We’re getting in the holiday spirit! With friends and family visiting, it’s always nice to have healthy and delicious recipes that fit everyone’s diet. This Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake is Gluten Free, Paleo, and would probably taste good without any sugar added. Our family isn’t gluten free, but we love to eat healthy desserts. And, this is the kind of cake that we can eat in one night and not feel too bad about it.
I first learned about this cake from my aunt Julie. She tries to stay away from gluten, which I had forgotten before she came to visit us last month. Pretty much everything in my house has gluten in it. I felt so bad! Good thing Julie is a sweetheart and decided to cook up something we could all enjoy!
You would never guess by the taste that this doesn’t have flour in it. It really puffs up like a cake and is nice and moist. Because of the low sugar content, I’ve served this for breakfast too.
Healthy Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
Recipe modified from Be Better, Period.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree
3/4 Cup Almond Butter (I used Adam’s All Natural Peanut Butter because Almond Butter is expensive!)
2 Tablespoons Honey (use more if your aren’t adding Chocolate Chips)
2 Large Eggs
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon Cloves
Handful of Chocolate or Cacao Chips (Optional)
Directions:
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and enlisted a helper to mix all the ingredients in. Here’s how we did things:
Pumpkin was first in the bowl.
Next came the eggs and vanilla.
The peanut butter went in after that. Emma wasn’t sure about peanut butter and pumpkin tasting good together, but this cake is now a regular request.
Finally the dry ingredients and spices went in.
Time to mix it all up!
I greased my 8×8 pan with a little butter, poured the batter in and topped it with a handful of chocolate chips. It cooked for 25-30 minutes and then suddenly it disappeared before my very eyes!
So, if you’re hosting for friends or family and aren’t sure about your guests’ diets, mix up this quick and easy Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake and everyone will be very pleased!
Are you gluten free or paleo? If you have any recipe suggestions, I would love to hear about them in the comments!
For more Kid Friendly Healthy Recipes, like me on Facebook or follow me on Pinterest. Thanks for your support!
I just put this in the oven! Looks fantastic. Clean eating magazine has an excellent chocolate chip almond butter recipe. It’s my favorite ever with minimal ingredients. This recipe reminded me of so I thought this would probably be great, too! Just one thing…. How long to bake it for? Like I said, mine is already in the oven….and I’ll be watching it closely….
So sorry Amanda! Bake for 25-30 minutes. Hope you love it!
Think this will work out as muffins? 🙂
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal recently posted…Spiced Squash Protein Donuts/Muffins (vegan, no sugar added)
They probably would! Just reduce the cooking time and fill 2/3s full.
I have all of these ingredients in my pantry – We are totally making it this weekend!
Leanna @ Alldonemonkey recently posted…Healthy Homemade French Fries
Hi,
Its Aunt Julie. So glad you made this cake. Love your website. I have more Paleo recipes for you. Great for reducing the amount of sugar kids get. One note: Paleo is the diet I follow 95 % of the time now as it makes me feel the best and keeps me lean. This diet consists of completely grain free, dairy free and sugar free eating. So none of the Paleo desserts will have SUGAR in them. They are sweetened with natural sweeteners like dried fruit, honey or natural maple syrup. Sweets made with processed sugars are just too sweet for me now and cause a sugar “low” or tiredness afterward. Enjoy.
Just put this into the oven. Smells amazing! It was so easy to through together. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have a few GF friends/family and this is such a great gift to give during the Holiday! Not to mention SUPER easy and so delicious! I added my own caramel/pumpkin sauce on top..
Yum! That sounds even more delicious.
You mentioned using peanut butter. Did it change the taste that much to use it instead of almond butter? Thank you!
A little bit, but if you add more cinnamon and ginger it should help.
This recipe looks delicious. We’re allergic to almonds & peanuts, would cashew or sunflower butter work for this recipe?
I think Cashew butter would work great! I’ve never had sunflower butter, so I have no idea if it would work 🙂
Do you have a printable recipe card somewhere? I have been using this recipe for years and at this point, I just need to print it because I’m afraid it’s going to disappear someday and I will be lost.
Hi Kelda! I think you can print off the page with your browser. Just go file-print or there are three little dots on the top right and you can print from there?