Protein Pumpkin Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting (No Oil)

Healthy Oil-free Protein Pumpkin Cake made with whole wheat flour and protein powder, and topped with a protein cream cheese frosting. An easy and delicious snack cake perfect for a thanksgiving dessert or even post workout treat!

I’ve honestly got way too many pumpkin recipes on my list at this moment, and it’s so hard to get through them all when I’m just cooking for one.

How I get through this?

Low calorie and low fat recipes (so I can eat more in one meal)

Switching out some of the flour to unflavored protein powder – gets that same volume for much fewer carbs (plus extra protein!)

And then of course there’s the small batch baking.

I actually did that on this recipe too – baked 0.6x of the recipe in an oven-safe Pyrex container exactly scaled down from the size the bigger baking dish.

Tested the right baking time, got the picture worthy shots, and checked a recipe off my list!

Healthy Oil Free Protein Pumpkin Cake Ingredients:

This recipe for healthy pumpkin cake is made with no sugar and no oil; Just clean ingredients like wholemeal flour, protein powder, coconut oil and sugar free maple syrup!

• Plain Pure Pumpkin puree – make sure it isn’t the pumpkin pie filling
• Whole Wheat Flour for a healthy, nutritious and whole grain recipe
• Unflavored (Whey) Protein Powder to replace some of the flour in the original recipe, drop the carbs, and make this a high protein pumpkin cake. I use Quest Nutrition’s Multi-purpose Mix.
  You could switch it out for whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour – it has the same light texture. Don’t add more regular whole wheat flour since the cake will be too dense.
• Maple Syrup – I recommend a sugar free one like Lakanto to keep this a naturally sweetened and sugar free pumpkin cake
• Almond Milk for a dairy free recipe since there’s no usual buttermilk either
• Pumpkin Pie Spice for all the fall goodness! You can also make your own with ground Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger and Cloves
• Eggs
• Pure Vanilla Extract 
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda
• A bit of salt

How to make Pumpkin Cake Bars

This homemade pumpkin snacking cake is super easy to make, and is perfect for a fall dessert recipe instead of the breakfast pumpkin bread. A great recipe for a thanksgiving dessert or maybe a pumpkin birthday cake?

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line an 8 x 8” baking pan with parchment paper
2. Whisk all the wet ingredients in a bowl: Pumpkin puree, maple syrup, almond milk, eggs and vanilla
3. Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl: whole wheat flour, protein powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mix and fold together. DO NOT OVER-MIX the batter or the cake will be too dense at the bottom.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes. A tester inserted into the center should come out dry – no crumbs or batter.

This pumpkin snack cake is 8×8, but for a bigger cake.

For a 9 x 13” pan, double the recipe and bake for about 35 minutes.

For a pumpkin layer cake, double the recipe and use 2 9” cake pans.

Sugar-free Vanilla Protein Cream Cheese Frosting

This pumpkin cake has a cream cheese frosting that has no butter and no sugar!

It’s a low fat frosting made with reduced fat cream cheese, greek yogurt and vanilla protein powder.

I used Quest Nutrition’s Vanilla.

You might need to add some sweetener if your protein powder isn’t sweet enough; I would recommend stevia or monk-fruit based sweetener for a sugar-free frosting recipe.

For a dairy free and vegan pumpkin cake frosting, use a non-dairy coconut yogurt, dairy free cream cheese, and compliant protein powder. You still get a high protein cake frosting.

Tips for this Healthy Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

• Make sure you use the pure pumpkin puree if it’s the canned one you pick up. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling since it has other ingredients added in there. Feel free to make your own pumpkin puree at home if you like!

• Don’t over-mix the batter!
  Pour the dry mix into the wet along with the milk and just gently fold them together. Don’t over-mix it or too much gluten will develop, which is what will make the cake gummy and dense.
  There will be some tiny lumps in the batter, but that’s completely okay!

• Make sure your cream cheese is softened.
  If you just took it out of the fridge, microwave it for about 7-10 seconds. This will let you whisk the ingredients easily.

Can you store this Pumpkin Snack Cake?

These moist and fluffy protein pumpkin bars keep really well and are great for a meal prep snack, because they’re freezer friendly too!

You can keep the protein powder cake out at room temperature for a few hours if it already has the frosting or 2 days unfrosted.

Keep the cake with frosting in the fridge for about 4 or 5 days. Be sure to use an airtight container.

To freeze the pumpkin snack bars, slice the cake, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, and place the pieces in a freezer-safe zipper bag.
You can even store the whole cake itself!

Don’t forget to thaw the cake before digging in.

More Quest Protein Powder Recipes:

• Protein Banana Cake with Vanilla Protein Frosting
• Best Ever Protein Powder & Yogurt Banana Bread
• Healthy Carrot Cake with Protein Powder Frosting
• Super Delicious Avocado Quick Bread
• Whole & Healthy Chocolate Avocado Bread

Protein Pumpkin Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting (No Oil)

Print recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Servings: 9 2⅔” piece

Calories: 123kcal

Course: Dessert, Post-Workout, Snack

Cuisine: American, Thanksgiving

Healthy Oil-free Protein Pumpkin Cake made with whole wheat flour and protein powder, and topped with a protein cream cheese frosting. An easy and delicious snack cake perfect for a thanksgiving dessert or even post workout treat!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree, 240g
• ½ cup Maple Syrup, Sugar-free
• 6 tablespoon Almond Milk, or other
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour, 120g
• ½ cup Unflavored Protein Powder, 45g, about 1½ scoop (see notes for sub)
• 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice, see notes for homemade
• ¾ teaspoon Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoon Salt

Frosting:

• 3 tablespoon Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, Softened, 42g
• 3 tablespoon Greek Yogurt, Non-fat, 42g
• ½ scoop Vanilla Protein Powder, 15g, about 3 Tbsp

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8” baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, maple syrup, milk, eggs and vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine whole wheat flour, protein powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add in dry mix and fold using a large spoon or spatula. DO NOT OVER-MIX or too much gluten will form from the wheat flour, and make the cake dense. Few lumps are okay.
• Pour mixture into prepared baking pan.
• Bake on center rack for 30 – 40 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and center of cake is springy to touch.
• Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To frost:

• In a small bowl combine softened cream cheese (microwave 5-7 seconds if needed), yogurt and protein powder. Stir until uniform.
• Spread frosting over cake, slice, and enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from my Protein Banana Cake.

• For homemade pumpkin pie spice: 2 teaspoon Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon Nutmeg, ½ teaspoon Ginger, ¼ teaspoon Cloves
• Do not over mix the batter or too much gluten will develop because of the whole wheat flour, giving a gummy texture.
• To replace protein powder in cake, use equal amount of whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose, and reduce milk to ¼ cup.
• Let the cake cool completely before you frost, or the frosting will “melt” away and not hold well.
• Nutritional information is calculated using products recommended below.

Storage:

• Cool completely before storing so that it remains fresh.
• Room temperature: 2 days in an airtight container – without frosting.
• Fridge: 4-5 days in an airtight container.
• Freezer: 2 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in freezer bags. Cake can be stored frosted or unfrosted, whole or as individual slices.

Product Recommendations:

• Quest Nutrition Multi-purpose Mix Protein Powder
• Lakanto Maple Flavored Syrup
• Quest Nutrition Vanilla Milkshake Protein Powder

Nutrition:

• Servings: 9 2⅔” pieces | Serving size: 1 piece with frosting
• Calories: 123kcal
• Fat: 2.9g | Saturated fat: 1g
• Carbohydrates: 16.7g | Fiber:3g | Sugar: 1.5g
• Protein: 9.7g