This self-saucing Pumpkin Pudding Cake is a tasty fall dessert. A light and moist pumpkin spice cake that magically bakes up with a brown sugar caramel sauce right underneath it.
If you’re not quite ready for pumpkin recipes, look the other way. Or better yet, bookmark this recipe for when the weather cools down and you need a warm and cozy dessert, because you do not want to miss this one!
This recipe is two treats in one: cake on the top, pudding-like sauce on the bottom. You will be blown away by the concept of this recipe. It’s super simple and produces a unique and delicious dessert.
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Pumpkin Pudding Cake
This cake is flavored with pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. The pumpkin flavor is subtle, with the flavor profile falling closer to a spice cake than a pumpkin cake. The cake itself is fluffy and moist, but it’s what is underneath this cake that makes this recipe unique. As the cake bakes, a sauce forms underneath. The sauce has a consistency close to caramel sauce with the flavors of brown sugar and cinnamon. Wondering how and why this sauce forms? Here’s the technique for this recipe:
- Prepare the cake batter (an easy one-bowl recipe, no mixer required).
- Spread the cake batter into a 9-inch square pan.
- Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the batter.
- Pour boiling water over the top of the sugar-topped cake batter (don’t stir).
- Transfer to the oven and bake.
While baking, the cake rises up to the top and bakes up light and fluffy. Underneath the cake a thick, sweet sauce forms from the brown sugar, cinnamon and hot water.
How to Serve Pumpkin Pudding Cake
This cake should be served warm, ideally the day it is made. When it is warm the cake is moist and fluffy and the sauce is thick and gooey. I allow it to cool slightly after baking and then serve it. Leftovers can be refrigerated and are best consumed within 1 day, reheating individual portions in the microwave as needed.
I highly recommend serving this cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. The cool topping contrasts with with the warm cake and takes this over the top!
Tip: If you’d like a bit of crunch, you can serve this cake with chopped pecans, walnuts or toffee bits.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE or STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING.
