Recipe: GF Pumpkin Cake.

via Instagram @whitneynewby

Is it a crime to post a recipe without a close-up photo of the finished product? Perhaps. But it seems like every time I bake this pumpkin cake, it's gone before I have a chance to take a real photo. This picture of Liam gobbling up his third piece straight out of the oven will have to suffice, at least for now.

This is a gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free recipe that I can feel good about feeding my toddler (and the rest of us). For the past five years, I've used Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix for nearly all of my gluten free baking. But when a friend recently gave me a bag of Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend to try, I was hooked. While Pamela's contains a small amount of dairy, sugar, and tree nuts (almond meal), Namaste does not. I actually like the final product more, and it's less expensive. Score and score.

This recipe was adapted from Namaste's website, where I replaced the canola oil with coconut oil and the sugar with coconut sugar, which I also purchase in bulk from Amazon. The end result is a super moist, not overly sweet pumpkin-flavored quickbread that can easily be made into muffins or a bundt cake. You could also add chopped apples, chocolate chips, or a pecan topping to dress it up a bit.

GF Pumpkin Bread - adapted from NamasteFoods.com

1 cup Namaste Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend
1 cup Coconut sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. Coconut oil, melted
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 cup Canned pumpkin
2 Eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8" x 8" baking pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and melted coconut oil. With a wire whisk blend in vanilla and pumpkin, then beat in eggs one at a time.
3. Gradually beat in flour mixture.
4. Spread batter into prepared 8" x 8" pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.