Sex in a Pan is a layered dessert that’s so rich and creamy, you’ll be in love after the first bite. Chocolate Pumpkin Sex in a Pan is a gluten-free, low carb pumpkin recipe to end all pumpkin recipes! An almond flour crust holds layers of pumpkin cheesecake filling, creamy chocolate pudding, and sugar-free whipped topping with shaved chocolate on top.
The pumpkins are coming, the pumpkins are coming! Whoops, too late. The pumpkin recipes are HERE! And if you’re not a pumpkin lover or if you would prefer to not see any pumpkin-related content until at least October, I am sorry. I truly am. But they seem to arrive earlier and earlier every year now.
Even before summer is over, before the kids are back in school, and while you are still embalming yourself with sunscreen every day, your social media feeds begin to clog up with pumpkin recipes. It’s atrocious, it really is. And I blame bloggers. Yes, bloggers! Those damn fools that worship the big orange gourd and can’t even wait until the beginning of September to start cranking out the pumpkin spice this and the pumpkin pie that. Yes, I include myself in that lot of wild-eyed pumpkin addicts. It’s a sickness, it really is. And there is no antidote.
Well, at least I waited until after Labour Day to publish my first pumpkin recipe this year. That’s something, right? And what a recipe it is, with quite the, ahem, suggestive name. Sorry if it offends.
Is Sex in a Pan really the name?
Sex in a Pan is meant simply to be tongue in cheek, but if you don’t like that moniker, there are a few alternative names for this sinfully delicious pumpkin chocolate layered dessert recipe. Like Low Carb Chocolate Pumpkin Lasagna. Or Chocolate Pumpkin Dream Dessert. Or the rather boring but descriptive Pumpkin Chocolate Layered Dessert.
I settled on Sex In A Pan because that’s what a reader called it when she asked me to make something similar. And it reminded me of a dessert a friend made back in high school, although she called hers “Better Than Sex”. Which, being rowdy teenagers, we though was hysterical. It was also delicious!
The high carb version of Sex in a Pan usually has a shortbread-like crust, with layers of vanilla pudding, chocolate pudding and whipped topping. Most of which comes out of a box, of course. But making a low carb layered dessert from scratch is not only healthier, but a lot of fun. And you get to lick the beaters and the bowls of all the various layers. Can’t complain about that!
Healthier Pumpkin Chocolate Desserts
The combination of chocolate and pumpkin can be found in all sorts of gluten-free, sugar-free and low carb dessert recipes. A few of my favorites include:
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Flourless Chocolate Cake Roll (from Cupcakes & Kale Chips)
- Pumpkin Tiramisu
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins (from My Gluten-Free Kitchen)
Just be forewarned about one thing. There is absolutely NO WAY to get the first slice of this beauty out of the pan in one piece. You have to resign yourself to sacrificing that one piece in order to get the others out all nicely sliced up. If you happen to be serving to guests, just delicately remove yourself from their view as you cut into it.
Pull out that first mangled, mashed slice of Sex in a Pan in whatever manner you can get it out, and hide it back in the fridge for later. Then you’ll be able to lift the other slices from the bottom and no one will be the wiser. Well, except when you walk back into the dining room with smears of chocolate, pumpkin and whipped cream all over your face…
Did you know I wrote a cookbook? Get it now!
Pumpkin Sex In A Pan Dessert
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, optional
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Pumpkin Layer:
- 10 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Pudding Layer:
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 & 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 3 tbsp butter in 3 pieces
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
- 3 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 ounce sugar free dark chocolate
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9x9 inch square baking pan (you can use 8x8 but your crust may take a little longer to bake).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, pecans, and sweetener. Stir in butter until dough begins to clump together. Press firmly and evenly into prepared baking pan.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Let cool.
Pumpkin Layer:
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sweetener together until smooth. Beat in cream, pumpkin puree, spices and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Spread mixture over cooled crust.
Chocolate Pudding Layer:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine almond milk, whipping cream and sweetener. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sweetener.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the yolks to temper. Then slowly whisk tempered yolks back into saucepan.
- Reduce heat to medium low and sprinkle surface with xanthan gum, whisking vigorously to combine. Whisk in cocoa powder and cook until thickened, about 3 or 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in chopped chopped chocolate and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Let cool 15 minutes and then spread over pumpkin layer. Cover with plastic wrap flush to the surface and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Whipped Cream Topping:
- Beat cream with sweetener and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Remove plastic wrap from chocolate layer and spread with whipped cream.
- Dust with cocoa powder (this works best through a fine sieve). Use a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer to shave chocolate over top.
- Chill another hour to help set completely.
Notes
Total fat: 33.79g
Calories from fat: 304
Cholesterol: 134mg
Carbohydrate: 7.63g
Total dietary fiber: 3.05g
Protein: 5.96g
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Looks and sounds delicious. My sister is diabetic so when I go to her house for holidays I try to bring something low carb. There are alot of artificial sweetners that spike her blood sugars. I am also new to this so could I replace Swerve with I believe she uses Stevia in the Raw.? Thank you so much
Yes, i think stevia in the raw would work for this.
This is so good. I’ve made it three times and it does not get old. Question – I wanted to make it for Christmas for my pre-diabetic family members to have a dessert, but my brother doesn’t much care for pumpkin. Any suggestions for making that layer a different flavor? I can’t think of what to swap in for the pumpkin.
Just make it a vanilla cheesecake layer. Use some full fat sour cream in place of the pumpkin to get the right consistency. Maybe about 1/2 cup?
Trying to make this tomorrow and I wanted to know is it heavy whipping cream for all parts or HWC and like, Cool Whip or Reddi-Whip?
Thank you 🙂
I don’t ever use cool whip or redid-whip.
so you just use HWC for all three parts?
Yes.
Do you think it would be okay to omit the almond milk and just use hwc?
No, because your pudding would be much too thick. Better to use half HWC and half water in place of the almond milk.
Made this dessert today, and my goodness, you weren’t kidding. It’s absolutely delicious, and so pretty with all the layers. Thank you for sharing!
This is going to be my Thanksgiving dessert this year!!
Can I use xylitol instead of swerve and not powder it or will it be weird? I don’t have a coffee grinder.
It would definitely be weird and gritty.
Do you have a blender with a “grind” setting? I also don’t have a coffee grinder, and my blender, on that setting, has been working fine for this.
I assume that the xantham gum is to thicken. Could you use Gluccie for that instead? Thanks! Can’t wait to melt into some of this!
It is to thicken and I am sure you can use gluccomannan but I am not sure how much you would use.
Thanks for the info. I found more on this. If you read the comment in the following link, I think it says that you can sub one to one except for meringues.
http://trimhealthymama.freeforums.net/thread/1588/guar-gum-xanthan
I made this about a week ago and I’m still sneaking spoonfuls out of the fridge – it’s just really delicious. And I can see how easy it will be to change up the flavors to suit the season or your mood.
Also – the chocolate pudding layer was so tasty, i’m just going to make the pudding on it’s own!
Looks great but I also have to avoid dairy is their any way to avoid dairy as much. Really want to make all the time.
No this dessert is quite dairy based. But I have several non-dairy recipes, so type “dairy free” into my search box and you will find them.
What could I sub for the chocolate layer. I really do care for chocolate anything.
Why not just skip it?
Think I could skip the pumpkin layer. We are not fans of it but my fav pie is the chocolate one… oh this may be the sub I really needed. Thank you tons!
Sure, or you could just go with a vanilla cheesecake type layer.
Do you have a good recipe for a vanilla cheesecake layer?
Try my mascarpone mousse but use all cream cheese. That should be about right.
This is just like a recipe that I’ve made that I got from my grandmother. She always called it The Next Best Thing to Robert Redford! So it has been around awhile. And even with the original, the first piece NEVER comes out of the pan without getting mangled! I love all of the recipes of yours that I’ve tried, and I can’t wait to try this one. I bet my family won’t even be able to tell the difference!
I adore chocolate and pumpkin together so I just may have to make love to this dessert. I mean, devour…
I haven’t been a successful baker but this looks so good, I think I’m going to give it a shot. However, my family prefers sweet potatoes to pumpkin. Do you think I could sub sweet potato for pumpkin 1:1? Would anything else need to be changed? Thank you. Your blog is inspiring.
I think you could sub it in the exact same amount…however, do keep in mind that sweet potato has more carbs than pumpkin
I’d not considered that, thank you.
Hi Carolyn your desert looks stunning and sounds amazing. If I wanted a different sweetener instead of swerve like honey ,maybe maple syrup or regular sugar. Don’t you think it might work. I know you haven’t tested another source. Hey thank you so much!!.
Oh my oh my I can’t wait to sink into this. I know it will be good as all your recipes are tried and true!! Thank you!