This is the low-carb version of a pumpkin bread recipe posted by Jenn Segal of the Once Upon a Chef blog. She shared that the original recipe had been clipped by her grandmother from a magazine some 50 years earlier. She also adapted that recipe a bit, see her version here.
I halved the amounts of Jenn’s recipe, swapped out the wheat flour for an almond-coconut flour blend, and added some vital wheat gluten to keep it together. Depending on how moist you would like it, use 1 or 2 eggs. Even after an hour’s baking time, it remains a moist cake.
If you don’t have a can of pumpkin lying around (e.g., Libby’s), then try making your own with a hokkaido pumpkin. I used this recipe for pumpkin purée in the Thermomix, but any 20-min-steaming+puréeing of raw pumpkin should do the trick. With hokkaido pumpkins, you don’t have to peel them — bonus!
Ingredients
- 85 g almond flour
- 40 g coconut flour
- 25 g vital wheat gluten (or glutinous rice flour, see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 200 g xylitol or erythritol sweetener
- 85 g unsalted butter, softened
- 1-2 eggs, depending on how moist you like your cakes
- 215 g pumpkin purée
- Wee bit of vanilla extract or paste to taste (optional)
Recipe
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius
- Grease a small loaf pan and set aside
- Whip together the purée, eggs, butter, and (optional) vanilla extract (30 sec / 3)
- Add sugar, baking soda, and baking powder and blend thoroughly (30 sec / 3)
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients and blend thoroughly (2 min / 4; 3 min / dough)
- Spoon the dough into the loaf pan and bake in the center of the oven for 60 minutes
For best results, chill overnight before serving. (Good luck with trying to resist a slice before then! ;-))
Notes
But is it keto? According to the recipe analyzer that I used, it’s about 9 carbs per slice (so not keto but low-carb!) if you slice the loaf into at least 13 slices. Blood-sugar wise, it won’t set you back too much if you keep it to one slice and otherwise keep your carbs low for the day. 🙂
WTF is vital wheat gluten? Bob’s Red Mill has a definition of vital wheat gluten. If you don’t already know what it is, give that a read. I keep a kilo of it in the cabinet for making seitan and boosting gluten in sourdough bread recipes.
Sugar substitutes: This Keto Connect video on alternative sweeteners and their blood-sugar impacts is my go-to reference. Each sugar substitute has its pluses and minuses, including its effect on the … uh … nether regions. Watch the video, google for info, and test your choices!
Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg: Paola at Gnom-Gnom has a recipe for homemade pumpkin spice mix. Make up a batch and keep it handy!
