Pimped Pumpkin Cake

Here is a great recipe for a Pumpkin Cake!

I make it frequently because it is so packed with wonderful goodness!

This high protein, high fibre cake is pimped not only with gorgeous spices but also with fabulous anti inflammatory ingredients that are so helpful in the perimenopause and menopause.

The cake is only faintly sweet, so try the mixture before you bake it to see if it is sweet enough for you.

I like to sometimes have a slice of this cake as my first meal in the day, often spread with some thick greek-style yoghurt or a home made labne, both for extra calcium, protein and importantly anti inflammatory benefits from eating fermented foods. You can learn more about this at my workshops here. 

Since the cake is low in sugar, and high in protein & fibre, it is absolutely fine to eat at any time of the day.

If you would like to see a video making this anti-inflammatory cake then head over to my YouTube channel here. 

150g wholegrain flour - I like to make my own flour by using a mixture of a couple of these whole grains: oats, millet, buckwheat, spelt

80g hulled hemp seeds or other seeds eg sesame, chia
50g cooked white beans/cannellini, mashed up a bit
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs beaten, or if vegan 2 tablespoons psyllium husks*
125g olive oil
100g honey or maple syrup or 80g sugar 150ml water
1 cup packed/ 120g  grated raw butternut pumpkin/squash
2 heaped teaspoons ground cylon(true) cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried ginger or 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Heat oven to 180˚C fan forced or 200˚C regular 

Gently mix all the ingredients together, careful not to over mix.
Check the sweetness, I like to make my cake only just sweet, you may need it a bit sweeter, so add some more syrup/sugar.
Pour into a paper-lined cake tin. I use a loaf tin that is approx. 21cm x 11cm, 6.5cm deep.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake skewer comes out clean.

*If using psyllium husk, allow the mixture to rest for 30 minutes before baking.

Histamine:
If you are histamine intolerant then I suggest the following swaps:
Leave out the white beans. 
Use only low histamine nuts and seeds in the cake: eg choice of pistachio nuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, macadamia nuts.