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Healthy Gingerbread Cake made low calorie and gluten free with less sugar. Topped with a lighter cream cheese frosting for a healthy cake recipe that's bursting with warm and delicious ginger flavors! Gluten Free + Low Calorie
I didn't think I could love cake anymore until this ginger cake came along. Hello my new favorite winter dessert!
This healthy gluten free cake recipe is spiced with warm cinnamon and ginger flavors. Topped with a lighter cream cheese frosting. It's not only healthier, but moist and delicious!
This cake recipe is easy to make and a lightened up dessert you can enjoy year round with a few simple tweaks.
What Makes This Gingerbread Cake Better For You
There's many lighter cake recipes on the internet and Pinterest, but often the ingredients are not high quality and the macronutrients aren't well balanced. This cake recipe covers all these bases for you!
- Lower Calorie - 189 calories per slice including the frosting. Most cake recipes are 300 calories or more. Calories are important for weight loss, but what makes up the calories is even more important. I talk more about this in my free weight loss class.
- Lower Fat - Total fat per slice is 11 grams, 3 of which is from saturated or less optimal fat. The remaining fat is from healthy fat. A cake recipe higher in healthy fat is important to keeping cravings lower.
- Higher Protein - Each slice has 4 grams of protein, the majority of which comes from the Greek yogurt. Protein is often overlooked when a recipe is developed, but is very important to keeping hunger under control and for a healthy weight.
- Lower Carb - The carbs are only 19 grams per slice. That is low especially for a cake recipe and the use of monkfruit in this recipe helps to keep the carbs lower.
Ingredients To Make Healthy Gingerbread Cake
Here's what you need to make a healthy cake with ginger flavors. You will also need a large mixing bowl and 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan.
- Gluten Free Oat Flour
- Greek Yogurt
- Monkfruit
- Molasses
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Eggs
- Cinnamon, Ginger, Salt
- Baking Powder
- Cream Cheese
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
How To Make A Cake Ginger Spiced
This cake recipe is very simple and versatile. You could certainly make this a regular cake by omitting the ginger too and make it into something you can enjoy year round. Here's how to make a gingerbread cake that's better for you!
Step one is preheating the oven and preparing a square baking pan by layering it with parchment paper. This makes it easy to remove the cake from the pan.
Step two mix the oat flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, molasses, monkfruit, Greek yogurt. Make sure the Greek yogurt and eggs are at room temperature for best results! Next fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients then transfer to the prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer.
Step three bake the cake until a toothpick can be removed clean. While the cake cools (about 30 minutes), make the frosting. The cream cheese should be room temperature before making the frosting. Prepare the frosting by whisking the ingredients together then covering the cake with it and sprinkling with cinnamon on top.
How To Store A Gingerbread Cake
This cake should be stored in the refrigerator in a container up to 5 days. Do you eat a gingerbread cake chilled? You can eat this cake chilled out of the refrigerator or take it out of the refrigerator 15 minutes prior to serving to remove the chill and soften the cream cheese slightly. This is my favorite way!
Can you freeze a cake? Cakes do freeze well and this cake recipe you can freeze up to 30 days.
Substitutions For Gingerbread Cake
Here's the substitutions you can make for this healthy ginger cake recipe. Please remember when you make substitutes or change the recipe that it will change the nutrition data of the recipe from what you see in the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Oat Flour - You can use regular oat flour if you're not avoiding gluten. You can also blend your own oats to make your own oat flour for this recipe. Gluten Free baking flour can be substitute in this recipe. I have not tested almond flour yet. If you do, please let me know in the comments. This helps other readers! Coconut flour will not work in this recipe.
- Greek Yogurt - A dairy free yogurt can be substituted. Dairy free yogurts are higher in fat content and calories, so this is something to be aware of.
- Eggs - You can use an egg replacer like this one or make two flax eggs (2 tablespoons of ground flax with 4 tablespoons of water mixed) to substitute the eggs in this recipe.
- Olive Oil - Avocado oil or coconut oil may be substituted. Olive oil can be used in baking recipes in temperatures 350 F and below.
- Monkfruit - I like using monkfruit to slightly reduce the calories in recipes. You can substitute coconut sugar or brown sugar instead.
- Cinnamon or Ginger - You can swap or omit these. Nutmeg and/or pumpkin pie spice would be great additions or substitutions.
- Cream Cheese - Dairy free cream cheese can be substituted. I like Kite Hill.
Healthy Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1/2 cup Gluten Free Oat Flour
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt room temperature
- 1/4 cup Monkfruit
- 4 tablespoons Molasses
- 4 1/2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
For the Frosting
- 1/2 cup light Cream Cheese
- 1/4 cup Maple Syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place parchment paper on the bottom of an 8-inch" by 8-inch" baking pan and spray the sides with cooking spray.
- Mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, olive oil, molasses, monkfruit, Greek yogurt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake 25-28 minutes until a toothpick can be removed from the center clean. Cool the cake completely at room temperature.
- Prepare the frosting by beating the cream cheese and maple syrup together with a hand mixer. Spread the frosting over the cake and sprinkle with a touch of cinnamon. Slice into squares and serve!
- Store the cake in the refrigerator in a container up to 5 days.
Notes
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my weight loss clients.
- If you enjoy this recipe, check out my cookbook for more delicious recipes!
Anna Marie says
Good morning Megan, I’d like to make this recipe but I don’t have monkfruit. Can I use local honey instead?
Look forward to hearing back from you, Anna Marie
Megan says
Yes, you can use honey. Just note it will change the nutrition and increase the calories.