In high school, I played flute in the marching band. Every Saturday during the fall, the 250 of us musicians and color guard would arrive to campus by 5:30 am to load our instruments onto five large charter buses and head to various other high schools in Northern California for a band review.
Each band review followed a similar format. After arriving and patiently waiting on the buses for the drivers to maneuver about the small parking lots to find a space for us to fit, we climbed off and walked directly to the racks of uniforms and Dinkles (our special black marching shoes!) before finding our way to the locker rooms to change.
The Parade Competition came first, where we lined up in a huge block, nine people across, and marched down the city streets playing our specific song for the judges. Back at the parking lot, we changed into our street clothes again, ate lunch, hung out in the cargo space under the buses, and pretended to do homework until evening fell. Then it was time to pull on those uniforms again and warm up for the Field Show Competition before performing, changing yet again, and sitting in the football stadium bleachers for the Awards Ceremony.
While we were often in charge of our own lunches, either bringing them from home or buying something from the snack shack on the high school campuses, our Band Boosters always provided dinner for us. The menu switched each week, and we loaded our plates with meals like spaghetti and meatballs, soft tacos, and build-your-own subway sandwiches.
But for the final competition, which fell on our first weekend of Thanksgiving Break while the rest of the school was officially on vacation, the band parents took pity on us and arranged a full Thanksgiving feast. They set out turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry salad, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, buttery rolls, and our choice of pumpkin or apple pie for dessert. I always chose the pumpkin pie, but…
If this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting had been an option, it would’ve won—hands down! Supremely tender with hints of cozy spices and that thick layer of sweet, ever so slightly tangy frosting on top… It’s a slice of pure fall bliss.
And it can be our little secret that it’s actually healthy and clean eating friendly!
The cake batter begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made from a special type of white wheat, unlike regular whole wheat flour that’s ground from red wheat, so it has a lighter taste—but all of the same health benefits! It also has a lighter texture, closer to that of all-purpose flour, which makes it perfect for this tender cake. Whole wheat pastry flour would be a great substitute, and regular whole wheat flour would work in a pinch.
Note: For a gluten-free option, see the Notes section beneath the recipe!
This recipe only contains 1 tablespoon of oil and an egg white, so the rest of the tender texture comes from—you guessed it!—pumpkin purée. Remember to buy regular pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling. The latter contains refined sugar, which we’re avoiding in this healthier recipe! You’ll sweeten the cake with pure maple syrup instead. Pure maple syrup is different than pancake syrup, which consists of refined sugar and corn syrup, so the only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup.” Don’t substitute pancake or sugar-free syrup because those will affect the texture and consistency of the cake.
And of course, you can’t have pumpkin baked goodies without spices, so you’ll sprinkle in the perfect trio of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. They’ll make your house smell absolutely irresistible while the cake bakes!
The cake batter is very thick, so you’ll need to spread it into the square cake pan with a spatula. For easier removal, you can line the pan with foil, but that isn’t necessary! I find it makes for easier clean-up and one less dish to wash… Which is always a good thing in my book!
And now for the finishing touch: the cream cheese frosting! This recipe is made from a combination of regular Greek yogurt and Greek yogurt cream cheese. Greek yogurt cream cheese has fewer calories and more protein than regular cream cheese, but it still has the same iconic taste. I found mine at Safeway (their own Lucerne brand), and some Walmart stores carry the Green Mountain Farms brand, too. Remember to buy the brick-style block, not the tub!
Note: If you can’t find Greek yogurt cream cheese, substitute Neufchâtel cream cheese (⅓-less fat) instead.
The frosting is sweetened with one of my new favorite products, these vanilla crème stevia drops. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly. You can find this brand that I used at health-oriented grocery stores, either on the baking aisle or the health food and supplements aisle, as well as online.
Then spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake, cut yourself a large slice, and…
Pure bliss!
| Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting | | Print |
- for the cake
- 1 ¾ cup (210g) white whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
- 1 cup (244g) pumpkin purée, room temperature
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- for the frosting
- 4 oz (112g) Greek yogurt cream cheese (half of one 8-oz block)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ tsp (48 drops) vanilla crème stevia
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Optional: Line the pan with foil before spraying for easier removal and clean-up.)
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Stir in the maple syrup. Gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 24-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled, prepare the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and stevia in a small bowl until smooth. Spread on top of the cooled cake.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. Alternatively, ½ cup (106g) light brown sugar plus ¼ cup (60mL) milk may be substituted, but the cake will no longer be clean eating friendly.
I’ve found Greek yogurt cream cheese at Safeway and Walmart. If you can’t find Greek yogurt cream cheese, substitute Neufchâtel (⅓-less fat) cream cheese instead.
Most stevia-based sweeteners should work in place of the vanilla crème stevia. Do not substitute any other liquid sweeteners because they will make the frosting too runny.
The frosting can be made ahead of time; simply cover and chill until ready to frost the cake.
To store leftovers, I highly recommend one of these cake carrying containers! I lay a piece of parchment paper into the bottom, place the leftover cake slices on top, and snap the lid onto the pan. They’re the perfect height so that the frosting doesn’t get smooshed!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Hi Amy!
I enjoyed this recipe. The cake has a subtle flavor so it needs the icing (although unfortunately I’m not a stevia fan so I went in another direction there) but it works for me, although more as an afternoon snack than a dessert. I thought the texture was ok if a little dense, but I also got barely any rise. Is that correct, or should I have gotten more? I used new baking powder (learned that lesson already) and weighed all of the big ingredients, but I was using older flour – not sure if that makes a difference.
I appreciate your efforts, your patience, and your willingness to help!
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Juliana! I’m happy to help figure out those things. In order to do so, I have some questions for you!
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Which flour option did you use?
Did you weigh all of the ingredients, including the vanilla and maple syrup, or only the ones given in gram measurements?
Did you use the full amount of pure maple syrup?
What’s the exact brand of maple syrup that you used?
You mentioned using new baking powder (that’s definitely a good thing!); did you use fresh baking soda as well?
When measuring your square baking pan, what are its dimensions along the top rim AND the inside along the bottom edge?
Did you cake rise while baking but collapse while cooling? Or did it fail to rise at all?
This cake is definitely on the dense side (not airy and fluffy like angel food cake, for example!), but it should still be moist and soft. It should also rise! If you look at the photos in my blog post above the recipe, you can see how thick/tall the cake should be.
Also, this cake isn’t meant to be overly sweet. It shouldn’t be bland though! Is that what you meant by “subtle flavor,” where it just wasn’t sweet enough? Or could you not taste the pumpkin and spices either?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of what happened once I know your answers to all of them! 🙂
Thank you for taking to time to investigate! My answers are below:
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? No substitutions, but I went with the melted butter option.
Which flour option did you use? I used almost all white whole wheat but I was at the end of the bag so I used just a little whole wheat pastry flour to make up the difference.
Did you weigh all of the ingredients, including the vanilla and maple syrup, or only the ones given in gram measurements? I weighed the flour, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup. I used measuring spoons for the rest.
Did you use the full amount of pure maple syrup? Yes ma’am.
What’s the exact brand of maple syrup that you used? I used the Giant generic brand.
You mentioned using new baking powder (that’s definitely a good thing!); did you use fresh baking soda as well? Shockingly yes (only because I used the rest of my very old box to clean my stove recently lol).
When measuring your square baking pan, what are its dimensions along the top rim AND the inside along the bottom edge? That was challenging with the rounded edges at the bottom but I think it’s just over 7.5 at the bottom and 8 at the top
Did you cake rise while baking but collapse while cooling? Or did it fail to rise at all? Didn’t rise at all.
This cake is definitely on the dense side (not airy and fluffy like angel food cake, for example!), but it should still be moist and soft. It should also rise! If you look at the photos in my blog post above the recipe, you can see how thick/tall the cake should be. It’s hard for me to be sure but from what I can tell they did not get the height that you did.
Also, this cake isn’t meant to be overly sweet. It shouldn’t be bland though! Is that what you meant by “subtle flavor,” where it just wasn’t sweet enough? Or could you not taste the pumpkin and spices either? No the sweetness was fine – I hate overly sweet, that’s why I like a lot of your recipes. When I tried a little without the icing it was really just a hint of flavor. I wonder if it wasn’t enough pumpkin for me? I thought your apple oatmeal snack cake used similar spices but had a lot more flavor for me. Or maybe I drank one too many pumpkin cream cold brews over the last couple months and my expectations are off? What do you think of using pumpkin spice mix in place of the individual spices?
Thank you for helping me!
It’s my pleasure, Juliana! Thank YOU for providing such detailed answers to all of them! 🙂 Just a few more follow up questions for you…
When you weighed the maple syrup, did you use grams or ounces?
What was the exact weight measurement of maple syrup (in grams or ounces) that you used?
I saw a few different types of maple syrup sold under the “Giant” brand: Grade A dark amber, original syrup, lite table syrup, butter-flavored syrup, and sugar free syrup. Did you use the first one, Grade A dark amber maple syrup?
Using pumpkin spice in place of the three individual spices won’t make a big difference in the spice flavor because cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger are three of the main ingredients used to make pumpkin spice. 🙂 The ratio of spices to dry ingredients are very similar between this recipe and my apple oatmeal snack cake, so it’s interesting that you found the latter had a stronger spice flavor. Did you use the same spices to make each (ie same exact jars/brands!)?
However, if you’d like a stronger spice flavor, that’s easy to fix — you can definitely use more! I’d start with an additional ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, and if that still doesn’t taste strong enough, then try adding an extra ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon each of nutmeg and ginger.
Thanks so much for your patience — we’re nearly there!
Ack ok so I’m getting a math lesson reminder out of this project too – baking is so rewarding! So what I realized when you asked how I measured the maple syrup is that I used the mL setting on my food scale which I’m guessing now doesn’t work for maple syrup. Assuming I should have used my measuring cup instead 🤦♀️
And you’re correct on the Giant syrup, I used the dark amber.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks again for all the help!
It’s true — baking has more nerdy math and science than people often realize! 😉
And yes, that’s correct! Other than water, kitchen scales can’t actually measure liquids (ie ingredients given in mL or fluid ounces). I know many of them say they can, but it’s not true… And it drives me nuts. 😉 Scales can only measure weights, not volumes! This is because the weight of liquids like milk, honey, pure maple syrup, etc actually depends on their density, and every liquid’s density is different. There’s no way to program every different density into a kitchen scale, so that’s why it doesn’t work for measuring liquids. (Water is the exception because its density is exactly 1 g/mL!)
If you used your kitchen scale to measure the maple syrup, you were unintentionally measuring it by weight instead of volume, for the reasons I shared above, and that resulted in adding less than the recipe called for — I’m guessing around ⅓ cup instead of ½ cup! That’s why your cake turned out dense, didn’t rise much, and didn’t taste as sweet as it should have. If you measure the maple syrup with a measuring cup or measuring spoons, your cake should look (and taste!) much better because you’ll be adding the correct amount!
So for my recipes, I always recommend using a scale for solid ingredients (or mostly solid ingredients, like yogurt!) with measurements given in grams, and then using measuring cups or spoons for all liquid ingredients (given in mL) AND small amount solid ingredients (like baking powder, baking soda, salt, etc where you just need teaspoons!).
Does that make sense? 🙂
Makes perfect sense! I look forward to trying this recipe again and keeping this info in mind going forward as I make more of your recipes. Thanks again for investigating with me!
Oh my goodness — absolutely!! It’s my pleasure, Juliana! I love solving nerdy baking mysteries like this. 😉 I’m really looking forward to hearing what you pick to make next too!