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!
My tip is to make large batches of goodies to give away and in case unexpected guests arrive.
My tip is to make the desserts two days in advance of the big day. 🙂
My holiday tip is to focus on family and friends! Everything is so crazy around the holidays that it seems like time with family and friends is impossible to fit into the schedule! I try to combine preparing meals or special desserts with family time by cooking with my Mom or sisters. I also try to show my family that I love them by preparing their favorite desserts or snacks. Keeping the ingredients on hand for their favorites lets me spontaneously prepare foods for them as I have time.
my favorite holiday short cut..? hmm… probably store bought crusts and canned pumpkin (not the pumpkin PIE, just plain pumpkin). that or (vegan) stuffing in a box. that stuff is so delicious! your blog is wonderful <3
For baking, I measure all the dry ingredients in advance, and store them in airtight, labeled plastic containers until ready to use.
Do as much in advance as possible, and focus on love and goodwill, as opposed to material things.
PAM is a lifesaver!! One holiday tip I have is to stock up on baking supplies pre-holiday. I usually shop for it in October so I’m not hit with a huge expense in November/December for all of those baking items!
I like to cook early and freeze my cookie dough. My kids love to help and we also deliver them to our friends and family so it saves a bunch of time having the dough already made.
Divvy up tasks/food if you are hosting! If you’re not, ask the host/hostess what type of dish to bring. That way you don’t end up with and abundance of one category x)
My holiday shortcut is to prep food the day before! On Thanksgiving and Christmas, my family just likes to eat little things all day before the big meal, so prepping those little snack dishes the day before makes everything really easy the day of! Especially when I am starving and don’t have the patience to wait for my mom to make our delicious Hobo Bread Spread, so having it prepped means it gets to my belly faster!
Not earth-shaking but my biggest time saver is preparation in advance of every single item that I can (vegetables prepped and ready for assembly by mid-morning for example).
Cook some things ahead and freeze them.
I’ve always hated stuffing as a kid. That is, until I discovered corn bread stuffing. This year – my first Thanksgiving eating gluten-free – I’m going to make the cornbread from scratch using a gluten-free recipe before turning it into stuffing. Between my brother’s vegan diet and my gluten-free diet, we have to find a lot of tricks to making our traditional Thanksgiving.
I make as much as I can ahead of time. That way, I only need to heat things ups. Prevents my oven from being overrun with things at the same time 🙂
Ask everyone to contribute to holiday dinners. This ensures one person doesn’t get stuck in the kitchen all day.
I like to be a little thrifty during the holidays and re-use wrapping paper and gift bags if I can. They have to be in really good condition to re-use, but I find it feels good to be less wasteful and save a few pennies.
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Make lists and don’t underestimate how much time everything takes.
No-bake desserts are a great shortcut to take for the holidays! Also, anything that can be cooked in the crockpot is always delicious and easy
My tip is to prep and make everything possible ahead of time so you have more time to socialize.
My favorite tip is to bake the rolls ahead of time and freeze them so you don’t have to worry about them the day of!
I love to prep things ahead of time – them just throw the dish together.
Favorite holiday shortcut – making things ahead of time if possible and factor in extra ‘buffer’ prep time!
I make stock and cookie dough in a large quantity and freeze it in plastic bags.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
I love roasting vegetables for holiday dinners–they taste fantastic with a simple olive oil, salt and pepper flavoring and are easy to chop and throw in the oven! Also baked sweet potatoes speak for themselves, I wash them, leave them whole and stick it in a 400 degree toaster oven for an hour and they’re amazing!
buy butter when its on sale in large quantities, then freeze whole sticks until ready to be used for baking!
My My tip is to make sure you have all of the ingredients before you start
My shortcut is freezer cookies. Make ahead, stash in the freezer, and then slice and bake when ready.
Have a cookie exchange with friends! It’s delicious and a great way to get a variety of cookies.
There’s no shame in freezing meals in the fall and pulling them out during this busy season!
I spray Pam on wax paper and lay that on top of a bowl of dough that’s rising. Then it won’t stick if it rises up to the paper.
we watch A Christmas Story marathon.
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My favorite holiday shortcut is prepping in advance. That way I’m not spending all morning making my dish!
My tip is to keep a list of everything, to-do, meal plans, shopping lists for groceries, gifts, etc.
My favorite holiday tip is getting your christmas tree early and decorating it pronto! Otherwise it sits there naked for a week.
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Gorgeous! Delicious! I wish I had seen this for Thanksgiving. 🙂 I’ll have to make this soon!
I love to try and make healthier recipes :). I also freeze what I can!
My tip is to just relax and enjoy your time with family and friends. Don’t worry about all the details! And remember…Jesus is the reason for the season & focus on Him 🙂
My holiday tip is to take some time to do a little something for others who are not as fortunate. It always puts me in a good holiday cheer mood 🙂
get help from your husband or even your kids, and start early! give yourself plenty of time!
Enlist your husband to do the dishes!!
I usually cook with my mom and sister we do different things and we freeze whatever we don’t use to use it for something else or another day if we don’t’ finish.
My holiday short cut is to cook in large batches!! I freeze portions for later and it means something is always ready when we get back from travels.
Do as much as you can AHEAD of time so you can enjoy everything when the holiday finally gets here. 🙂
I love to stock up on squash! I’ve had plenty last me till next fall. Best to buy them in season and they’re great in holiday dishes 🙂
diy for ALL my gifts… baked goods, decor, photo projects. and it’s more personal that way!
My holiday shortcut is prepping in advance everything possible. In addition, I always send home leftovers with family to ensure no food does to waste 🙂
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