Seriously the Best Healthy Pumpkin Cake (with almond flour!)

This is the best cake I've ever baked--and trust me, I've baked a lot! Thick, fluffy, unbelievably moist pumpkin perfection that happens to be better for you. Made in one bowl with nourishing almond and oat flour, pure maple syrup, plenty of pumpkin and cozy spices, plus a splash of extra-virgin olive oil. You'd never believe this beaut is gluten-free and has no refined sugar!

You're gonna freak.

If you've laid mouth on my healthy carrot cake with almond flour, you know my passion for beyond delish cakes that happen to be good for you runs DEEP.

And since you're all so smitten with my almond flour pumpkin bread (can't blame you), it was simply non-negotiable to add a pumpkin spice version to the healthy cake roster this season.

Of all my nourishing dessert recipes, I must say this TAKES THE CAKE (pun intended). My husband, kiddos and I cannot stop shoving forkfuls of this ridiculously moist pumpkin bliss into our faces and I guarantee you'll be the same. So just make it! You're welcome.

The why behind star ingredients

• Flours: I developed this recipe with almond and oat flour because it yields the most delectable moist texture without having to add a ton of oil (and making it a gluten free pumpkin cake, yay!). No other flours work here since this recipe relies so heavily on the unique high fat fat profile of almond flour for texture.
• Canned pumpkin: The second time I tested this I increased the amount of canned pumpkin from ¾ cup to 1 cup (I mean, it is a pumpkin cake) and it made the texture and color even better. You can find all my healthy pumpkin recipes here!
• Maple syrup: I wanted to keep sugar relatively low (most recipes call for double the amount of sugar in the cake alone!) but it was clear in testing that ⅔ cup is the perfect amount for a cake that satisfies your sweet tooth without being overly sweet. I did test this with 9 tbsp and it was not enough!
• Eggs are the key to height! The first time I made this cake, I only used 2 eggs and it was not tall. It wasn't crumbly but it def could use more structure (hello, almond flour has no gluten!). I added another egg and BAM--the cake got so amazingly tall and thick. I do not recommend flax eggs here.
• Extra virgin olive oil: Most recipes for healthy pumpkin cake call for Greek yogurt but I went a different direction. Good extra virgin olive oil is my secret weapon to heighten all the fab flavors in the best way. And yay for more heart-healthy fats!
• The more spices the merrier: I found in recipe testing that I needed a lot more spices than I thought and I added additional cinnamon to the pie spice. Pumpkin is suuuper bland by itself and I love tons of spice in pumpkin baked good (store-bought pumpkin pie spice makes it so easy!).

Let's make it!

Pssst: You super observant people may notice in the photos 2 eggs vs 3 and flax instead of oat flour, but I found after more testing that the best results were with no flax and an extra egg.

And if you must know...my favorite way to use up that pesky remaining pumpkin puree post-cake is my pumpkin pudding (with cottage cheese!). You're welcome...again!

Seriously the Best Healthy Pumpkin Cake (with almond flour!)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Alexis Joseph, MS, RD
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 16 pieces 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

This is the best cake I've ever baked--and trust me, I've baked a lot! Thick, fluffy, unbelievably moist pumpkin perfection that happens to be better for you. Made in one bowl with nourishing almond and oat flour, pure maple syrup, plenty of pumpkin and cozy spices, plus a splash of extra-virgin olive oil. You'd never believe this beaut is gluten-free and has no refined sugar!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 cups super fine blanched almond flour
• ½ cup oat flour
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 batch healthy cream cheese frosting or healthy cinnamon cream cheese frosting, for topping

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Place almond flour, oat flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium or large mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
3. Add pumpkin, maple syrup, eggs, olive oil, and vanilla. Whisk again until smooth. Pour batter into lined baking dish, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.
4. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, cool on a wire rack.
5. While the cake bakes, make cream cheese frosting.
6. Let cake cool then top with frosting (I refrigerate it to speed up the process). Slice into 12-16 pieces and devour! Store cake, unfrosted or frosted, covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (Frosted cake can be at room temperature for 2 hours then must be refrigerated.)

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Notes

Almond flour is essential in this recipe and cannot be substituted.

This is not super sweet, even frosted! Don't reduce the maple syrup--it really balances this cake.

This recipe is dairy-free if you omit the frosting or use a dairy-free one (I haven't had good luck with a dairy-free cream cheese frosting). Be sure oats are certified gluten free to make this cake GF. I grind rolled oats in my Nutribullet to make oat flour!

Nutrition information for frosted cake is listed below. Nutrition info for one piece of cake without frosting: Calories: 160, Fat: 5.2g, Saturated Fat: 0.6g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 133mg, Carb: 14.6g, Fiber: 1.3g, Sugar: 9.1g, Protein: 3.7g,