This healthy pumpkin cake with applesauce is like a cross between chocolate lava cake and pumpkin pie! With a creamy pumpkin pudding layer and moist and pumpkin spice flavourful cake, it makes the perfect decadent fall dessert! {Vegan & dairy-free}
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray (preferably a dish with higher sides).
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, coconut sugar and spices until combined. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, stir pumpkin, milk, applesauce and vanilla together. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together. It should form a thick batter.
Add batter to casserole dish, smoothing with a spatula until evenly distributed.
Sprinkle the coconut sugar and pecans evenly over top of the cake batter in the dish. Pour the boiling hot water over top. Do NOT stir!
Bake for 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the middle is still slightly gooey. {Be sure to place on a baking sheet incase it bubbles over.} Cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Notes
Whole-wheat pastry flour tends to have a shorter shelf life due to the oil content in the bran. Be sure to store whole wheat pastry flour in a cool and dry place or preferably in the freezer to prevent it from going rancid quickly.
If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, the best substitution would be mixing together half all-purpose flour and half whole-wheat flour.
Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling. The two can be easily confused but the latter is much higher in sugar.
It’s very important that you don’t stir the coconut sugar and boiling water mixture since this is what forms the pudding layer.
You’ll know the cake is done when the edges start to brown and the centre is still a little gooey. Don’t over bake it or the pudding layer will start to solidify.
You can bake this cake in a circular or square baking dish, preferably with higher sides so that the water doesn’t overflow over the top. I typically use an 8-inch baking dish.
Be sure to place the baking dish on a baking tray to catch any of the liquid if it overflows.