Gluten-Free Chocolate Pumpkin Spiced Cake

It's been quite a while since I last blogged but I am so glad to be back home for the summer! Since I now have access to a kitchen and to ingredients I can't always find in stores by school, I've been cooking quite a bit. If there's one thing I love the most it's baking, so the other day I decided to whip up this chocolate pumpkin spice cake with extra pumpkin puree I had in the fridge. 

What I love about this recipe is that you can substitute the pumpkin for any type of squash if you roast the vegetable first, then puree it. The cake also contains some hidden seeds which, combined with the pumpkin, yield a loaf that has lots of fiber and minerals. Because of this, I love to have it as a sweet treat, or even for breakfast with a side of vanilla yogurt.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/2 cup xylitol sugar (sugar substitute made from birch trees)
• 1/4 cup (about 5 oz) of pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp. ground ginger, plus a separate 1 tsp.
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of raw mixed seeds, coarsely ground (I used a mix of sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds; other options to include are flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, etc.)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground allspice
• 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp. skim milk
• 3/4 cups Enjoy Life's gluten, dairy, soy, and nut free dark chocolate chip morsels

Begin by preheating the oven to 325° F. Next, grease the sides and bottom of a large loaf pan, and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, molasses, corn syrup and xylitol over low heat until the butter is melted. *It is important to use low heat so the sugars in the syrups don't burn before the butter melts*.

Next, add in the pumpkin puree and 2 tsp. of ground ginger, stir to combine, and set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
 
In a food processor, grind 1/4 cup of the seed mixture into a powder, then add it into a medium mixing bowl with the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and extra tsp. of ginger. Whisk together to combine. 

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg and gradually add it into the cooled puree mixture, making sure to continuously stir so the egg doesn't cook too fast if the mixture is still hot. 

Stir the puree mixture into the flour mixture until combined.

Gradually add in the milk a 1/4 cup at a time, until the batter thins. Next, fold in the chocolate chips to assure even distribution throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted and comes out relatively clean. *The cake is moist so the toothpick may not be entirely clean, but I wouldn't cook it much longer than this since the cake is already dark in color and you don't want to risk burning it*.
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​Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.