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Last weekend, fall fever really started to hit me. Oktoberfest was coming to an end (for those of you who don’t know, I’m currently living in Munich), and the weather abruptly started to change from being sunny and around 70 degrees to 50 degrees and rain. Instead of spiraling into a moody I-don’t-want-to-do-anything kind of state, I turned to the kitchen and whipped up this healthy Cinnamon Pumpkin Streusel Cake that has Fall written all over it.

I actually like the coziness that Fall brings a lot. It is the feeling of taking life inside again, lighting candles, cooking delicious warming foods, and baking goods with ingredients like pumpkin spice, marple syrup or cinnamon. 

I could browse Pinterest hours on end, looking at all kinds of fall-inspired pictures from beautifully decorated front porches to Halloween bar carts, Thanksgiving Dinner table settings, and of course pumpkin recipes.

A regular baking recipe is easily turned into a healthier version

That’s how I stumbled across the recipe for Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze by the blog Pinch of Yum. I always had a thing for Streusel Cake. But since going through a rough few years with my digestion, which caused me to cut out all kinds of foods including anything with wheat, it vanished from the list of things I regularly ate. 

But if being an entrepreneur for the past 3 years has taught me one thing, then to be ressourceful. If you can’t have something but really want it, figure out how to get it.

Everytime I see a recipe that I is appealing to me but not exactly matches my style of eating, I simply substitute ingredients.

So, on this particulary rainy Saturday, I found myself baking in the kitchen while my boyfriend built our trade show counter for an upcoming green fashion fair and conference out in the garage. As if it couldn’t get more basic. But what can I say, it’s how I like it! 😀

To be honest, I didn’t really expect anything great to come out of my little baking experiment. I don’t know if it’s just my lack of expertise or that there is a reason why wheat flour, butter, and sugar have been used for baking goods for decades. But usually my healthier, glutenfree and lactosefree versions never quite taste like the real deal. Besides a mean plum pie I baked last year. But that’s for another blog post.

I used oat flour for the first time

I experimented with a combination of oat flour and protein powder for the first time, a recipe I normally use for our Sunday morning pancakes. Back in my Tone It Up days, I often baked the protein muffins with almond flour from their Nutrition Plan. They were alright to satisfy my sweet craving but not really tasty. Almond flour is clearly not for me. Just makes everything taste like marzipan (which I usually like just not in baked goods). 

But back to my Cinnamon Pumpkin Streusel Cake experiment. I used roughly ¾ oat flour and 1/3 protein powder for the suggested amount of flour in the recipe. I also switched out the butter for coconut oil, and substituted coconut sugar for sugar. Besides a little bit of brown sugar in the streusel. But hey, you have to live a little! And for me, it can never be sweet enough. I used a little bit less sugar in the dough then what the recipe called for, though.

In the meantime, it had gotten dark outside and the twinkle lights of my fall decoration were lighting up. I poured myself a glass of red wine (lately I love to drink wine out of my copper cups) and the entire kitchen started to smell like a big pumpkin spice candle. It was literally fall perfection!

As I said, my expectations were low which is always the best starting point. When I tried the first warm piece of pie, a very cozy and satisfying sensation came over me. Like warm and cozy afternoons by the fire, cuddled up in your favourite leggings and sweater, and reading a good book. That’s how good it was.

The Cinnamon Pumpkin Streusel Cake is Fall Heaven on EArth

It tasted like everything I would have wanted out of a pumpkin spice cake, and what I imagined when I was scrolling through Pinterest earlier. With the streusel on top, the cake is already sweet enough but I couldn’t help myself to still pour a little maple syrup on top. Fall Heaven!

I bet your mouth is watering by now. So, I will stop gushing and let you get baking. Excited to hear what you think! Leave me a comment below or drop by my Insta page.

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Let me know how your baking process is going by tagging me in your stories or show me how you enjoy this pumpkin spice heaven @madeleinestanev