Healthy Pumpkin Bundt Cake

 
The summer I turned sixteen, my family flew to the East Coast for a vacation. We started in New York City, followed by Boston, and finished in Martha’s Vineyard. Since my parents lived in Boston for a few years while attending graduate school, I think they may have secretly looked forward to that part of the trip the most!  

Because my birthday actually occurred while we were in Boston, we planned a full day of fun, including a Red Sox baseball game for my dad and me. (We’re on a mission to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums!) Yet when we woke up that morning, a thick layer of clouds covered the sky, and a slight mist had already started to fall.
 

 
Undeterred, Dad and I still walked to the stadium from our hotel, and the moment the gates opened, ushers scanned our tickets and welcomed us into Fenway Park. We quickly found our seats, but we started strolling around the stadium right after, just like we always do at a new ballpark.

Less than an hour later, a message boomed down from the stadium’s speakers. With rain now steadily pouring down, the Red Sox decided to postpone the game until the following day. Oops.
 

 
Within just a few minutes, Dad and I came up with a Plan B: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, just a mile away from the ballpark. We admired her gigantic collection of paintings, tapestries, and furniture during the afternoon, then met up with my mom and brother for dinner and dessert (a selection of cannoli from their favorite Italian pastry place!).

Although the sun almost never peeked through the clouds during our entire time in Boston, with the weather remaining overcast and humid, my parents mentioned multiple times every day how beautiful the city looked in the autumn and how that was their favorite time of year. And now, too many years later, I’m flying back east this weekend and about to experience my first New England fall!
 

 
Since it’s still sunny and 80°F in Southern California, I baked this healthy pumpkin bundt cake to get me into more of a fall spirit! It’s supremely moist and tender with lots of sweet pumpkin and cozy spice flavors, the kinds that make you want to curl up in a warm blanket with a mug of hot tea… Or blast the air conditioning until doing that feels completely acceptable, like in my current case!

This pumpkin cake recipe is also easy to whip up any day of the week! Even after a full workday when you have an empty suitcase left to pack. So… Maybe I can eat a second slice while I pick out clothes to put me in even more of a New England fall spirit?? 😉
 

KEY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE A HEALTHY PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE

Let’s go over what you’ll need to make this healthy pumpkin bundt cake! Because you probably have baking staples in your kitchen already (like vanilla, baking powder, and salt!), we’ll focus on the more interesting ingredients right now.

Flour. For this healthy pumpkin cake, I opted for white whole wheat flour. As confusing as it may sound, it’s not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and whole wheat flour!

Here in the US, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture — and that lets the moist and tender texture of your healthy pumpkin bundt cake truly shine!

Tip: If you’d like to make your healthy pumpkin bundt cake gluten-free, then see the Notes section of the recipe. I’ve included my top recommendations there!

Homemade pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice is actually short for “pumpkin pie spice,” and it simply refers to the spices commonly used to make pumpkin pie. It doesn’t actually include pumpkin, as confusing as that may seem!

For your healthy pumpkin bundt cake, you’ll use cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves. I just love the way those smell — and they taste even better!

Hint: As easy as it is to reach for a premade jar at the grocery store, I prefer to make my own pumpkin spice. I’ve found that many brands include a lot of cinnamon and far less of the other spices, so they taste more one-dimensional to me. When I make my own blend, this cake’s flavor turns out much cozier and richer. It’s the best!
 

 
Unsalted butter or oil. This recipe only requires a mere 1 tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil). Yes, that’s it! That teensy tiny amount really helps keep this healthy pumpkin bundt cake low calorie and low fat.

Greek yogurt. The rest of this cake’s tender texture comes from two other ingredients. The first is Greek yogurt! If you’ve been to my blog before, you know how much I love baking with Greek yogurt. It adds the same moisture to this cake batter as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories, and it also gives your healthy pumpkin bundt cake a protein boost!

Pumpkin purée. The second is pumpkin purée. That’s right — it adds more than just flavor! It also provides lots of moisture to the batter, which gives your cake a beautifully soft and tender texture.

Make sure you use regular pumpkin purée! It’s also called “100% pure pumpkin” and “canned pumpkin.” The only ingredient on the can should be “pumpkin.” (Yes, I’m lazy and buy canned — there aren’t enough hours in the day to make my own purée from scratch for the hundreds of pumpkin recipes I want to bake!)

Hint: Don’t substitute pumpkin pie mix! It contains added spices and sugar, which changes the way it behaves in baking recipes.
 

 
Secret ingredient. That’s right… There’s a special secret ingredient in this pumpkin cake — and it’s more than just love! It may sound a little strange, but promise to hear me out, okay? The secret ingredient is…

Distilled white vinegar. Here’s why it helps yield the best pumpkin bundt cake!

Vinegar is an acid. Baking soda is a base. When you mix them together, they react to form air bubbles. (Carbon dioxide, to be exact!) Those air bubbles help your cake rise, and they also give it a more tender texture. By the time your pumpkin bundt cake finishes baking, all of the vinegar will have reacted and been “used up,” so you can’t taste it at all when you serve yourself a slice. I promise!

(I used to be a chemist before I became a baking blogger, so I love nerdy baking science like this!)

Sweeteners. Instead of refined granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten your healthy pumpkin bundt cake with two more of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia and granulated erythritol. Both are plant-based, sugar-free, no-calorie sweeteners that contain nothing refined or artificial (aka they’re clean eating friendly).

I tried really hard to use just one sweetener to make life easier for you! However, I found that the pumpkin muted the liquid stevia’s sweetness, so when made with solely liquid stevia, the cake tasted more like a giant muffin. Once I added the small amount of granulated erythritol, the cake tasted SO much sweeter, like a true dessert — so I promise it’s worth using both!

Granulated erythritol generally measures cup-for-cup like regular sugar. However, the liquid stevia is really concentrated, so you just need 5 ½ teaspoons for the entire pumpkin cake! This is the liquid stevia that I use, and this is the granulated erythritol. Although you can find both at many health-oriented grocery stores, I generally buy mine online at those links above because that’s the best price I’ve found! (And you’ll use the liquid stevia in all of these recipes of mine and the granulated erythritol in all of these recipes of mine!)

Hint: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they’re not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. I highly recommend using the same liquid stevia that I do for the best results!
 

HOW TO MAKE A HEALTHY PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE

Time to turn on the oven and pull out your mixing bowls! Like I previously mentioned, this recipe is easy and straightforward to make. I also have some tips to share with you about how to make the best healthy pumpkin bundt cake!

Measure correctly. It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will make your cake turn out dry, rather than moist and tender. That’s why I highly recommend baking with a kitchen scale; it ensures your treats turn out perfectly every time!

Alternating additions. This is a shorthand way of instructing you to switch between adding a portion of the dry flour mixture to your bowl, carefully incorporating it, pouring in some milk, mixing that in, and keep going back and forth until you run out of both flour mixture and milk. This “alternating additions” method helps prevent overmixing. Overmixing results in a tough, gummy, or dense texture — rather than the moist, soft, and tender cake texture that we want. It may take a little extra time to make the batter with this method, but the end result is completely worth it!

Also, be gentle! Vigorous stirring can also lead to a tough or gummy texture, so gently fold in each alternating addition instead to yield a perfectly moist and tender cake.

Prepare the pan. Of course, it’s really hard to make a healthy pumpkin bundt cake without a bundt pan! This is the one I use. Just remember to thoroughly coat it with nonstick cooking spray! Because it has a lot more nooks and crannies, unlike a smooth round cake pan, the bundt cake tends to stick to the pan if you don’t thoroughly spray it before adding the batter.
 

 
Bake + cool completely. With so much batter in the pan, this cake does take a while to bake. Your healthy pumpkin bundt cake is done when it feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with some crumbs attached.

After a few minutes of resting in the pan, invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely. Yes, completely! Totally, fully, 100%… All the way to room temperature. The structure of a cake doesn’t finish setting until it’s entirely cool, so if you cut into yours while it’s still warm, you disrupt that process and can impact its texture.

Drizzle (optional). Once your healthy pumpkin bundt cake cools, you can easily serve it plain as is. As surprising as it may sound, this is what I normally do! But if you’d like to make it look a little fancier…

You can add a little drizzle! The drizzle is super simple to make: just confectioners’ style erythritol and milk. Stir those together, transfer to a zip-topped bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle over your cake!

I love drizzles… They’re never expected to look as perfect and pristine as frosting!
 

 
Definitely my new favorite fall dessert! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy pumpkin bundt cake!

Healthy Pumpkin Bundt Cake

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 1 bundt cake, 16 slices

This pumpkin bundt cake is perfect for fall! It’s really moist and tender with lots of sweet pumpkin and cozy spice flavor. The cake is best if served the same day it’s drizzled, but it’ll keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

5 from 7 votes

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Ingredients 

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 ¾ cups (450g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• 5 tsp homemade pumpkin spice (see Notes!)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
• 4 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
• 5 ½ tsp liquid stevia (see Notes!)
• ¼ cup (60g) granulated erythritol (see Notes!)
• 1 ¼ cups (305g) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix!)
• ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup (60mL) distilled white vinegar
• 1 ¼ cups (300mL) nonfat milk, divided

FOR THE DRIZZLE

• 3 tbsp (45g) confectioners’ style erythritol (see Notes!)
• 2 ½ - 3 tsp nonfat milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and generously coat a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or nonstick cooking spray with flour.
• To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the granulated erythritol. Add in the pumpkin purée and Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the vinegar and ½ cup of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.)
• Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 60-70 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature and just before serving, prepare the drizzle. Stir together the confectioner’s style erythritol and milk in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped plastic bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle over the cooled cake.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will dry out your cake and give it a crumbly texture, instead of having it turn out moist and tender. Too much flour can also make your cake taste bland.

 

IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to make the batter. This will result in a dense, tough, rubbery, or gummy cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

 

IMPORTANT BUNDT PAN NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Make sure you coat your bundt pan really well with cooking spray! (This is the bundt pan that I use!) With so many nooks and crannies, compared to traditional round or rectangular cake pans, the batter has more chances to stick to the sides, so a generous coating of cooking spray will ensure your bundt cake slides right out of the pan.

 

IMPORTANT DRIZZLE NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: I prefer a minimalistic drizzle, but it's easy to add more! For more drizzle (and a sweeter cake!), double the drizzle. You can even triple or quadruple it, if you'd like!

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.

 

HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE: For the homemade pumpkin spice, use as follows: 3 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. (Store-bought pumpkin spice may be substituted, but I much prefer the flavor of this homemade blend!)

 

EGG WHITES NOTE + ALTERNATIVE: The cake requires 4 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 4 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser. If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 4 large eggs AND reduce the milk by 2 tablespoons to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.

 

STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they're not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. For the best results, I recommend using the same one I do. I buy mine online here because that's the best price I've found. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too!)

 

However, if you strongly prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the cake, substitute 2 ¼ cups (432g) granulated sugar AND reduce the milk to ½ cup (60mL), but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 2 ¼ cups (432g) coconut sugar AND reduce the milk to ½ cup (60mL) to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary slightly with either of those substitutions as well.

 

Do not substitute honey, pure maple syrup, or agave because the cake batter will be much too liquidy with any of those.

 

ERYTHRITOL ALTERNATIVES: Coconut sugar, granulated sugar, or brown sugar may be substituted in place of the granulated erythritol in the cake batter. Granulated sucralose will also work in place of the granulated erythritol, if you prefer a different no-calorie granulated sweetener.

 

Regular confectioners’ style (powdered) sugar may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol in the drizzle. Regular powdered sugar is much more absorbent, so start with just ½ teaspoon of milk and add more as necessary.

 

PUMPKIN PURÉE NOTE: Pumpkin purée is also called “100% pure pumpkin” or “canned pumpkin.” For the best results, the only ingredient on the label should be “pumpkin.” I don’t recommend substituting pumpkin pie mix because it contains other ingredients, which affects the way it behaves in baking recipes.

 

VINEGAR NOTE + ALTERNATIVES: The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise and give it a better texture. Don't skip it! (You can’t taste it in the finished cake — I promise!)

 

If you don’t have or can’t find distilled white vinegar, try to find another vinegar with a similar pH level of around 2.5 to maintain the same texture. Lemon juice has a pH level around 2-3, so it should also work.

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

 

GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 2 cups (240g) millet flour, 1 cup (120g) tapioca flour, ¾ cup (90g) brown rice flour, and 3 teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.

 

HALF-BATCH OPTION: If you have a 6-cup bundt pan, you can make a half-recipe and bake at 350°F for 55-65 minutes instead.

 

HOW TO STORE: This cake is best if eaten the same day it’s drizzled, but leftover cake will keep for at least three days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

 

When refrigerating leftover slices of already drizzled bundt cake, the drizzle will turn brittle and crack if made with erythritol, or it will dissolve into the cake if made with powdered sugar. Neither will affect the flavor — only the appearance!

 

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, sugar-free}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡  Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Snack Cake
♡  Healthy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡  Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Pound Cake
♡  Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mug Cake
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy pumpkin recipes and healthy bundt cake recipes!