Paleo Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake With Maple-Vanilla Frosting
Paleo Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake With Maple-Vanilla Frosting
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, so I’m delighted that dinner on November 24 is just 27 meals away! We’re keeping it low key this year: It’s just Dave, Smudge, and I digging into a smallish feast of roast duck (with a stuffing made of pork and apples), my paleo cranberry waldorf salad, green beans with bacon, velvety butternut squash (a new Well Fed recipe!), and this pumpkin gingerbread cake.
I think this cake tastes best when it’s chilled. It takes on the denser texture of a cake bar, and the frosting tastes and feels like bakery icing. However, you might like it at room temperature or even warmed a bit. Experiment! You can’t really go wrong, it is cake, after all.
Servings
9
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 cup justin's maple almond butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/3 cup coconut butter
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pecan halves or whole almonds for garnish
Directions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350F.
- 2. Make the cake. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Pour into an 8×8 oven-safe baking dish. Bake until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- 3. Make the frosting. Place the coconut butter and coconut oil in a microwave-safe dish and heat until softened, but not melted. The length of time you need to nuke it will depend on the temperature in your house, so start with 30-second increments and repeat until you get the right consistency. Place the coconut butter and oil in a large mixing bowl, then add the honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy with a standing or hand mixer. If you don’t have a mixer, go at it with a whisk… and good luck to you!
- 4. Assemble! Allow the cake to cool completely. Completely. For real. When you’re sure it’s cooler than Mr. Mike Ness in Red Square in February, you may cut it into 9 or 16 squares. Dollop a spoonful of frosting onto each square and top with a nut. Do not snarf your cake yet – save it for Thanksgiving dinner!
- 5. Chill out. When all squares are frosted, cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The frosting will firm up in the fridge and the texture transforms into a confection. Serve the cake squares chilled or at room temperature.