When I was living in San Diego, my friend, Helene became vegan. I loved the challenge of having vegan dinners and desserts to make for her! My favorite dinner to serve was Butternut Squash Flatbread with Hummus & Herbs (Vegan) and my favorite dessert (and hers too) was this cobbler.
The North American definition of cobbler is “a dessert consisting of fruit baked in a deep dish with a thick, cake-like crust on top.” This cobbler does not meet any of these traits. Unless you consider pumpkin to be a fruit. But that’s an argument — I mean a conversation for another time. Imagine instead, a pumpkin lava cake. Or a pumpkin sheet cake with a thick gooey layer of caramel at the bottom. It’s messy and delicious and the type of warm and gooey dessert that you long to eat on a cold, rainy day. Pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice, make this the ultimate Fall dessert.
The first time I made this, I was convinced that pure magic occurred in the oven. It’s both saucy and cakey. The best part about this recipe is that you don’t have to make the caramel, it makes itself. You spread your batter in the baking sheet and then add a layer of sugar and pecans and then, much to my horror and anxiety, pour hot water over everything. (And no, you are not allowed to stir or touch it after this step). Then pop it in the oven, and let the magic begin. Low and behold, when pulled from the oven, it will have baked into this beautiful, fragrant sponge cake with a caramel sauce on the bottom (all created by the addition of the hot water).
Helene, my vegan friend, LOVED it. And so did all the non-vegans. It’s perfect to make for a crowd, especially for the Dietary Alternative guests. It’s also a great addition to your holiday feasts. And so, when wanting maximize your Autumn experience, look no further than this easy, delicious, bound-to-be-endlessly-complimented, pumpkin cobbler.
Vegan Pumpkin Cobbler
This vegan pumpkin cobbler is delicious, easy, and packed with Fall flavor (think cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice). It's basically a cross between a cobbler and a lava cake — in other words it's both saucy and cakey. And really fun to make! The batter gets topped with a sugar pecan topping and then hot water gets poured over the whole thing. The water creates a caramel that naturally occurs during baking. When you pull it from the oven, the sticky smooth caramel is on the bottom and the spongey light cake is on the top. Whether you're vegan or not, this is an amazing simple spice cake to make.
Cake
- 2 1/3 cups Flour
- 1 tbsp. + ¼ tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 1/3 cups Sugar
- 2 tsp. Cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Nutmeg
- 1 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice (or cloves)
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup Non-dairy milk (any kind (or whole milk if not vegan))
- 1/2 cup Coconut oil (or neutral cooking oil)
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
Topping
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cups Nuts, chopped (pecans or walnuts are best)
- 2 1/2 cups Hot water
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.
Begin by making the batter. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and spices. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet to create a thick batter. Spread the batter evenly into prepared pan.
In a small bowl, make your topping by mixing the sugar, brown sugar, and nuts together. Sprinkle mixture evenly over the batter.
Pour boiling water over the top (trust me). Do not stir. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden and the middle has set.
Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Recipe adapted from Lauren’s Latest.
A Bee Bakes 
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