Summer squash can be used to make a sweet sugar free dessert. This low carb and gluten free yellow squash cake recipe has chunks of squash in a custard like cake.
Have you ever neglected your garden for a day and the next day have a few monster summer squash? I prefer my zucchini and yellow squash to be on the small size.
The squash are a lot less seedy when picked before they grow into a super size. This growth seems to happen overnight at times.
I had a very large yellow squash that needed to be cooked. I found a recipe for yellow squash dessert that calls for peeled and seeded squash so I knew it would be a perfect use for my monster sized squash.
It was fairly easy to adapt the recipe to make this low carb yellow squash cake recipe. The original recipe used evaporated milk which isn't very low in carbs so I replaced it with a can of coconut cream.
This isn't the first dessert I've made using yellow squash. I've also made a sweet bread and summer squash pie from this summer squash.
The taste of this yellow squash cake recipe tastes a lot like cassava cake to me which is one of my favorite Filipino desserts. Cassava cake usually contains coconut cream so that's may be why this squash cake tastes so much like it.
Next time, I may use cooked spiralized squash rather than cut so it resembles the grated cassava. And, the squash would cook faster if sprilized.
The large squash yielded about 2 cups of cubed pieces. As you can see in the photo, the seeds were large. I'd say the seeds in this yellow squash were almost the size of pumpkin seeds.
When the seeds are large, I find it best to pull them out because they can be tough. The skin can also be a bit thick so peeling and seeding the squash leaves just the tender flesh.
As suggested in the original recipe, I cooked the cut squash for about 20 minutes in boiling water. You also want to be sure to drain out most of the water after cooking. It's not a big deal to get every last drop, though.
The squash is then combined with the rest of the ingredients. I added the butter first to the hot squash so that is would melt into a liquid. Then, the rest of the ingredients are just stirred in.
The mixture is poured into a 9x13 inch baking pan. I used a rubber spatula to run along the top to make sure the squash pieces were distributed fairly evenly throughout the pan.
Although I hate turning on the oven in summer, this yellow squash custard cake dessert bakes up in about 25 minutes. It was worth the heat of the oven for this yummy dessert.
At the end of baking, the top will be browned and the cake should be set. It's kind of like a custard in that you want to make sure there isn't any jiggling going on.
You can easily get 20 pieces from this yellow squash cake recipe. But, I opted to cut them a little bigger which yielded 15 pieces.
It's best to serve this cake topped with whipped cream. If you are taking it to a party, a layer of low carb stabilized cream could be spread on top similar to a cream pie.
Easy Low Carb Gluten Free Yellow Squash Cake Recipe
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Recipe
Yellow Squash Cake
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow squash chopped and cooked
- ¾ cup butter
- 1 cup low carb sugar substitute or equivalent sweetenr
- 2 teaspoons vanilla add more if needed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon unflavored whey protein optional
- 4 large eggs
- 13.5 ounces canned coconut cream coconut milk could also be used
- whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Peal, seed and cut squash. Cook in boiling water for about 20 minutes to soften.
- Add butter to hot squash and stir until melted.
- Add sweetener, vanilla, salt, almond flour, whey protein (if using), eggs, and coconut cream to squash and mix well.
- Pour mixture into a buttered 9" X 13" baking dish.
- Bake at 375ºF for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Can be served slightly warm or chilled with whipped cream.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes 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.
Copyright
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Chloe
Is this great sounding recipe freezable
Lisa MarcAurele
You can freeze it but I find summer squash tends to get mushy after thawing.
KW
This came out a little too sweet for me so next time I will reduce the seeetner to half or 3/4. I puréed the cooked squash to give the cake a smooth texture. Turned out really well. I served with unsweetened whipped cream to take the edge off of the sweetness. Will definitely make this again implementing the changes I made. Thumbs up!
J.
Hi, can I make this recipe with fresh pineapple instead of squash? If yes, then how do I change other parts of the recipe to accomodate for the liquid & acidic content of the pineapple?
Lisa MarcAurele
You'd have to do some testing. Pineapple is sweeter and contains more liquid than yellow squash so I'd recommend reducing liquid and sweetener.
Sandy
I made this tonight and it is delicious! I used 1/2 cup Pyure blend and replaced the coconut milk with almond milk. Turned out great! What I love about this recipe, besides it's great taste, is that I can chop, cook, and freeze all this excess yellow squash from the garden so I can make this recipe throughout the year.
Denise
I will be trying this recipe, but 2 tablespoons of vanilla seems like a lot.. Is that correct or should it be 2 teaspoons.?
Lisa MarcAurele
I do think 2 tablespoons is a lot so it could be 2 teaspoons, but it's been a while since I made the recipe so I can't say for sure.
Suzan
I grew up in West Texas with a bountiful garden every summer and lots of yellow squash. My Mama made squash pie probably once a week and we loved it. This reminds me of the taste! This stuff is awesome and I can't keep my fork out of the pan! A suggestion....start with half amount of sugar and see if that's sweet enough for you. I used Pyure and only needed half. I will make this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa
I love squash pie too! Thanks for the tip on the sweetener.
Carrie Lombardi
Hi Lisa!
Excited to try the recipe! My stomach doesn't do so well with keto sweeteners and I'm not low carb. Do you have any suggestions for using maple syrup or honey and how that would affect the recipe measurement wise?
I realize this would be adding liquid and would require me to cut down on the coconut milk.
Thank you for your help!
Lisa MarcAurele
The sweetener amount should be about the same, about a cup, unless you'd like the cake to be a bit sweeter. You may not need to reduce liquid if using honey since it's quite thick. Maple syrup is usually thinner so you may want to cup back a little on the butter or cream.
Angela
I made this today and it is delicious. I chopped up the squash finely in my food processor and microwaved it with the butter. I didn't have whey protein so I omitted it and I used Swerve. Mine came out like a custard; it was not cake-like at all. I can't stop eating it. It is that good!
Lisa
Thanks for that! I'll mark the whey powder as optional. I am also in love with the custard cake!
KLW Rose
This looks really tasty. The only problem I can see with it is my fiancé is allergic to nuts. Do you know if it would work with coconut flour? Or do you think that would make it too high carb?
Lisa
Sunflower seed flour is a good sub for almond flour for those allergic to nuts. I'm sure coconut flour would work to, but you may want to increase egg and liquid. I've found less coconut flour is needed to replace almond flour.
Dee Dee (My Midlife Kitchen)
What a great way to use the summer bounty! And I admit that while I always bake with zucchini, it never actually occurred to me to substitute yellow squash in desserts. Duh! Now I will!
Lisa
I was sick of all the veggie sides with all the summer squash we have so I moved into desserts. Definitely give it a try!
Kristina
so unique! I have used butternut in baked desserts before, but I cannot wait to try this!
Lisa
I've never had butternut in dessert, so I'll have to try that next!
Kathy Hester
How clever! I never thought of using yellow squash for desserts before. I'll have to try it this weekend.
Lisa
It's surprisingly delicious, especially this cake!
Ali @ Home & Plate
Your squash cake sounds delicious. I also grow zucchini and squash in my garden and I prefer them small too. Now your use of squash sounds like a great idea. Love the addition of the coconut creme.
Lisa
If you do happen to get a big one, this is a great way to serve it!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom
I am so intrigued by this recipe. I love zucchini in cakes, so why not in yellow squash? Can't wait to try!
Lisa
I usually grate squash for desserts, but I liked the chunks in this. And no green to give it away like zucchini!