A healthy and easy pumpkin cake recipe is topped with fresh cream cheese frosting! Made with homemade pumpkin puree made from scratch or from the can. Goes perfectly with a cup of homemade pumpkin spice coffee!
I’m an everything pumpkin girl.
Pumpkin French toast, pumpkin donuts, and pumpkin swirl black bean brownies are my BFF’s this time of year.
BUT…
My pants also tend to get a bit tighter this time of year too. Coincidence? I think not.
So I’m trying to be more mindful of what I bake. Specifically, I want to use more whole grains and less sugar. If I can use a natural sweetener, that’s even better.
Thankfully, this healthy pumpkin cake recipe checks all those boxes!!
Healthy Pumpkin Cake
I love this pumpkin cake recipe because it’s easy and straightforward to make. But I also love it because it’s:
- Made with whole grain flour – which has great health benefits.
- Lightly sweetened with a natural sweetener.
- Super moist!
- Guilt-free.
- Picky-eater approved.
I do want to say that if you’re used to super-sweet desserts, you’re not going to like this. There is JUST ENOUGH sweetener to make this qualify as a dessert, but not so much that you’ll end up in a sugar coma. Which is a good thing, right? I think so!
I don’t feel bad letting my kids eat this for breakfast or an afterschool snack. And I don’t feel bad if I sneak a second piece when the kids have gone to bed!
Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients
This is a cake, so we need the common cake players:
- Whole Grain Flour. Not a “typical” cake player, but this is a healthy pumpkin cake recipe!
- Cinnamon + Nutmeg + Ginger. Close to pumpkin spice, but not quite. See my notes below if you want to use a pumpkin spice blend.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda + Salt. To leaven + flavor.
- Butter + Egg. Minimal fat + binder. I haven’t tested using a flax egg, but I’m betting it will work.
- Vanilla + Maple Syrup. Flavor + natural sweetener.
- Pumpkin puree. Both homemade pumpkin puree and canned pumpkin will work. See my notes below. Be sure NOT to use pumpkin pie mix!
- Frosting (optional). I recommend using cream cheese frosting but read below for other options.
Note: I buy einkorn berries from Jovial Foods. When you shop at Jovial foods, you can save 10% off all items in the store with exclusions on special promotional items such as cookbooks and new harvest oil when you use coupon code DWCRUMBS. Also, there’s free shipping for over $99.
Psst! If you’re going to add salt, I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen. You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic free, and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a bag for just 1¢!! (Get your penny bag of salt on this page.)
I make my own whole grain flour with a Mockmill (you can read my honest review of the Mockmill here) because it’s cheaper, but also because we realized my daughter was sensitive to gluten after doing the Whole30 as a family. If you’re curious about einkorn, you can read more about it here.
How to Make a Pumpkin Cake
Most dump recipes are “dump and bake,” and while this one requires a turn or two of the spatula, it still qualifies as a dump cake recipe to me!
Step 1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and whisk together.
Step 2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Give the batter a stir or two until everything is combined.
Step 3. Bake, cool, frost, and enjoy!
As for the frosting, it’s just as easy! Simply mix the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and spread on top of the cooled cake.
Note: If you want a sweeter pumpkin cake, I recommend adding ¼ – ½ cups of granulated sugar to the recipe, depending on your preferences. Remember that you can start with ¼ cup and add more.
FAQs
If you want to make this ahead of time, I recommend baking the cake rather than preparing the batter. You can refrigerate the cake, but doing so will dry it out a little bit. It’s better the day it’s made.
Another option is to bake the cake and store it at room temperature for 2-3 days and make the cream cheese frosting just before serving.
I personally LOVE this pumpkin cake recipe with cream cheese frosting. A vanilla buttercream frosting or even a sprinkle of powdered sugar (try my homemade recipe) would be a great replacement for the icing.
Absolutely! Use whatever pan you’d like to make this recipe. The cooking time will likely need to be adjusted, so use a toothpick to test for doneness. Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. When the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready!
Pumpkin puree is made by baking a sugar pumpkin (also known as a baking pumpkin) and then pureeing the flesh from the inside. Here’s a tutorial showing you how easy it is to make homemade pumpkin puree.
I’ve only made this recipe using canned pumpkin, but you can certainly use homemade!
My own homemade pumpkin spice blend is made of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove. You’ll notice that this recipe doesn’t call for pumpkin spice or clove. If you don’t feel like measuring out each spice and want to use a pumpkin spice blend instead, go for it! You’ll need 2 ½ teaspoons.
Can I Make This Pumpkin Cake With Cake Mix?
I have a DELICIOUS recipe for homemade yellow cake mix, but I haven’t tried making this cake using that mix… YET!
If you want to give it a shot, I recommend using 1¾ cup of cake mix INSTEAD of the flour, baking soda, salt, and maple syrup in the recipe (the homemade yellow cake mix already contains granulated sugar).
The batter might seem very dry since you’re leaving out a good bit of a wet ingredient, so I would add either another egg or Greek yogurt, one tablespoon at a time until you reach the right consistency.
Make sure you take notes so you can alter the recipe next time!
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Larabar Bites
- Classic Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Overnight Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
$50 October Meal Plan
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A healthy and easy pumpkin cake recipe is topped with fresh cream cheese frosting! Made with homemade pumpkin puree made from scratch or from the can. Goes perfectly with a cup of homemade pumpkin spice coffee!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¾ cup whole grain flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ginger
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup maple syrup
Frosting
- 1–8 oz brick cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 Tbsp butter, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3 Tbsp maple syrup
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8×8 or 9×9 square baking dish. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients – whole grain flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, salt – in a bowl and whisk together.
- Combine the wet ingredients – coconut oil, egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup – in a small bowl and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Give the batter a stir or two, just until everything is combined.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish and use a spatula to make the surface mostly smooth.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean.
- Let the cake cool.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. In a stand mixer, blender, OR by hand, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. Add the salt and taste, adjusting the sweetener as desired.
- Spread frosting on cooled cake and serve.
Notes
Adapted from amyshealthybaking.com
- If you want a sweeter pumpkin cake, I recommend adding ¼ – ½ cups of granulated sugar to the recipe, depending on your preferences. Remember that you can start with ¼ cup and add more.
- If you want to make this pumpkin cake with cake mix, I recommend using 1¾ cup of cake mix (try my homemade recipe) instead of the flour, baking soda, salt, and maple syrup in the recipe (the homemade yellow cake mix already contains granulated sugar).
Nutrition
- Calories: 231
Keywords: pumpkin cake
Where can I get einkorn flour?
By the way, I love the name of your website!
https://amzn.to/2Cz9dc8 Here is our affiliate link to the all purpose one Tiffany uses.
HI Tiffany,
I don’t have a mill so which Einkorn flour do you recommend for this cake?
Both whole wheat einkorn and all-purpose einkorn will work. 🙂
Looks delicious! This is definitely going on my list of recipes to try!
Thanks Adrianne!