by Christina | Nov 5, 2016 | Recipes, Wellness
Okay, I PROMISE I’ll let up on the pumpkin after this one. But I had to post this. Depriving you of this insanely delicious cake would be a serious crime, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
A year ago at this time, I wasn’t in school, so I spent most of my free time baking. I made so many recipes I thought my head was going to explode. And my roommates wanted to kill me because there was so much food in the apartment.
I was determined to make the absolute best Thanksgiving dessert in the history of desserts. I won’t lie, I really wanted to impress my family. They always give me shit for being such a health nut, and I was desperate to prove that healthy food tastes way better than unhealthy food.
I stumbled across a recipe for a pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting, and I was sold. I baked the cake, and…Oh. My. Gosh. Socks were knocked off. The cake was gone in a night. Mission accomplished. If my dad’s obsessed with it, you know it’s the real deal. He is the king of junk food, and he even asked me to make it again.
I’ve honestly been dreaming about that cake ever since. Cakes seem very grand though, so I always feel like I need an “occasion” to bake one. I’ve been waiting for the holiday season to roll around again so I would have an excuse, and Halloween was the perfect opportunity to recreate that oh-so-glorious pumpkin spice cake!
After a few tries, I got it. NAILED IT. Everyone was fighting over this cake, and my friends were texting me begging for slices. Everyone was welcome, of course! When people are that desperate for more cake, you know it has to be good.
I also feel like it’s very visually appealing. Like, messy-pretty. The cream cheese frosting looks like cinnamon marble, and the layers give it that extra oomph. So if you wanna impress your boyfriend…you know what to make. 😉
While recipe testing, I actually came up with two different recipes that were both amazing. It took my roommates and me all week to finally decide which of the two cakes I should post. One was more pumpkin-y, richer, and denser, and the other was a little less pumpkin-y, lighter, and fluffier. We ended up deciding on the latter because it tastes more like a “normal person cake,” if you know what I mean.
Anyways, I’m extremely proud of this. So many of you were begging for the recipe, SO HERE IT IS. The cake is pumpkin-heaven. It’s moist, fluffy, not too sweet, not too bland. The sweetener in this cake is xylitol, which isn’t the best, but it’s also what allows this cake to taste exactly like a regular old junk food cake without being a toxic mess. Xylitol is low on the glycemic index and doesn’t spike blood sugar levels, so it is much better than traditional cane sugar. So hey, it’s not perfect, but it’s still pretty healthy as far as cakes go. If you’re celebrating with a cake, I doubt you’re trying to eat a 100% perfectly healthy meal, anyways. Life is about balance and enjoyment, right?
Let’s focus on why this is Addicted to Lovely approved. Obviously, it’s gluten-free. It’s also dairy-free, soy-free, grain-free, and technically “sugar-free” because xylitol is a sugar replacement. There’s really nothing offensive in this, per usual. And of course, it’s so delicious that I’m literally drooling just thinking about it.
The cake is not vegan because there are quite a few eggs in there. If you’re vegan and want to experiment, I’d recommend upping the pumpkin and replacing some of the eggs with flax eggs! I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it could probably work.
The “cream cheese” frosting is what really makes me die over this recipe. Traditional cream cheese frosting is made by combining cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. So what does a girl with food allergies do? She uses fake cream cheese, coconut butter, and a powdered sugar replacement, obviously.
Go to the vegan cheese section in your grocery store and see what’s available. If they have Daiya plain cream cheese, use that. But if they have Kite Hill, that’s the real winner. I’m obsessed with Kite Hill because they have the cleanest fake cheese on the market. It’s all about ingredients!
To replace the butter, I went with my favorite – coconut butter. To replace the powdered sugar, you literally just blend xylitol until it looks like powdered sugar. Easy enough. BOOM.
I’m really really really into this recipe. It is so heavenly, and every person who has tried it loves it. If you’re looking for the perfect Thanksgiving dessert recipe, I would HIGHLY recommend this. Not like I’m biased or anything. So. Let’s bake!
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cinnamon “Cream Cheese” Frosting (Gluten-free / Dairy-free)
Makes: 1 large cake
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Cake
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 cup organic pureed pumpkin
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup granulated xylitol
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1.5 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Frosting
- 16 ounces softened plain vegan cream cheese (Daiya or Kite Hill)
- 1 cup coconut butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered xylitol (use a blender or food processor to blend the granulated xylitol until it’s powdered)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350* F and grease two round 9×1.5 inch pans with coconut oil.
- Use an electric mixer to beat together the coconut oil, pumpkin, xylitol, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla.
- Once everything is thoroughly mixed, add in the dry ingredients – salt, baking soda, almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin pie spice. Use the electric mixture to combine everything together.
- Pour half of the batter into each of your pans and bake for about 45-50 minutes. Put a toothpick in the center of each cake to see if it’s done. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s ready to come out of the oven!
- Allow the cakes to cool for about 30 minutes.
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting. Beat together the cream cheese and the coconut butter until they are well-combined. Add in the vanilla and the powdered xylitol, and mix again until it’s all combined.
- When the cakes are cooled, frost the cake with your frosting. First frost the top of one cake, then place the second cake on top of that frosted cake. Then frost the top of the second cake, and the sides of both. After you’ve frosted the cake, sprinkle the cinnamon on top and spread it around with your frosting utensil of choice.
- Enjoy! If you don’t finish the cake the same day, store the leftovers in the fridge so the frosting stays fresh!
Easy enough, right? If you make this, PLEASE take a picture and tag me! And tell me what you think! This also pairs quite nicely with vanilla ice cream….just sayin’. XO
by Christina | Nov 1, 2016 | Wellness
We all know I’m a creature of habit. As a foodie, that gets me into trouble. I love love love trying new restaurants, but I also easily become obsessed with really good restaurants when I find them. Because I’m so content with my fave spots, I don’t always feel the urge to try anywhere new. Just in case it’s not as good, ya know? Anyways, I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a restaurant rut recently. I revisit my go-to’s over and over again, and even though I love them, I needed a change. I have an excessively long restaurant to-do list, and I need to cross some more things off.
It was my friend Alison‘s birthday a few weeks ago, so I suggested Crossroads Kitchen as a potential birthday dinner destination. Alison is my go-to foodie friend, and she’s always down to try out a new place. I was extremely excited to finally try their food – Crossroads has been at the top of my list for about a year. The chefs, Tal Ronnen and Scot Jones, having amazing reputations. I needed to taste their creations.
I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Crossroads Kitchen, and stalking the menu online just made me even more desperate to go. Don’t get me started on the Yelp photos. Crossroads is a plant-based restaurant, and most of their options are gluten-free as well. The restaurant is located in West Hollywood off of Sunset, so you already know it’s trendy. They have valet, so parking wasn’t a problem, thankfully.
Definitely very chic. I loved the vibes. I usually don’t like dimly lit restaurants because they make me sleepy and make everything feel very slow, but it totally worked with the sophisticated atmosphere. It wasn’t sleepy-dark… It was romantic-dark. The moody lighting, gorgeous chandeliers, stunning flowers, high ceilings, and elegant bar created the perfect ambiance. Very birthday appropriate.
I also always worry that the hosts and servers are going to be a little rude at nice restaurants. Do you ever notice that sometimes they make you feel like you shouldn’t be there? Maybe just me when I try to be fancy in L.A. Anyways, all of the hosts and servers were extremely gracious, welcoming, and upbeat. I was thoroughly impressed, and I felt very attended to.
Speaking of fanciness levels, definitely dress nicely. This isn’t a place for sweats. Who doesn’t love a reason to dress up, anyways? Crossroads is also an excellent location for people-watching. Upscale vibes, delicious food, fascinating people. We had a great time watching the couple across from us have a very awkward-looking date. In all seriousness, though, this is the perfect restaurant for a date. It will definitely set the mood. In general, this restaurant is ideal for bringing anyone you want to impress or have a nice night out with. It’s on the fancier side of things without making you feel like you’re too casual or shouldn’t be there.
We started off with the Kite Hill cheese plate, and we opted for the gluten-free option (the birthday girl is gluten intolerant, too). It came with an assortment of dairy-free cheeses, some nuts, house-made jam, and gluten-free bread. Half of the girls at the table didn’t even realize it wasn’t regular cheese until about 20 minutes later. It was a definite winner.
Our waitress explained to us that the restaurant serves smaller portions, so most people order 2-3 things each in order to fill up. I don’t usually like small portions, but I love multiple courses! It ended up being a lot of fun because the smaller portions allow you to try different things on the menu. No big commitments to one main entree. YAAAS. The first salad shown above was the Bloomsdale Spinach Salad. It’s gluten-free and had smoked crispy mushrooms, almond ricotta, crispy shallots, and a black garlic vinaigrette. Our friend said it was the best salad she’s ever had in her life. I got the gluten-free Kale Caesar, which was beyond amazing. One of the best Caesars I’ve ever had. Definitely get it!
The birthday girl got this gluten-free pizza with alllll the goods. She was completely obsessed and said it was the best thing she ate all night (that’s a big statement). It was their Fall Squash Puree pizza, which featured crispy brussels sprout leaves, caramelized onions, mustard greens, almond ricotta, and spicy toasted pumpkin seeds. They had me at “fall.”
Next up was their lasagna, which everyone and their mother raved about on Yelp. Hard to believe it’s plant-based, right? The lasagna is made with almond ricotta, basil, and marinara. It’s not gluten-free so I couldn’t taste it, but the smell killed me. So homey and warm.
The birthday queen also tried out this fettuccine carbonara, which is gluten-free. We were fascinated by the egg-looking food on top. That’s not an egg. It’s actually a yellow tomato! Crazy, right? The waitress explained to us how they make the tomato look like that, but I honestly don’t remember what the process was. Very fancy, though.
I also ordered the Porcini Crusted Eggplant, which came with caramelized onions, celery salad, and rossini sauce. This was unreal. It did not taste like vegetables – it tasted like meat. Kind of looks like it too, right? This dish was warm and hearty without being heavy or making me feel gross. I was obsessed with the rossini sauce and literally wanted to lick my plate clean.
The desserts were divine. I started with the Pumpkin Mascarpone Semifreddo. I honestly had no idea what it was, but it was gluten-free and had pumpkin in it, so I had to order it. This was INCREDIBLE. Little blocks of pumpkin ice cream paired with spiced creme anglaise, pistachio, and pomegranate. The flavor combo was complete perfection, and I loved the pairing of the ice cream with a thick and creamy texture. I think this is a seasonal dessert, so definitely order it if you visit this restaurant in the fall!
We also ordered their hot fudge sundae, which was made with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, toasted hazelnuts, and banana. When you have food intolerances like gluten and dairy, a lot of times you have to miss out on the classics. This was the perfect substitute, and it honestly tasted better than what I remember regular ole’ dairy-filled hot fudge sundaes tasting like. Who doesn’t love a classic sundae?
I also got the Apple Pie Sundae, which had me weak at the knees. This was made with vanilla bean ice cream, brown sugar roasted apples, and mulled wine reduction. If you get the non-GF version, it also comes with an apple oat streusel. This was extremely unique, and I was obsessed. It’s like a deconstructed apple pie, and the vegan ice cream was amazing. Not icy or coconutty. A true, rich vanilla. And caramelized apples? They make my heart skip a beat.
If you’re looking for the perfect restaurant to eat incredible food and have a classy night out, this is it. Any food restrictions can be accommodated here, and you will not be disappointed. Your not-so-healthy friends will adore this place, too! I would absolutely eat here again – I actually can’t wait to! New obsession? I think yes.
