I distinctly remember my grandma’s attic stairs around the holidays. She kept them there to keep them cool in what she referred to as her ‘extra ice box’.

A full stairwell full of all the baked goods she’d made with love. Each step held its own treasure; pumpkin chiffon, lemon meringue or apple pie, brownies, apricot strudel, lemon bars.

But my favorite Thanksgiving dessert was the pumpkin spice cake! My Grandma was quite the baker.

Recipe Updates

I hope Grandma would still be proud of the recipe as I make it today. I’ve swapped and altered (quite) a few things. I make my own pumpkin puree, but there are decent organic canned versions out there now too! I use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. And I swap half of the regular flour with oat flour, which is simply whole rolled oats that I’ve pulverized in my Nutribullet until flour-like. I’ve also doubled the spices, so know that you can make this recipe your own as well.

I’ve tried to get this to an all-gluten-free version, but because my taste buds are locked into all the other things associated with this dessert, half GF is as close as I can get. This is a splurge anyways, and worth every bite!

The recipe is also quite versatile. I’ve made it as bars, bread, muffins, a two-layer cake and most recently even a ‘roll’. Delicious whatever the form takes.

A Note on Pumpkin Puree

Making your own pumpkin puree is not hard, but you do have to plan ahead. The process is easy; cut a pie pumpkin in half and scoop out guts, roast cut side up (some people roast whole and scoop out after baking- I’ve never tried that!) at 350F for 1.5 – 2 hours. Let cool, scoop out chunks, and puree. It tastes AMAZING!

Find my Roasted Pumpkin + Squash Seeds Recipes HERE

With either homemade or purchased pumpkin puree, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe:

• 4 eggs
• 1C Coconut Oil
• 1.5 C Sugar (I use raw)
• 2 C Pumpkin Puree
• Thoroughly blend
  

• In a separate Bowl MIX
• 1 C Oat Flour (pulverize whole oats)
• 1 C White Whole Wheat Flour (or flour of choice)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Cloves
• 1 tsp Ginger
  (Or sub all spices with 2 T pumpkin spice blend)

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, mix well. Pour into greased pan of choice (options listed below).

I used to add chopped nuts before my boys outlawed them…you can certainly add pecans or walnuts!

Bake at 350F on center rack until that toothpick comes out clean for 25-50 minutes depending on what kind of pan you’re using.

25 minutes- cupcakes.
30 minutes for 5 small 3″x5″ loaf pans.
35 minutes for 1 deep or 2 thin 9” rounds.
50 minutes for 2 large 5″x9″loaf pans.

Cream Cheese Frosting!

• 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
• 1 T milk
• 1-2 tsp vanilla
• 1 C + powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• adjust milk to make as think or thin as you like.

In case you’re looking for more healthy recipes for your winter squash varieties, I’ve got you covered with my “Winter Squash Lasagna.”

Can’t wait for you to dig into this recipe with family and friends this season! Just try to save some for the guests.

Michelle

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