This Low Carb Pumpkin Honey Bun Snack Cake THM – S has a pumpkin spice twist.
It’s delicious anytime but lovers of pumpkin/cinnamon enjoy it especially this time of year.
Honeybuns are a cherished childhood favorite for so many of us. When it comes to fond food memories, they rank right up there next to snow cones and root beer floats. I am slowly, but surely rounding all of these favorites up and healthifying them.
The time has come to do this for my beloved honey buns but in honor of the wonderful fall season I’ll start out with the Pumpkin Honey Bun Snack Cake, rather than the plain vanilla that I plan to get back to ASAP.
Like all of the recipes posted on this blog, I tested this one thoroughly. I shared the finished product around to people in 4 separate families.
It got a solid thumbs up from all involved with comments like, “You could serve this at Thanksgiving and no one would even know it was sugar free,” and from my biggest fan, “You did it again sweetie”. So yay, and I hope y’all Enjoy!
I converted this cake using my Pumpkin Maple Spice Cake and the filling and icing for the Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake were adapted from my Cinnamon Bundt Sock It To Me Cake . If you’re a big fan of pumpkin spice be sure and check out my Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup, Five Minute Pumpkin Spice Caramel Sauce, and Pumpkin Pie Dip with Cinnamon Chips.
Watch for affiliate links to products I have used in these recipes when testing them and those which I can fully recommend.
Be sure and soften the butter and cream cheese well and they will be totally smooth. I find using an immersion blender is just the ticket for these glazes containing cream cheese.
Honey Bun Time! Warm from the oven it is wonderful but a slice reheated in the microwave for 15 seconds is heavenly 3 days later!
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Pumpkin Honey Bun Snack Cake
Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Oil an 8x8 inch glass casserole dish.
Ingredients for the cinnamon filling:
- *2 tablespoons Gentle Sweet OR 4 tablespoons xylitol or erythritol
- *1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon almond flour ~ adds bulk to the cinnamon layer you could use baking blend too
Ingredients for the cake:
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup Gentle Sweet or 2 tablespoons Truvia or Pyure
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1/4 teaspoon mineral salt
- 1 cup *THM Baking Blend
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Ingredients for the glaze:
- 1 tablespoon melted cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 tablespoons Gentle Sweet or 1 tablespoons powdered Truvia or Pyure
- 1 1/2 teaspoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Directions for the cinnamon filling:
- Mix together in a small bowl and set aside.
Directions for the cake:
- Melt the pumpkin and butter together if the pumpkin has been in the fridge. Other wise just soften the butter.
- Then add in the pumpkin and sweetener and beat, next add in the eggs one at a time, beating after each and then add the flavorings. Really beat some air into this cake at this stage.
- Now sprinkle the baking blend right on top of the well-mixed wet ingredients then sprinkle the baking powder on top of all and mix by hand, just until it is mixed in well.
- Pour 1/2 of the cake batter into the well oiled pan and cover with all of the cinnamon filling.
- Dot the top of the cinnamon mixture with the rest of the batter and spread carefully to cover the cinnamon.
- Place in the oven to cook at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. It won't necessarily be ready in that time but I always check it after 20. Test for doneness by touching the top of the cake. When it is no longer tacky to the touch and looks firm and golden brown it is done.
- The standard fork test for doneness will work but the fork doesn't have to come out totally clean, but the crumbs must be dry.
- The pumpkin in this cake makes it a little denser than the others, but it is very cakey when cool. Do not overcook!
Directions for the glaze:
- Soften the cream cheese well and then blend the cheese and melted butter together well (if the cream cheese doesn't want to mix just keep at it or it will taste good but the glaze won't be pretty if there are white specks in it).
- Then continue adding ingredients until they are well mixed and a glaze, rather than icing consistency.
Notes
*This cake is done when the top is no longer wet looking and it is slightly firm to the touch. The standard fork text will work but it's not quite as easy to tell when this cake is ready for that test so keep a check on it until you've made it once or twice.
*Out of THM Baking Blend? Here are a couple of options Runamok Mama's Quick Mix or Wonderfully Made and Dearly Loved Baker's Blend
*A note on the cinnamon filling: If you plan to be making lots of these type baked goods go ahead and make up a batch of my cinnamon sweetener and replace the cinnamon and sweetener called for in this recipe with it and simply add in the flour to make the filling. (This recipe is combined with some other spices but scroll down to the bottom of the post for it.)
*If you would like to double this cake it will make a thinner 13 x 9 inch cake but should be perfect in a 12 x 7" pan.
Got my Pumpkin Pie Spice – ready to go! Thanks for sharing the wonderful fall recipe 🙂
Hope you enjoy Merit! 🙂
Teresia, just wanted to first say thank you for your hard work to bring us foods we can enjoy !! This Pumpkin Honey Bun Snack Cake is the bomb dot com !! I was swooning over the fact it is so moist and cakey. My daughter is very picky and she gave it two thumbs up, so bravo to you !! I did notice for your cinnamon sweetener post you mentioned that using cinnamon with Gentle Sweet isn’t very compatible.. Do you recommend using the xylitol or erythritol with the cinnamon for the filling with this recipe also, or does using the almond flour even it out to be more compatible ? It is good made with Homemade Sweet Blend , but am curious what your thoughts are in this recipe.. Is there a specific serving amount for this recipe also? I cut mine into 9 squares as I used an 8 x 8 baking dish… Thank you once again for making this way of eating so pleasurable and normal for us by creating dishes we grew up with allowing our transition to be seamless and easy !
Hi Billie! So glad the cake was a hit!
On the sweetener post I said gentle sweet isn’t the best for it but only because it’s powdered and the cinnamon and powder tend to burn when they are baked. So I prefer a granulated sweetener for the cinnamon because it will be used in so many different type situations.
I cut mine into 9 squares normally too but for the pictures I used a larger piece. It is very filling so one helping would do me for dessert and two for a snack. So special limit on this very health promoting cake though with the FP baking blend and plenty of protein and other health promoting ingredients.
<3
Thank you for explaining Teresia !! It continues to a hit as I have had a few others not on THM try it and they love it !! God Bless !!
Just wondering if this would fall under the THM S, E or FP category? am thinking S but i am pretty new to this and don’t always get it right. Any help would be welcome. I can’t wait to try it. Getting the ingredients ready for tomorrows breakfast. 🙂 YUM!
sorry.. I see it now right under the title. DUH! But at least I guessed right!!!
Glad you caught it Julie! I started adding the fuel type to the first picture in each photo to make sure I always include it, rather than having to look through the post if I was insure and I always hope it is noticeable to others too. 🙂
I made this last night and it’s almost gone! Everyone has enjoyed it…even those not on THM program. I used Pyure instead of gentle sweet and it came out wonderful! Just curious about the protein in this. It is listed as an “S” but wondering if I should add a protein shake to round it off. Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
So glad it was a hit!
I’m considering adding nutrition facts to these recipes Dee. I haven’t ran the numbers but it does contain protein in the baking blend and then the eggs plus a little cream cheese in the icing. When in doubt though I do put a tablespoon of collagen in my coffee or other drinks. This complements the flavor of the dessert with a minimum amount of extra steps and takes care of my doubts. <3
Do you have a vanilla honey bun recipe?
Hi Saundra! I have it on my shortest list but don’t actually have it ready to post yet. Stay tuned! 🙂
I had trouble getting the batter spread to cover the pan; it was extremely thin and still didn’t reach the edge. Have to be honest, I tasted it when first baked and thought it was a flop. Then I remembered the geeral rule of letting stuff with alternative flours sit, and so I tried it again in the morning. Lemme tell ya, what a difference a day makes! Could NOT believe the difference! Had a friend with T2 over for dinner, served him this for dessert and he was floored. He had NO IDEA that a lower carb, sugarless dessert could taste like this, none. I also had a bit of trouble getting the glaze to ‘do’ right; I’m thinking maybe I didn’t let the ingredients get soft enough first. Or maybe next time (and there WILL be a next time) I will use my Ntribullet for the blend to win! Thank you so much for taking the trouble to do all these great recipes.
Thanks Nita! A few questions on thinness of the batter. Did you make a single batch and use the 8×8 pan? Because mine was not thin at all. Another hint if you have this trouble is to heat the thoroughly mixed batter for a few seconds in the microwave. This will thin it out nicely. Make sure you have your cinnamon filling ready to go and sprinkle it on top of the first half. Then dot the top second layer of batter all over and it should spread much more easily. Hope this helps and thanks for stopping in 🙂
Made this last wknd. Hubby and grown up son loved it! I was lucky to get a pce after supper and grabbed the last pce for brkfst. Will definitely make it again. Appreciate all the work you put into making/tweaking recipes that the rest of us can enjoy. I have a hard time thinking out of the box so rely strongly on pictures, posts and recipes to make life more exciting.
Yay Naida, glad it was a hit! It makes my day to hear that THM treats can be so “normal” that the whole family can enjoy these superfoods without feeling deprived at all. It is my goal, my dream, and my privilege to create, convert and share as many of these type recipes as possible and I appreciate your encouragement! 🙂 <3
This looks amazing, i used to make a honeybun cake wihen i was still eating sugar, processed white flour so i must try your recipe. I am eating the ketogenic diet so i don’t have THM baking mix, is there anything i can substitute??
If you’d like to make your own blend here are a couple of options. I’ve added them to the notes in the recipe card also. http://www.runamokmama.com/blog/runamok-mamas-quick-mix
https://wonderfullymadeanddearlyloved.com/low-carb-bakers-blend/
I am out of Gentle Sweet but want to make this cake ASAP!) and see that you mentioned that you could substitute Truvia for the cake batter and also the glaze. Could you use Truvia in the cinnamon filling as well? And if so, how much Truvia would you need in the cinnamon filling? Thanks for the help!
Hi Carina. I do include the truvia option because I know some don’t have gentle sweet on hand. It will be a little bit smaller cake but should work. Of course, if you should have any erythritol or xylitol on hand or have access to it you could mix it half and half with the truvia and get an acceptable sub for gentle sweet that would measure the same for the cake or the cinnamon mixture.
As far as the cinnamon sweetener combo and truvia goes, that is a little trickier with the truvia because of the higher stevia concentration. As a rule I’ve notice that the more stevia in the sweetener, the more it might conflict with the cinnamon. If you do that be sure and make a half batch in a small loaf pan if you are at all sensitive to the stevia flavor. (Some are sensitive to it and some don’t mind at all.)
Hope this helps 🙂
Any chance you have nutrition info?
I’m sorry Sue but I don’t. I used all low carb ingredients but on THM we don’t actually count. I’m working on getting a new recipe card that will help me calculate it for people who do though. 🙂