Delicious pumpkin cake studded with rich walnuts and topped with decadent cream cheese frosting! A lighter, healthier option for homemade dessert during the holidays. This easy to make, from scratch cake is a family favorite and guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Made with whole grains and REAL food ingredients!
There’s nothing I love more during this time of year than baking of healthy, wholesome treats for my whole family to enjoy. It’s just so wonderful to share a homemade dessert with my loved ones and take pride in something I’ve created from scratch. Sometimes I go for new recipes and other times I stick to tried and true favorites.
My latest experiment in the kitchen was with an oldie but goodie recipe that I actually shared years and years ago on this very blog. It’s one of my all time favorites and if I remember correctly it was a hit with the fam-jam as well. I recently remade it as a sort of ‘welcome home’ to my mom and dad!
Believe it or not, I’ve been alone for the past few weeks as my parents were out-of-town visiting family and participating in some sporting events. My mom got home just in time to go to my marathon with me, but it’s been a while since we were all together as a family unit. Well as a food loving family and since the holidays were made for sweet treats, it only seemed right to bake something up in celebration of our reunion!
I racked my brain for ideas, but as I was updating the archives one day, I stumbled upon my Pumpkin Spice Walnut Cake and knew it was just the thing to make. Who says cake is just for birthdays (BTW…today is MY birthday!), am I right?!
Once you get a the details on this seasonal sweet you’ll see why I chose to bring it back to the main page of the blog. Not only is it made with incredible, whole-food ingredients, but the taste is so rich and decadent that you’d never know it was GOOD (or well….BETTER!) for you than a traditional dessert.
I used my go-to baking ingredients to make it, of course. Bob’s Red Mill has never failed me and to this day they are the brand that I stock my kitchen with when it comes to flours, nuts, dried fruits, and baking mixtures. For this recipe I used their Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour.
I love using this for baking because unlike regular all-purpose flour that is heavily processed and full of additives, Bob’s variety is freshly milled from Organic hard red wheat. Both the bran and the germ have been removed leaving the endosperm that is made into white flour. It is not enriched at all! In fact, it’s the same high protein flour used by professional bakers and produces baked goods of amazing quality. Light, fluffy, and delicious every time! This flour is a total staple in my kitchen because it’s incredibly versatile and perfect for when I want to bake a dessert with a more traditional taste and texture.
Just like the flour, the other real food ingredients truly make this cake what it is. The combination of rich walnuts, creamy pumpkin, and flavorful spices come together for the ultimate holiday dessert. Seasonal flavors are showcased in this unique twist on classic spice cake. Your whole family, whether they’re pumpkin lovers or not, will LOVE this cake. I know mine did! In fact, it may just overtake pumpkin pie as our new holiday go-to.
Pumpkin Spice Walnut Cake
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 1 cake 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1.5 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (big handful) roughly chopped walnuts
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup applesauce
- ½ cup walnut oil
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup molasses
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 and butter/flour a nine-inch cake pan. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda). Mix well.
- In another bowl, whisk together the applesauce, oil, egg whites, pumpkin, molasses, coconut sugar, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
- Fold in the walnuts and then pour batter into prepared cake pan.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the cake starts to pull away from sides of pan.
- Let cool for ten minutes and then invert on a plate and let cool all the way.
- Frost as desired.
Made with whole grains, refined sugar-free, and low in fat, this cake is a new holiday favorite you can feel good about indulging in. Who says tasty treats can’t be made slightly healthier and more wholesome? You certainly don’t have to sacrifice taste for nutrition in the case of this cake!
The addition of blackstrap molasses provides a nutritional boost as well! It’s super high in magnesium and iron, as well as being a great source of calcium, vitamin B6, and selenium. Talk about a superfood! Not to mention its great flavor. There’s nothing the quite compares to the mildly bitter, sweet taste of good ol’ molasses. It’s the perfect contrast to the lightness of the coconut sugar!
I frosted my cake with delicious cream cheese frosting, but feel free to use whatever frosting variety you’d like and to decorate it in any way you find appealing. It’s super fun to get creative with different frosting and topping combinations!
Above all, have fun with this cake. Making a cake from scratch is no easy feat, so consider yourself accomplished if you’re successful at it! This homemade cake is a great one to start with since it’s very straightforward and easy to assemble! That, plus the taste and texture of it, make it a winner for this time of year and really anytime you want a wholesome, sweet in your home!
If you want to try baking with Bob in your own kitchen, here’s a coupon for a discount on their awesome products!
What are some of your go-to baking ingredient brands?
What’s your favorite seasonal dessert?
Have you ever made a cake from scratch?
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47 responses to “Pumpkin Spice Walnut Cake [whole grain + refined sugar-free]”
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This cake is stunning!!! perfect for Christmas and Thanksgiving 🙂
THANK YOUUUUUU!
It looks so delicious! This will be the perfect way to use up our abundance of walnuts that’s not banana nut bread. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Let me know if you try this!! One of my fave recipes for sure!!!
Kaila – that is a beautiful cake! Thanks for sharing on the What’s for Dinner Link up! And Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Helen!
This is such a stunning cake Kaila! Like fall-flavored indulgence meets healthier meets cut me a BIG slice!! I hope you had a wonderful (even if a bit chilly!) birthday and you are enjoying your time with all the family home again 🙂
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! It really is one of my all time favorite Healthy Helper recipes! 😀
Looks delicious! Would be a great addition to a Thanksgiving dessert table!
Thank you Sarah!!!
That looks gorgeous thanks for linking up today
Happy Birthday Kaila! <3 hope you enjoy some cake, or whatever you feel like 😀
THANK YOUUUU! I certainly will!
This cake looks amazing! I love trying pumpkin recipes this time of year, and I may have to try this for our family’s Thanksgiving celebration this year. Thanks so much for including this in your posts. Have a great week!
Thanks Joan!
Oh wow! This looks so very, very good! What did you use to decorate? My coworker said it looked like trail mix. LOL.
★★★★
I used muesli!! 🙂
Your photography in this post is gorgeous. Pumpkin baking is wonderful, I imagine it would be difficult to stop after one piece with this cake!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! You have no idea how happy compliments on my photography make me!! Ahhhhh made my day, girl!
There’s nothing like a huge slice of AMAZING delicious cake, and this is SO gorgeous Kaila. <3 You have been given such tremendous gifts of creating delicious food and blessing your family and others with it. <# Much love!
Thanks so much, Em! I think you would LOVE this. Let me know if you make it for your family!!
Oooh, I am sure the molasses gives it a nice rich color and taste. Thanks for sharing on Creative K Kids #TastyTuesdays
Haha!! Time to TREAT YO SELF!!! 🙂
Sure does! And lots of great flavor!
Sounds so delicious – pinned and shared.
★★★★★
Thanks so much!
One of my favorite desserts is a pumpkin roulade with the cream cheese icing. This looks like that, but adding the nuts and the seeds and dried fruit to the icing! I’m going to try this with the Bob’s Red Mills Gluten free baking mix, cannot wait. My mouth is watering!
★★★★★
Thanks Nikki! Let me know if it works out with the gf baking mix!!
This sounds so perfect for Christmas! Yum! 🙂
Thanks friend! Let me know if you try it!
That looks super yummy. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Shandy!
What a beautiful cake. Spice Cake was my Dad’s favorite cake. This recipe makes me think of him. I know it is delicious!
Thank you so much! Let me know if you make it!!!
I love all the nuts on the sides – this looks so tasty! Thanks for sharing on Homestead Blog Hop!
Thanks so much!
Happy Belated Birthday Kaila! What a way to celebrate with this gorgeous cake! Sounds delicious.
I’m sure your parents really enjoyed it =)
I totally love all Bob’s Red Mill stuff – isn’t it great? I love how’s all over the gluten-free goods for people like me.
Thanks so much for sharing at Healthy Vegan Fridays – I’m pinning & sharing!
Thank you so much Kimmy!!! Isn’t Bob’s the best?! They make such great products!!!
The cake looks good! I hope you enjoyed it with your parents and had a nice birthday!
I don’t make cakes very often because they intimidate the heck out of me, but I’ve pinned this on my to-bake list!
Yay!! Let me know if you make it! I promise it’s not hard to make at all!
This cake is stunning!!!!! LOVE, love, love that “crust” on it!!! Thanks for linking up to Best of Blogs. Tweeted and pinned for you.
★★★★★
THANK YOUUUUU!
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[…] Pumpkin Spice Walnut Cake from Kaila @ Healthy Helper. “Delicious pumpkin cake studded with rich walnuts and topped with decadent cream cheese frosting! A lighter healthier option for homemade dessert during the holidays. This easy to make from scratch cake is a family favorite and guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Made with whole grains and REAL food ingredients!” – VT […]