PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BAKED OAT CAKE

Pumpkin Cheesecake Baked Oat Cake with sugar-free butterscotch chips.

Who doesn’t love dessert for breakfast? And this Pumpkin Cheesecake Baked Oat Cake is next level! All the wonderful fall vibes. Cozy, warming spices.  Sweet cream cheese filling.  And packed with antioxidants, healthy fats, fibre, and plant-based protein, too.

Ingredients for one serving:

• 6 Tbsp old-fashioned rolled oats

• 2 Tbsp Nuzest Clean Lean Smooth Vanilla protein powder (or use additional oats)

• 5 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)

• 1/4 cup pure pumpkin purée (or 1/2 ripe banana or 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)

• 2 tbsp Lakanto Maple sugar-free syrup (or pure maple syrup)

• 1 Tbsp pecan butter or nut butter of choice (optional)

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp salt

• 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional, adjusted to taste)

• optional cream cheese filling: 1 to 2 Tbsp cream cheese (regular or dairy-free), mixed with Lakanto Powdered sugar-free monk fruit sweetener to taste (see note below*)

• optional for topping (before baking): 2-3 tsp sugar-free butterscotch chips (here) or chocolate chips

• optional for serving: butterscotch or chocolate chips, fruit, nut butter and/or Lakanto Suntella sugar-free chocolate sunflower spread, granola, maple syrup, a splash of milk or creamer, or toppings of choice

*Note: If you prefer a thinner cream cheese filling, use Lakanto Maple (or pure maple syrup) instead of powdered monk fruit sweetener.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Baked Oat Cake with cream cheese filling.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a large ramekin with coconut or avocado oil.

2. Put oats, protein powder, milk, pumpkin, sweetener, nut butter, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and pie spice in a blender container and blend well.

3. Pour half of the oat mixture into the prepared ramekin. Add the cream cheese mixture to the middle (optional, see note below*) and cover with remaining batter. Top with butterscotch or chocolate chips as desired.

4. Bake for 15 minutes for gooey oats or 20 to 25 minutes for a more cake-like consistency.

5. Allow the baked oat cake to cool for a couple minutes before eating.  Enjoy straight out of the ramekin or carefully remove to a plate before serving with toppings of choice.

Note: To make without the cream cheese filling, simply pour all of the batter into the greased ramekin and bake for 15 minutes for gooey oats or 20 to 25 minutes for a more cake-like consistency.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Baked Oat Cake with dairy-free cream cheese filling, topped with Lakanto Suntella sugar-free chocolate sunflower spread, Cinnamon Almond Crunch Granola, and some leftover cream cheese filling. The filling was made thinner here by using Lakanto Maple sugar-free syrup instead of powdered sweetener.