Healthy Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 1 Loaf – 12 Slices

Confession time: I’ve never been a massive fan of pumpkin bread.  Banana bread, on the other hand?  You betcha!  But what with it being peak pumpkin season right now, I thought I’d give it one last whirl and boy am I glad I did! The result was the most deliciously tasty and perfectly moist bread, all topped off with a sweet cream cheese baked frosting.  The first loaf I made was all polished off within 24 hours, so I made two more loaves the next day for the freezer, just so that we will now never be pumpkin-bread-less ever again.

The reason this is a somewhat healthier version of traditional pumpkin bread is because it was made with fibre-rich wholegrain flour instead of white flour.  This has more of a steadying effect on blood sugar levels and doesn’t cause it to have such a rapid spike and fall, like refined white flour does.  I also substituted regular sugar for the natural sugar substitute called erythritol.  I have been experimenting with this low calorie sugar alcohol for a while now, and taste wise – you would never know the difference.  It doesn’t have that horrible lingering aftertaste that stevia does but it amazingly doesn’t have any effect on blood sugar levels either.  This makes it a great choice for diabetics in particular or parents who don’t want their little ones bouncing off the walls at 6.30pm!  Of course, this recipe also works with regular sugar too, but I highly recommend making the switch over to erythritol or xylitol, which are available at most major online supermarkets or Amazon. I always say that no foods are off limits in our family, and I certainly don’t ever use the term ‘good’ or ‘bad’ when referring to foods.   We happily have almost-daily ice creams in the summer time and mince pies for the whole of December; however, if there is an easy swap to make a recipe healthier that doesn’t compromise on taste – then for me, it’s a total no-brainer!

One slice provides 236 calories, 6g of protein, 2g of fibre and amazingly only 1g of sugar.  Plus, it contains 114% of my daily vitamin A requirements as well as 30% of my calcium. 

INGREDIENTS

·     150g Wholemeal Flour
·     ½ tsp Salt
·     ½ tsp Baking soda
·     ¼ tsp Baking powder
·     ½ tsp Cinnamon 
·     ½ tsp Nutmeg
·     1 tsp Vanilla Extract
·     85g Butter
·     180g Xylitol or Erythritol or Coconut Sugar
·     1 Large Egg
·     230g Pumpkin Puree 

For the Cream Cheese topping

·     250g Cream Cheese 
·     45g Xylitol or Erythritol or Coconut Sugar
·     1 Egg
·     ½ tsp Vanilla Extract 

METHOD

·     Preheat the oven to 180°C.
·     Grease a parchment lined loaf tin.
·     In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. 
·     In an electric mixer, beat the butter, erythritol (or sugar) and vanilla together before adding the egg.  Continue beating until light and fluffy.
·     Then add the pumpkin puree and combine well.  
·     Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until thoroughly mixed.
·     Spoon the batter into the parchment lined loaf tin.
·     Now make the frosting – mix all of the ingredients together in a blender so that the mixture is pretty runny.
·     Pour the frosting over the pumpkin batter and put in the middle rack of the oven.
·     Bake for 65 – 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 
·     Carefully lift the parchment out of the tin and leave on a wire rack to cool. 

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories - 236
Protein – 6g
Fat – 14g
Carbohydrates – 29g
Sugar – 1g
Fibre – 2g
Vitamin A – 114%
Calcium – 30%