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 favorite holiday shortcut is using store bought puff pastry for things that I might have otherwise made from scratch. It’s only once a year and saves sooo much time!
My tip is If you run out of Brown Sugar, mix 1 cup granulated sugar to 1 Tablespoon of molasses. Another one I always use unsalted butter, to help with family members on a salt free diet, there usually is salt added to the recipe, but cutting a bit back by using the unsalted butter.
my tip is to line your cookie sheets with tin foil or parchment paper to make clean up easy when making your Christmas cookies
nannypanpan@gmail.com
Hey Jess! My holiday tip is to keep 80% dark chocolate squares with me at all times during the holidays…sounds crazy but blood sugar can run low and stress can get high during this season:) AAAND with organic dark chocolate I’m loading up on my antioxidants.
We have so many Christmas baking traditions- decorated sugar cookies, wreathes made from cornflakes, Chex Mix, etc. 🙂 My tip is to make double batches!
chambanachik at gmail dot com
My favorite holiday tip is plan ahead. I get a long list for homemade goodies to give out. So, I always have to make ahead. I get the beauty or crafty things out of the way first because they last longer, then baking cookies, cakes and tarts at the last 2 days so they stay fresh.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
My favourite plan-head tricks:
Stock up on items that are non-perishable and/or can be frozen (so that I am not having to do crazy shopping runs closer to the date)
Sounds obvious – but start a to-do list NOW. In other words, just have an on-going list from now until the holidays. Ticking things off as they are completed or bought.
Finally, I don’t stress over the little things. Christmas is first and foremost about the coming of Christ…it’s not about the food or the presents (although those are lovely).
Anyways…thanks for the giveaway! Hope someone who truly deserves it gets it!
My favorite tip is to do as much prep work in advance, such as chopping veggies in bulk, so they are ready to use.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
My holiday tip is to prepare cookie dough ahead of time, and freeze them. It can be a real time saver!
Favorite holiday shortcuts? Hmmmm. I’d say make a potluck party that way you can focus on a few good dishes and still have a huge variety 🙂
i make a list,shop early and use slow cooker to save some time
I don’t have any shortcuts. I love cooking with love and family /friends…that makes it all worthwhile!!
Amazon! I wait until the last minute to order gifts. I do spend all of my time cooking, however.
“tell me one of your favorite holiday shortcuts or tips!”
Eat something small before you head to a gathering with LOTS OF FOOD– Apparently you’ll eat less, which makes sense…. But I’ve yet to do it. 😉
I try to prepare foods that can be frozen ahead of time and pull them when I need them
I save time by prepping all ingredients before I start cooking or baking.
If you are at a party don’t fill up on things like cheese and crackers.. you won’t have room for anything else.
Clean as you go 🙂
If someone offers to help you in the kitchen, definitely accept! 🙂 You’ll have someone to talk to in the kitchen!
Have a potluck family get-together. Less stress and less clean-up.
I cook as much as I can the day before a party, this way all you have to do is heat up the cooked food, giving you more time to spend with the guests.
My only tip is to make as much as you can ahead of time as you can for less stress the day of your party.
I wash my dishes as I go.
my tip is to plan ahead and make sure you have all of your ingredients before you get started!
Short cut is to raid Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s prepared foods. You can be sure they are made with good ingredients and will taste like homemade!
cook what you can before the big day.
My best tip is to prep ahead of time as much as you can and don’t sweat the small stuff 🙂
Make double entrees and freeze half for later. Big help in those days leading up to the holidays when you’re busy!
I try to choose recipes that can be made ahead and ask guests to bring something to share the load.
For a big holiday meal, I like to prepare everything the night before and throw in the crock pot and let that do the cooking all day. When it comes to using Pam, when I make spaghetti, I’ll spray some Pam in the water while boiling the spaghetti so the noodles don’t stick together
This holiday I have used honey in a number of recipes and I spry the measuring cup with Pam before putting honey in it to get the desired amount and that makes sure that all the honey comes out.
I always make extra so I have enough for unexpected guests 🙂 and who doesn’t love leftovers?
My tip is to prepare as much as you can the day before.
austma7@aol.com
Need to cut back on sugar for Holiday cooking? Use unsweetened applesauce or puree canned fruit and use them in quick breads or muffins. An extra teaspoon of lemon, orange or vanilla extract also helps add flavor too!
I make as much as possible ahead of time.
When baking I use cocoa powder instead of baker’s chocolate to add the chocolaty flavor without the fat
when i make dressing i used pam to keep it from sticking to the pan
My tip to counter Holiday stress is drinking lots of eggnog. That and giving out money in lieu of surprise gifts, to prevent disapointment.
my favorite holiday shortcut is to enlist family help with cooking
I try to do some every day and delegate some of the things to other family members.
Thank you.
plan ahead so there’s no last minute scrambling
I like to use parchment paper and Pam for my cookies .
I clean up as I cook in order to keep the kitchen clean, and me sane!
plan and prep the night before – key to success! Use Pam for all of my baking needs – cookies and cupcakes!!
tvollowitz at aol dot com
Prep all ingredients before baking and cooking!
I try to assemble all dishes ahead of time and them bake them the day of the event/dinner/party.
clean the kitchen as things are baking/ simmering
I shell pecans and walnuts all year long and freeze them. For holiday baking I just grab a bag from the freezer. Saves time and saves a lot of money by not having to buy shelled nuts at Christmas time.
My best holiday cooking tip is to do the prep work ahead of time, like the chopping of fruits and veggies, to save time on the day you have to cook. Or you can even buy them already chopped at the Supermarket sometimes.
I like baking most items in advance and freezing them because there’s always less time the closer the holidays get.