Paleo Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake With Maple-Vanilla Frosting

Does NOT use almond flour!  NO flour!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, so I’m delighted that dinner on November 24 is just 27 meals away! We’re keeping it low key this year: It’s just Dave, Smudge, and I digging into a smallish feast of roast duck (with a stuffing made of pork and apples), my paleo cranberry waldorf salad, green beans with bacon, velvety butternut squash (a new Well Fed recipe!), and this pumpkin gingerbread cake.
I’ll be sharing the rest of my Thanksgiving dinner recipes over the next few days, but like my great-great-grandfather who always ate dessert first “just in case,” I’m starting with something sweet.
I think this cake tastes best when it’s chilled. It takes on the denser texture of a cake bar, and the frosting tastes and feels like bakery icing. However, you might like it at room temperature or even warmed a bit. Experiment! You can’t really go wrong, it is cake, after all.
NOTE to Whole30ers: This is a treat and includes honey, so it’s not Whole30-compliant. But don’t worry! The rest of my Thanksgiving recipes are Whole30 approved.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake With Maple-Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup Justin’s Maple Almond Butter
(If you don’t want to buy maple almond butter, use plain + 1 tablespoon maple syrup.)
1/4 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
Frosting:
1/3 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional:
Pecan halves or whole almonds for garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Make the cake. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the cake ingredients and mix thoroughly to combine. Pour into an 8×8 oven-safe baking dish. Bake until completely cooked through, about 30 minutes.
3. Make the frosting. Place the coconut butter and coconut oil in a microwave-safe dish and heat until softened, but not melted. The length of time you need to nuke it will depend on the temperature in your house, so start with 30-second increments and repeat until you get the right consistency. Place the coconut butter and oil in a large mixing bowl, then add the honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Beat until fluffy with a standing or hand mixer. If you don’t have a mixer, go at it with a whisk… and good luck to you!
NOTE: I almost always over-heat the coconut oil and coconut butter, and it gets liquidy. Here’s what to do: mix it per the instructions above, then let it sit at room temperature. As it cools, it will thicken a bit. When it’s the consistency of very thick honey, drizzle it on top of the cold cake. It will tighten up like a frosting glaze, then refrigerate.
4. Assemble! Allow the cake to cool completely. Completely.  Don't try to cut before.  Cut it into 9 or 16 squares. Dollop a spoonful of frosting onto each square and top with a nut. Do not snarf your cake yet – save it for Thanksgiving dinner!
5. Chill out. When all squares are frosted, cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The frosting will firm up in the fridge and the texture transforms into a confection. Serve the cake squares chilled or at room temperature.

Velvety Butternut Squash

Velvety Butternut Squash

This is the third of a handful of Thanksgiving recipes I’m posting this week. If you missed the others, check out Paleo Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake with Maple-Vanilla Frosting and Cranberry Waldorf Salad.

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I’m delighted to share this recipe because it’s one of the new ones I created for my cookbook Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love To Eat. This is the page from the cookbook; pretty cute, right?!

And here’s another sneak peek for you! This is the complete recipe from the cookbook… Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

by Melissa

The word “casserole” is so unassuming, so indicative of “stuff from cans,” it hardly seems appropriate for this dish. An almost confection made of pillows and clouds and whispers, it starts as a purée that, while not bad on its own, is still just squash. But lovingly stir in a touch of coconut milk, Ras el Hanout, and an egg, and what you remove from the oven a short time later is smooth, spicy-sweet, and so far beyond a casserole, it deserves a new name.
Prep 5 minutes / Roast 50 minutes / Bake 30 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds butternut squash
2 tablespoons water
1 head garlic
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout
1 large egg
1/4 cup pecan halves, chopped (reserve a few unchopped for garnish)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place cut-side down on the baking sheet and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of water onto the paper around the squash.
2. Peel the loose, papery skin off the garlic, and wrap it in a piece of aluminum foil. Put the baking sheet of squash and the foil packet of garlic in the oven. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until the squash is tender. Set both aside until they’re cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes.
3. Increase the oven temperature to 400 F.
4. When the squash is cool, use a spoon to scoop the flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Separate the garlic cloves and squeeze the roasted pulp into the bowl with the squash. Process the mixture to a smooth puree, then add the coconut oil, coconut milk, salt, and Ras el Hanout. Taste and adjust seasonings.
5. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Scrape the purée into a large mixing bowl and stir in the beaten egg with a wooden spoon until combined.
6. Grease the inside of a 3-cup casserole dish or individual ramekins with a little coconut oil, then add the squash purée. Top with chopped pecans and bake in the 400 F oven for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are a little bubbly and the top is golden brown.