Pumpkin Apple Cake made with Honey
This cake was a family favorite when I was growing up. In order to modify the original recipe, I did some research on a website called Cooks.com and found out some really interesting information about substituting honey for sugar in baking. (See end of post for a few of the tidbits I learned) This is my first experiment following their suggestions. I am excited to have some guidelines to go by as I experiment with some healthier options in my baking, since I love to bake but I am moving completely away from white sugar-excpet for the Famous Weisser Cookies!!!!
Ingredients
3 cups flour (you can use a combination of white, wheat, almond meal)
¼ cup pumpkin spice undenatured whey protein powder (you can use vanilla protein powder)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup honey
⅓ cup coconut oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 teaspoon s vanilla
3 cups finely chopped apple
1 cup chopped pecans
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Chop apples into tiny pieces. Chop pecans. By hand, mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in apples and pecans. Batter will be very thick. Spoon into a well greased Bundt pan and bake in a 325 degree oven for 60 minutes. Cool and dust with powdered sugar.
You can make a healthy glaze or decorative frosting to make your cake look more festive.
Healthy decorative Frosting
¼ cup pumpkin spice undenatured whey protein powder (if you use vanilla protein powder add 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons butter softened
2 Tablespoons almond milk
Stir all together and add a bit more almond milk if necessary until you have the desired consistency to decorate you cake.
- 3 cups flour (yOu can use a combination of white, wheat, almond meal)
- ¼ cup pumpkin spice undenatured whey protein powder (you can use vanilla protein powder)
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup honey
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoon s vanilla
- 3 cups finely chopped apple
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Healthy decorative Frosting
- ¼ cup pumpkin spice undenatured whey protein powder (if you use vanilla protein powder add 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter softened
- 2 Tablespoons almond milk
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Chop apples into tiny pieces. Chop pecans.
- By hand, mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until moistened.
- Fold in apples and pecans.
- Batter will be very thick. Spoon into a well greased Bundt pan and bake in a 325 degree oven for 60-70 minutes.
- Cool and dust with powdered sugar or you can make a healthy glaze or decorative frosting to make your cake look more festive.
- Stir all frosting ingredients together and add a bit more almond milk if necessary until you have the desired consistency to decorate you cake.
Information from Cooks.com on baking with honey…….
“Honey has been a favorite sweetener since prehistoric times and still has advantages over sugar even today. Honey is composted of two simple sugars, glucose and fructose, honey is absorbed in a different manner and therefore causes a slower, more gradual rise in blood sugar. Because honey has a slightly higher percentage of fructose than sugar, it tastes sweeter, and less is required for equal sweetness. Generally the lighter the honey, the milder the flavor. If a stronger flavor is desired for your recipe, use a darker, stronger flavored honey; if a more delicate flavor is desired, use a lighter, milder flavored honey. Honey can easily be substituted for sugar. Due to honey’s ability to retain water, products made with honey tend to remain moister longer than similar products made with sugar or other sweeteners.
Some minor adjustments may need to be made to a recipe when substituting honey for sugar:
1. Use equal amounts of honey for sugar up to one cup. Over one cup, replace each cup of sugar with 2/3 to 3/4 cup over honey depending upon the sweetness desired.
2. Lower the baking temperature 25 degrees and watch your time carefully since products with honey brown faster.
3. In recipes using more than one cup honey for sugar, it may be necessary to reduce liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of honey.
4. In baked goods, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey if baking soda is not already included in the recipe. This will reduce the acidity of the honey, as well as increase the volume of your product.
Moisten a measuring spoon or cup first with water, oil, or an egg before measuring the honey to prevent it from sticking to the measuring utensil. Honey is heavy by weight. A 12 ounce jar equals one standard 8 ounce cup. A quart weighs 3 pounds.”
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