Lovely low carb pumpkin bars topped with sweet cream cheese frosting. These frosted pumpkin cake bars are a delicious snack that all will enjoy.
When the weather got cooler and it began to feel like autumn, I started craving some pumpkin. However, all the grocery stores I shopped at were out of canned pumpkin.
I discovered that the canned pumpkin shortage was due to bad growing conditions in the state of Illinois where the Libby brand of pumpkins are grown. I figured I better stock up so I ordered a case of 12 organic cans of pumpkin online which was cheaper than going to one of the local nature food stores.
The grocery stores are hoping to have plenty of canned pumpkin back on the shelves for the holidays since the weather was better this year. I wish I had planted my own sugar pumpkins in the yard this year. Pumpkins will certainly be planted next year!
This is the first year that I’ve had trouble getting canned pumpkin. It’s amazing how much the weather in one state can have such a huge effect. Maybe the farms need to be a bit more spread out!
I chose to make the cake for my low carb pumpkin bars recipe in a jelly roll pan. This is because I’d like to make a pumpkin roll for Thanksgiving and wanted to see if this cake would work for that.
I think it would, but the pan would have to be lined with parchment or something nonstick so that the cake would be easier to take out of the pan and roll. I only sprayed the pan with oil and the cake did stick a little, but not a problem with the small squares that I cut it into.
I frosted the low carb pumpkin bars with a stevia sweetened cream cheese frosting, but the cake is moist and delicious as is. It’s also wonderful topped with stevia sweetened whipped cream.
The recipe for the cream cheese frosting I used is right below the cake recipe in this post. If you like spiced pumpkin, you are sure to love this one!
Do you love pumpkin? I sure do. Want some more low carb pumpkin recipes? Check out this collection!
Low Carb Pumpkin Bars Recipe
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Low Carb Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 1 cup Carbquik (see Note)
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup Steviva Blend or 1 cup erythritol plus 1 teaspoon stevia extract
- 1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses optional (for authentic flavor)
- 4 eggs , beaten
- 1 15- oz can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 teaspoon sugar-free vanilla extract
- ¾ cup coconut oil
FROSTING:
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese
- ¾ teaspoon stevia glycerite
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla extract
Instructions
CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In medium bowl, mix together eggs, pumpkin, molasses, extract, and oil. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
- Pour into greased jellyroll pan (15x10x1) and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Cool on rack.
- Cooled cake can be topped with whipped cream, frosted with cream cheese, or eaten as snack cake squares.
FROSTING:
- Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add stevia, heavy cream and vanilla, beat until light and fluffy.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
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Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
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Daniele
I made these tonight, and was really expecting that even my hubby, who doesn’t keep Keto, would enjoy them. However, after 2 bites he said he just couldn’t eat them, and neither could I. They smelled good baking, but the result was a spongy pumpkin cake that was nearly like eating pure coconut oil. I don’t know why the recipe calls for so much, but if I ever get up the courage to try this again, I’ll probably use ¼ cup or less. I feel badly that the recipe made such a large amount, and the ingredients are now wasted…Perhaps the proportions are off? I hope this recipe can be re-engineered, as it has so much potential to be superb!
Lisa MarcAurele
This is on my list to retest so I’ll see if less oil works out better. I’ve also started using the refined coconut oil which has a more neutral flavor where I don’t want a coconut flavor. Thanks for the feedback.
Heather K
Tastes exactly like pumpkin pie! sooo good! I used only 1/2c of Crave Stevia Bakers Brown Blend and left out the molasses as a result. For Cream Cheese Icing I used 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder sweetened with stevia to sweeten instead of the liquid stevia. Going to see if my picky son notices if this is a low carb recipie;)
Monique Stec
Hi,
Can I use a 13×9 baking dish and if yes, how long is the baking time? Thanks.
Lisa
It’s hard to say. It will be a thicker cake so you’d likely need to bake for a longer time. So, I’d just keep an eye on it and use a toothpick or cake tester to determine doneness.
Heather K
I used a 13×9 glass dish at 325 for 25 min and left to sit in the oven to cool down. ended up being moist and fluffy much similar to pumpkin pie but holds together nicely at the same time.
Elizabeth Martin
I took a look at the recipe but it did not say how many serving the cake made?
Lisa
It’s like 20 bars so I added that.
Lena
How many servings per recipe?
Lisa
I got like 20 squares.
Theresa
Hi I was under the impression that Stevia Blend was twice as sweet as sugar so you only need to use half as much. The 1 cup of stevia blend in the recipe seems like a lot, especially with the cream cheese frosting. Can you cut that down to half or use a splenda/stevia blend combo? Would this change the carb count?
Lisa
It depends on the blend you use. Pyure is twice as sweet as sugar, but blends like Sukrin:1 are a one to one replacement. If you are using something that is twice as sweet, you’ll want to use only half as much. Carb count varies little if you use the more concentrated blends.
Linda
What can be used instead of Xanthin gum?
Lisa
You should be able to leave it out in this recipe. It just helps hold things together better.
Esther
I’m gluten intolerant… what is a good substitute for the carbquick?
Lisa
I would try 1/2 cup coconut flour and increase the eggs to 6.
fooddreamer
How funny, I just made something similar on Thursday! I only posted them today because I had such a rotten few days and I just couldn’t spend the time on my blog. I swear I wasn’t copying you 😉