Mini Pumpkin and Date-Nut Cakes with Maple Glaze

These bite-sized cakes explode with fall ingredients like cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup and pumpkin. Canola oil’s neutral taste allows these warm flavors to shine.

The complete “Skinny Mini Holiday Desserts” Recipe Collection is available at CanolaInfo.org.

Mini Pumpkin and Date-Nut Cakes with Maple Glaze

Ingredients:

Mini Cakes

• canola oil spray
• 1 cup granulated sugar 250 mL
• ¾ cup canola oil 175 mL
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin purée 250 mL
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour 375 mL
• 2 tsp baking soda 10 mL
• 1½ tsp cinnamon 7 mL
• 1½ tsp allspice 7 mL
• 1½ tsp nutmeg 7 mL
• ½ tsp ground cloves 2 mL
• ½ cup chopped dates 125 mL
• ½ cup chopped toasted pecans 125 mL

Maple Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 250 mL
• 1/3 cup maple syrup 75 mL

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F (180 °C).
2. Spray 9 x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) cake pan with canola oil.
3. In large bowl, beat together granulated sugar and canola oil until fluffy. Mix in eggs and pumpkin purée until well combined. Mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. When fully combined, stir in dates and pecans.
4. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Let cake cool completely in pan. While cake is cooling, make maple glaze.
5. To make maple glaze: sift confectioner’s sugar into small bowl, pour in maple syrup and whisk vigorously with fork until smooth. Add additional maple syrup if necessary to achieve desired consistency.
6. Cut cooled cake into 36 small squares. Remove cake squares from pan and dip top of cakes into maple glaze. Place on rack and let glaze harden.

Yield:  36 mini cakes.

Tip: Serve on a cake stand for a pretty presentation.

This is recipe #1 out of 6 Skinny Mini Holiday Desserts. Below you can see that one serving is 130 calories! Skinny Mini recipe #2-Mini Peppermint Cupcakes