Healthy Gingerbread Spice Cake With Butternut Squash Puree

Even though I live in balmy south Florida, where it is pretty much summer year round, I still like to 'get into' the seasons by cooking something festive and seasonally appropriate. I started slowly spiking my recipes with ultra-healthy ingredients (flax, wheat germ, hemp seeds, chickpea puree, etc.) This is a vegetarian and dairy-free recipe.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 268 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ cup molasses
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean's®)
• ¼ cup extra-virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean's®)
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour (such as King Arthur®)
• ¼ cup ground flaxseeds (such as Barlean's®)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen butternut squash puree, thawed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon coconut oil.

Step 2

Place 1/4 cup coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in microwave until melted, about 30 seconds.

Step 3

Mix flour, ground flaxseeds, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and sea salt in a large bowl.

Step 4

Combine brown sugar, melted coconut oil, and egg in a separate large bowl; add squash puree, coconut milk, molasses, and vanilla extract and mix well. Stir flour mixture into squash mixture until batter is smooth. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before turning cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.