Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting
48 min · 8 g protein · 91 cals / serving
The American autumn traybake: moist, custardy pumpkin bars warm with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg under a thick swirl of tangy cream cheese frosting. A whole can of pumpkin keeps the crumb tender, and the frosting is light cream cheese whipped with skyr, so it is rich, sharp and just sweet enough.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) canned pumpkin, pure pumpkin, not pie filling
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2/3 tsp stevia, pure stevia powder, or sweetener equal to 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 scoops (75 g) whey protein, vanilla or unflavoured; a whey-casein blend bakes best
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp + a pinch salt
Frosting
- 3 1/2 oz light cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp skyr, plain and thick (if yours is runny, strain it in a sieve lined with a coffee filter for an hour first), or nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- a pinch stevia
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Steps
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line a 23×33 cm (9×13-inch) pan with baking paper. In a large bowl whisk the pumpkin, eggs, egg whites, yogurt, brown sugar, stevia and vanilla until smooth.
- In another bowl whisk the flour, protein powder, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then fold them into the pumpkin mixture until just combined.
- Spread into the pan and bake 24–28 minutes, until the top springs back when pressed and a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan, at least 1 hour; warm bars melt the frosting.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then beat in the skyr, powdered sugar, stevia and vanilla until thick and creamy. Spread over the cooled slab, swirling with the back of a spoon.
- Chill 30 minutes so the frosting sets, then lift out by the paper and cut into 16 bars. A sprinkle of cinnamon on top is nice.
Good to know
No pumpkin pie spice?
Use 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and a pinch of cloves.
Can I make them ahead?
Yes; they are even moister the next day. Keep frosted bars in the fridge up to 4 days, or freeze the unfrosted slab for a month.
Firmer frosting?
Use all light cream cheese; it pipes better, at about 39 instead of 54.
Per
- Calories
- 135
- Protein
- (37%)
- 12 g
- Fat
- (24%)
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- (40%)
- 14 g
- of which sugar
- 6 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 284 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1453 kcal goes into the pot and 1168 g of ingredients comes out as about 1075 g of food: 135 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.