holiday tip: bake ahead of time!! especially for thanksgiving pies or Christmas cookie exchanges. this way you can prepare or come up with a plan b if something goes wrong!!
Always to make the dessert ahead of time along with all vegetable prep!
My holiday tip is to make sure you have more than enough wine on hand for your dinner/event. You never know who may show up! And if you have bottles left, that’s never a bad thing 🙂
favorite tip shortcut: prepare all you can the day before the holiday to save time and enjoy your guests.
jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com
I always bring a healthy dish to any holiday function I attend. That way I know there’s at least 1 thing that I can eat and not feel lousy about 🙂
I love to buying a healthy twist to every dish and add as many veggies as possible.
My tip: Plan the timing of every dish in/out of the oven, stove, refrigerator, etc. and create a schedule so the day you are going to cook it will be stress free ! I also like to set out ingredients for each recipe on a table and make sure to prep everything in advance.
TIP:
If you’re hosting a holiday dinner provide the main dish, and a side dish or salad, but ask your guests to bring something. It’ll save you so much stress and time. And always ask if you can bring something to a party you’re attending. Even if the host doesn’t require you to bring something, many times they at least appreciate the offer.
My holiday tip/shortcut is to make a batch of cookies (varying recipes) once a week a few weeks leading up to Christmas. Bake one or two cookies from each batch to enjoy, but freeze the rest and bake as needed for holiday gatherings! I started doing this a couple of years ago, and it is so much less stressful than making a ton of cookies a day or two in advance. Good luck to everyone in the contest!
My tip is to plan and cook ahead to save time
I love lists! I like to organize my calendar and plan out my to-do’s and shopping lists to try and minimize the holiday craziness. Another thing that I have realized over the last couple of years… it’s okay to say no every once in a while and spend a quiet night at home!
My holiday tip is to stop worrying! Your family and friends are there first and foremost to enjoy each other’s company, so no matter what you can whip together they will appreciate your effort and have a great time 🙂
My short cut is making cookies in advance and then freezing them, I also tend to do that with scones, fruit pies and pound cakes as well! I also admit sometimes when I am short on time to using ready made frosting.
The easiest and most delicious go-to for holiday gifts and parties is saltine cracker toffee. Everyone thinks you slaved over making it- but it just takes some basic baking ingredients and a few minutes in the oven!
I make my pies the day before and cut up vegetables for the stuffing the day before so I just have to focus on the turkey!
My tip is start shopping early-sometimes if I find good sales in the summer I will start stocking up for Christmas gifts!
I think it’s absolutely impossible not to believe that all of your desserts are healthy now! You’ve given more than enough evidence in the past. 🙂
I like to use the crockpot whenever possible, it leaves my oven free for other things!
I shop online to avoid the traffic and stress.
I try and purchase as many gifts as I can before Thanksgiving so I have more time to enjoy the Christmas season and all of its associated events
My holiday tip is to not stress! It’s easy to be overwhelmed with things to get done around the holidays, but being a giant stress ball ruins everything! Get things done little by little and feel free to take breaks!
My holiday tip is to fill clear jars with holiday candy and cookies. Set them on the coffee table or dining table and create a holiday themed vignette. Oh and hunt down candy coupons now for upcoming sales! I spy quite a few:)
My holiday life saver tip is doing all prep work the night before. Having chopped veggies ready to go saves me an enormous amount of time day of.
Using baking mats while baking cookies ensures perfect cookie every time!
I use Pam for everything! My mom has a great holiday baking trick that I have adopted: she butters the pan and uses white sugar instead of flour. The sugar caramelizes the baked good and makes a slightly crispy and super sweet outside!
My time saving holiday tip is I bake pies the day before the big meal and do as much prep work the day before. As far as shopping I do it as early in the year as I can so I can skip all that horrible holiday store crowd stuff.
We keep it simple by only getting gifts for the kids and letting them pitch in with the dinner preparations.
My shortcut is use the microwave! Instead of a double boiler to melt chocolate, I zap it in the microwave – so much easier and still creamy!
scheduling in workouts keeps me sane!
My favorite tip is to make whatever I can ahead of time. I love to do a makeahead casserole for xmas day.
I cannot tell you how amazing this cake looks! Thanks for the giveaway!
My tip is to start cooking at least two days before Thanksgiving with dishes that can be refrigerated and reheated! It saves so much time and scrambling on the big day! Thanks!
I like to plan my holiday meals ahead of time
I make lots of pie crusts ahead of time and freeze them!
I’d say plan ahead as much as possible, but don’t worry if it doesn’t work out! The holidays won’t be ruined. 🙂
my tip is get your mom to come over and help !:) and dont rush.. that’s when you tend to mess up…
My biggest tip is always pacing! Use a relaxing weekend way before the holidays to prep things that can be frozen, do groceries gradually as you build up to the holidays for things that can be stored in the pantry/freezer, and even use Black Friday to do some casual holiday shopping (during the day, of course, when it’s less hectic!)
best holiday tips? make sure you have a back up plan in case something goes wrong, like you mention with the cake!
Holiday tip: cookies, bars, breads, or homemade bark can be a great gift, as long as the wrapping and delivery system is special! Cellophane or printed bags can add a special touch, as well as boxes or handmade labels.
I always try to do whatever I can ahead of time.
Prep everything you’re going to cook the day before so the day of, all you have to do is assemble and stick things in the oven!
i try to prep everything ahead of time. also, my family delegates responsibilites so that everything doesnt fall on just 1 person.
I’m not sure if this is a tip or just common sense, but I feel like I fail at it every year: when baking a dessert from a new recipe for a holiday party, do not wait til the day of the party to do it!
Thanks so much for this giveaway! I have to admit, I make almost everything from scratch except one thing- pumpkin! I actually prefer the taste of canned to fresh! I know- isn’t that crazy?:) I used canned so it saves me time, money and I like it better:) It goes into my stuffing and of course, my pie!:) Thanks again:0
My tip is to make large batches of food gifts at once to give away to friends and family. You can always freeze items or can them yourselves. It makes the holidays so less stressful when you plan ahead and so much more rewarding to give homemade gifts!
I like to prepare and precut as much as possible and make some things in the crock pot so the whole process of big meals is easier and less stressful!
i plan ahead!