This weekend I had a really big craving for some kind of pumpkin cake. To be honest, I pretty much always want some cake. But this time, I knew exactly the kind I wanted. I wanted some moist cinnamon pumpkin cake topped with creamy peanut butter cream cheese frosting and an extra drizzle of peanut butter.
These cake bars are definitely one of my best recipes I have made in a while. I know I pretty much say that every time, but I’m serious. It is probably the most moist cake I have ever made. That is one thing I love about using pumpkin when baking with protein. It helps to keep it super moist and it won’t dry out from the protein. Combining pumpkin and Greek yogurt makes for an amazing moist consistency.
They would be delicious on their own, but I had to go to the next level with the peanut butter cream cheese frosting. It is just so sweet and creamy and absolutely perfect on top of the pumpkin cake. I also added a little bit of maple extract just to give it a little more fall flavor. And lastly, I drizzled a peanut butter sauce over the top. I am pretty much in heaven every time I eat one!
Pumpkin Peanut Butter Protein cake Bars
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Serves: 12 cake bars
Healthy and moist cinnamon pumpkin protein cake bars topped with a creamy peanut butter cream cheese frosting and a drizzle of peanut butter.
Ingredients
- Pumpkin Cake
- 1 can (250g) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed*
- 2 scoops (67g) cinnamon whey protein powder
- 1/4 cup truvia/sugar baking blend**
- 1/4 cup granulated stevia/erythritol
- 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 whole egg
- 1 cup (250g) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 2/3 cup (150g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/4 cup (62g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (113g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup (24g) peanut flour
- 5 tbsp. granulated stevia or erythritol
- 1/8 tsp. maple extract (or 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract)
- Peanut Butter Drizzle
- 3 tbsp. (18g) peanut flour
- 3 tbsp. maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Add garbanzo beans, egg, pumpkin, and Greek yogurt. Blend until smooth and there are no chunks of garbanzo beans. Now, add protein powder, truvia/sugar blend, granulated stevia, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and baking powder. Blend again until smooth.
- Line an 8×8 dish with foil. Spray with nonstick spray. Pour batter into baking dish. Hit dish against a hard surface a few times to get out air bubbles. Bake for 35 minutes. The center will still seem a little undercooked, but it will continue cooking a little after you take it out of the oven.
- Let cool completely. While it is cooling make the peanut butter frosting. Mix cream cheese and Greek yogurt together until smooth. Add peanut flour and stevia and mix again until smooth. Lastly, add maple extract and mix again.
- Spread frosting evenly over cooled pumpkin cake. Mix ingredients for peanut butter drizzle. Spoon peanut butter mixture into a plastic bag, cut off the end, and drizzle over top.
- Cut into 12 bars and enjoy!
Serving size: 1 cake bar Calories: 120 Fat: 3 Carbohydrates: 15 Sugar: 8 Fiber: 2 Protein: 10
Notes
* Weight of garbanzo beans is after they have been drained. Make sure to rinse garbanzo beans well.[br]** If you don’t have the truvia/sugar baking blend, you can use 1/2 cup regular granulated sugar in place of it.
