Gluten Free Pumpkin Snack Cake
Sink your fork into this plush pumpkin snack cake topped with swirls of the most deliciously creamy-tangy maple syrup frosting!
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 411kcal
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 can pure pumpkin puree
- ½ cup plain whole milk yogurt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour (220 grams)
- ½ cup almond flour (60 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6 ounces cream cheese at soft room temperature
- 1½-2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease and line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 can pure pumpkin puree, ½ cup plain whole milk yogurt, ½ cup unsalted butter, and 2 eggs.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 ¾ cups oat flour, ½ cup almond flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient until combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make frosting: In a large bowl, cream the ½ cup unsalted butter and 6 ounces cream cheese until well combined. Beat in the 1½-2 cups powdered sugar and 3 tablespoons maple syrup until a thick frosting forms. Add a bit more powdered sugar if needed, if it seems too loose.
- Make sure the cake is completely cooled, then spread a thick layer of frosting evenly over the top.
Notes
- Always use room temperature ingredients for the frosting. What does this mean? The butter and cream cheese should be very, very soft when pressed. I take mine out of the fridge well in advance of when I plan to make the frosting so that they easily blend together. It's the WORST to have lumps or streaks of butter or cream cheese in a frosting that's mean to be super smooth and creamy!
- Sift the powdered sugar. Another way to ensure the smoothest frosting is to sift the powdered sugar to remove any clumps. Sift the sugar directly into the bowl when you make the frosting.
- Try honey. For a slight flavor twist, use honey in place of maple syrup. It also goes so well with cream cheese!
- Omit the frosting. Skip the frosting and dust the surface of the cake with sifted powdered sugar, or sprinkle it with a mix of cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon granulated sugar + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, a la my gluten free pumpkin donut cake).
- Add candied nuts. Scatter candied pecans or walnuts over the top of the cream cheese frosting.
- Make it with chocolate. Stir in 1-2 cups of mini or regular semisweet chocolate chips into the batter to make pumpkin chocolate chip cake.
- Go vegan. Substitute three flax eggs for the eggs. Use your preferred vegan butter substitute and cream cheese substitute in the frosting.
- Swap gluten free flour. Easily use a gluten free all-purpose flour blend - try my homemade gluten free flour blend! - in place of the combination of oat and almond flours if you wish.
- Use pumpkin pie spice. Use pumpkin pie spice in place of the combination of spices in the batter if you have this spice blend handy.
- Add a sprinkle of spice. Sprinkle a little of ground cinnamon over the top of the frosting for a decorative finish.
Nutrition
Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 320mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 703IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 1mg