Made with whole wheat flour, sweetened with dates. Having the crunch of walnuts, moisture from pumpkin and hints or orange, this cake couldn’t get any healthier. Oh wait! Did I mention the cream cheese frosting sweetened with maple syrup?
On my birthday this year, I decided to try a new sort of cake. I got inspired by a recipe I saw in a magazine a few weeks back and made some changes to it. I bought date syrup for the first time and was very keen on trying it. So, I (reluctantly) replaced the sugar with date syrup and added some orange zest to balance the flavors.
While the cake was baking, the whole house was filled with a wonderful smell. I could feel autumn vibes from the aroma of nutmeg, cinnamon and pumpkin. I had a really hard time resisting it for one more day to cut it on my birthday. Finally, when we had it, we loved the flavor and the texture. The cream cheese compliments the cake really well. I would recommend taking the cake out from the fridge at least an hour before cutting.
Pumpkin cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped dates
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup date syrup (bought from dm-dattelsirup)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil (bought from dm)
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (weizenmehl vollkorn)
- 2 tsp baking powder (Backpulver)
- 1 tsp baking soda (kaiser natron)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon powder (Zimt)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder (Muskatnuss)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 cups raw grated pumpkin (Red kuri or hokkaido)
- 1 tsp orange zest
- juice of 1 orange
For cream cheese frosting
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- few drops of orange food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175ËšC. Grease and flour a bundt tin.
- Place the dates in a bowl and add 1/2 cup of warm water. Set aside to soak.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until light in colour, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the date syrup and coconut oil and beat for another 3-4 minutes.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices into the mixing bowl.
- Add the soaked dates with their liquid, walnuts and pumpkin and fold into the batter.
- Grate the orange zest, then cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice through a sieve into the batter. Fold in to mix evenly.
-  Pour the batter into the prepared bundt tin and bake until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. It will take 45 – 50 minutes on 175˚C.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool down before taking it out from the tin.
For cream cheese frosting:
- Add cream cheese, maple syrup and food coloring (if using) into a mixing bowl.
- Whisk until well combined (3-5 minutes).
- Spread on top of the cake.
Healthier and the cake looks like a pumpkin? Can’t beat this. Will have to give it a try.
Would love a feedback on the recipe. Thanks 😊