Pumpkin bars slathered with a cream cheese frosting are a delicious cake baked with coconut flour. A low carb and gluten free cake that will have you reaching for another.
This pumpkin bar recipe yields such a moist sponge you would never guess that you are eating a healthier alternative. The pumpkin spices give the sponge a delicious warmth and the pumpkin an additional sweetness.
The first time I made these pumpkin bars I tasted one and then packed them up to take to the staff at my vets to eat. The car wheels spun in the driveway as I pulled away quickly. I would not have trusted myself alone in the house with a whole batch of these and had to get them out of the house!
The second batch stayed in the house as the Chief Taster is now back. The temptation for me to eat them all has now disappeared. It’s now a battle for the last piece so order in the kitchen has been restored.
The cream cheese topping is optional but highly recommended as it goes so well with the pumpkin bar sponge. If you enjoy carrot cake with a creamy cheese topping, then this is a healthier must for you. Cream cheese and pumpkin are a great flavour couple, it would be a shame to separate them!
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- 1/2 Cup (56g) Coconut Flour
- 1/2 Cup (113g) Butter, unsalted Melted
- 1/2 Cup (56) Xylitol/Low carb sweetener
- 1/2 Cup (122g) Pumpkin puree
- 5 Eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 6 oz (168g) Cream cheese softened
- 3 oz (84g) Butter, unsalted softened
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (28g) Xylitol/Low carb sweetener
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Preheat the oven to 200C/400F degrees.
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Blend together the butter, eggs, xylitol and vanilla.
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Add the pumpkin puree, coconut flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice and salt. Whisk until there are no lumps and it is a smooth batter.
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Pour into a parchment paper lined baking tin. I use a 8 inch square tin.
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Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool.
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Blend the topping ingredients until smooth. I used a hand blender but feel free to do an upper arm workout and try it with a fork/spoon!
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Slather the topping over the cake.
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Cut into 8 slices or smaller squares.
Makes 8 slices
Nutritional Info per slice: 313 Calories, 29g Fat, 6g Protein, 7g Total Carbs, 4g Fibre, 3g Net Carbs
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30 Comments
Victoria
January 22, 2018 at 5:36 pmI am a newbie to almond and coconut flour. Diabetic for 20 years. I love anything pumpkin, so I gave your recipe a try today. I was concerned about the texture because that has been my problem with these flours. However, I enjoyed this recipe. I had it with a cup of coffee, and I felt such pleasure knowing I was okay with the carbs. Texture didn’t bother me, because the taste was so good. I did have to cook it 30 minutes instead of 20, and I only had 4 eggs. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Angela Coleby
January 22, 2018 at 7:12 pmGlad you liked it!
Jenn
November 22, 2017 at 1:37 pmCan this be made a day ahead and refrigerated until thanksgiving? Or does it need to be served warm/room temp?
Angela Coleby
November 22, 2017 at 1:38 pmYes, it can be made ahead. You’ll need strong will power though!
Jenny
November 20, 2017 at 4:38 pmWhen I typed this recipe into my app, it said that it was 19 net carbs per serving 😬 I used everything you did??
Angela Coleby
November 20, 2017 at 5:14 pmI use a nutritional tool for my calculations. It could be that your app is including sugar alcohols or has included a total carb not a net carb for something else. Sometimes the apps are a bit off. There is no way that this is 19g net carbs per serving.
Carissa
November 17, 2017 at 12:27 amMine is taking way longer than 20 min…. Batter was yummy and they smell good:)
Angela Coleby
November 17, 2017 at 7:12 amPerhaps it is the size of the eggs making the batter more wet? Hope it tastes good!
DANA ROSS
November 3, 2017 at 9:13 pmMine does not look done after 20 minutes. I’m cooking it longer.
Angela Coleby
November 4, 2017 at 9:46 amIt might be to do with the size of eggs and brand of coconut flour. If in doubt, always bake longer. Hope it worked out.
Tasha
October 29, 2017 at 1:28 pmCan we use salted butter or is it unsalted butter better for this recipe
Angela Coleby
October 29, 2017 at 1:35 pmYou can use what you prefer. I always use unsalted butter simply because I don’t like my food too salty. I don’t think salted butter is going to push any saltiness taste over the edge though!
Amber T
October 17, 2017 at 3:04 pmHave you ever doubled this recipe to make it in a 9×13 pan??
Angela Coleby
October 17, 2017 at 4:24 pmNo but now I want to!! I think it would work, just keep an eye on the sponge and bake it for longer if need be.
Amber T
October 17, 2017 at 5:24 pmWell I am trying it right now! We will see how it turns out 🙂
Stacy
November 22, 2017 at 8:26 pmDid it work?
Amber T
November 22, 2017 at 8:35 pmIt did and they were great!
Deb Micek
October 16, 2017 at 3:20 pmCould you substitute almond flour instead of coconut? I can’t stand coconut flour ?
Angela Coleby
October 16, 2017 at 4:18 pmAfter clutching my pearls (I love coconut flour) I can’t see why you could not make this with almond flour. Spookily enough I was chatting to the husband about this and said when I make a cake I should try it with both flours. The quantity of the flour will change with less eggs for the almond flour.
Tasha W.
October 30, 2017 at 12:15 pmWhat would be the new calculations if I used Almond Flour?
Angela Coleby
October 30, 2017 at 1:39 pmI’d keep everything the same BUT use 1 1/2 cups almond flour and 3 eggs.
Mariah Anderson
December 24, 2017 at 4:29 pmDarn. I think that’s where I went wrong.
John
October 14, 2017 at 10:05 pmI left the batter in the oven for 20 min. At 4400F it was not done. Is it supposed to bake longer than 20 min.? Is there a mistake. I followed the directions to the “T”.
Angela Coleby
October 15, 2017 at 6:41 amThat is strange as it should only take 20 minutes.
Lea Gutierrez
October 24, 2017 at 1:36 amSame thing happened to me 🙁
Rachel A
October 10, 2017 at 12:32 amThese were delicious! I was afraid I was going to be able to taste the coconut flour like in some other coconut flour recipes but once you put the cream cheese frosting on you couldn’t taste the coconut! I was also afraid they would be kind of mushy like some other coconut flour cake recipes..but nope! Light and cakey! I was very pleasantly surprised! I topped mine with toasted pecans and a dash of cinnamon! So yummy! Adding this to my low carb Thanksgiving dessert menu for sure! Thank you for the recipe! ?
Angela Coleby
October 10, 2017 at 6:40 amThanks for the lovely review! The roasted pecans sounds a good idea! Glad you enjoyed the cake!
Leonie Gittins
October 7, 2017 at 11:56 pmCan you tell me what is in the pumpkin spice mix please, I’ve not seen it in Australia. This looks so nice!
Angela Coleby
October 8, 2017 at 6:45 amHi, when I mix my own I use the spices as per this recipe. http://divaliciousrecipes.com/2016/03/04/pumpkin-cheesecake-ice-cream/.
Leonie Gittins
October 11, 2017 at 10:10 pmThanks!