Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Whether you are looking for an excuse to eat chocolate for breakfast, or in need of a healthier choice for birthday celebrations (without sacrificing the yum factor), this Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake is sure to rock your world.

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

I really don’t like choices. Simply put, I just want the best. Not in a turn your nose up in the air kind of a way, but in an “If I’m going to eat dessert, then the calories better be worth it” kind of way. Truthfully, I love the challenge of taking a favorite recipe and making it healthier. If we are what we eat, then I would rather be pumpkin, cashews, and maple syrup rather than white flour and white sugar. Catch my drift? On the other hand, I don’t want to spend my life missing out on the experience of “yummy” by settling for something just because it is healthy for me. Ultimately, I want the best of both worlds.

Beware of Imposter Syndrome

To be totally transparent, I am so not a fan of imposters pretending to be our favorite foods like lasagna or hamburgers. Of course, I am all about eating healthier, but an occasional splurge is a treat to this California raised “sanctified healthy hedonist”. When I am looking forward to lasagna, I am thinking about the melted, dripping cheese and chunks of Italian sausage smothered in a homemade tomato sauce. Undoubtedly, I don’t want tofu or a meat substitute. Nope. Not me. Hey, I have no problem with tofu as long as I don’t have to eat it. Again, I am sure it tastes amazing. Just don’t call it lasagna. It is devastating to this foodie’s tastebuds.

Why am I going on this rant? It’s because I sense you are wondering if I am pulling a fast one on you with this chocolate pumpkin cake. Birthdays come once a year right? Why not just stick to the white flour and sugar recipe? Because I have 6 kids and their birthdays are somehow all together. Don’t ask. I can’t afford to be eating that much sugar. And I don’t have to now. This cake truly rocks.

Bill Cosby Would Be Proud

So, you are probably wondering, how on earth can you mix cashew butter, pumpkin, cocoa, maple syrup and eggs and get something similar to white flour and white sugar? I don’t know and I don’t need to. I just know that when my child asks for a slice of this cake for breakfast, and I say a resounding, “Yes!” they walk away singing Bill Cosby’s “Mommy’s great. She gives us chocolate cake.” I want them to have their cake and eat it too.

The Recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

The base of this recipe is cashew butter. Personally, I like to save money and just use cashews. It adds an additional 3-5 minutes, but saves me a bundle. I already have cashews around the house for my almond cashew milk. My thinking is that it is already in the food processor anyway, so why not? It doesn’t require any more dirty dishes.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw cashews or 1 1/2 cups cashew butter
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 4 large, free-range, organic eggs (little plug there)
• 1 cup pure maple syrup or date syrup
• 6 T room temp butter (For a dairy free version, Miyoko’s Creamery Vegan Butter is the best)
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1 T vanilla extract
• 1 cup cocoa powder (I prefer Guittard Cocoa Rouge Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder)
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chunks, broken into tiny bits…optional. I prefer Guittard 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bars.

The Process

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spray or butter a bundt pan or line your cupcake pan with baking cups.
3. If using whole raw cashews, add them to a food processor and blend until smooth like butter. Be patient. It will seem like the cashews are only processing into crumbs, but they will eventually turn creamy.
4. To the food processor, add cashew butter (if you did not do step 3), eggs, maple or date syrup, pumpkin puree, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla. Blend about 15 seconds until creamy.
5. Add in cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend until incorporated.
6. Fold in chocolate chips/chunks if using. (I like the addition of chocolate chips, but my family doesn’t think it feels like a cake with chunks in it. So I only add them when I am making this into a loaf cake for a breakfast or tea party.)
7. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. (For cupcakes, adjust to about 25 minutes and test).
8. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes and then tutn out onto a plate and allow to cool completely.
9. Dust with powdered sugar, drizzle with melted chocolate, or serve birthday cake style and frost with chocolate buttercream frosting.

If You Frost It, They will Come…

Now, this cake is amazing on its own, but if you are looking to use it as a birthday cake, especially for the kiddos, then frosting is the way to go. I have adapted the following recipe from the frosting on my spiced carrot cake recipe that I love which uses maple syrup instead of the typical powdered sugar. Do you realize most buttercream frosting recipes call for 3-5 cups of powdered sugar? I don’t know about you, but I prefer not to initiate chaos and mayhem at a kid’s birthday party via sugar overload. Furthermore, I am not a fan of what sugar does to the body. I prefer not to bring on the sugar comma if I don’t have to. Granted, this recipe is not sugary sweet, but it whips up like a dream and tastes delicious, complimenting the chocolate pumpkin cake very well.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I prefer Guittard Cocoa Rouge Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2 oz melted chocolate- I prefer Guittard 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bars.
• 1/2 cup organic butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Espresso powder (optional, but intensifies the chocolate flavor)

Directions:

Bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature. Melt the chocolate and set aside to cool a bit. While cooling, cream the butter and cream cheese together in a standing or hand mixer. Add in the melted chocolate and incorporate. Blend in the maple syrup, vanilla, salt, and espresso powder, if using, and whip for about 3 minutes to incorporate air. Frost. Voilà! Have your cake…frosted, and eat it too.

For All You Die-Hard Buttercream Frosting Fans

If you are one who loves the traditional chocolate buttercream (I have a few kiddos of mine that are die-hard buttercream fans), then I use this delicious Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from Add A Pinch. I just cut back on the powdered sugar and you would never know. This recipe kind of defeats the purpose of baking a healthy cake, but it is delicious. EnJOY!

In everything you do -eat, play, and, love- may it always be Seasoned with Joy!