Publised on 05/12/2024. Last Updated on 06/12/2024 by Richard
This Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding is a cosy dessert with warm spices, pumpkin purée, and a rich toffee sauce. It's freezable and an ideal make-ahead dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas and beyond.
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Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding is the ultimate autumnal treat—a rich, moist sponge cake infused with pumpkin flavours and warm spices, all drenched in a luscious toffee sauce (and if you're anything like me, doused in Homemade Vegan Custard). This Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding is like wrapping yourself in a blanket made entirely of caramel goodness.
With its comforting pumpkin purée and hints of ground cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, this dessert is perfect for that crisp time of year when the leaves turn golden and it’s socially acceptable to consume pumpkin in literally everything (yes, even in Vegan Pumpkin Mac and Cheese!).
I came up with this recipe during a week-long obsession with classic British desserts (think Vegan Trifle and Vegan Bread and Butter Pudding). Sticky date pudding is a beloved favourite of mine, but I wanted to give it a seasonal twist. After a lot of experimenting (and a fair few sugar crashes), I landed on this Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding, which combines everything I love about the original—moist sponge, natural sugars from medjool dates, and that caramel flavour—with the cosy vibes of a pumpkin pie recipe.
I usually serve it warm with a big drizzle of toffee glaze and a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream. Honestly, it’s just begging to be shared around the table during the holiday season.
Difficulty Level: 🥑🥑 (Easy)
This is an easy sticky toffee pudding that doesn’t require any fancy techniques or hard-to-find ingredients. The most complicated step is blending the date mixture, but a stick blender or food processor will make quick work of that. As long as you’ve got a small saucepan for the sauce and a square tin for baking, you’re golden (kind of like the colour of this dessert!).
Ingredients You’ll Need (With Substitutions)
The ingredients for Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding are simple, yet they come together to create a show-stopping dessert. As usual, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page, but here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need and why I chose each one:
- Pumpkin Purée: This gives the pudding its seasonal charm and a beautifully moist sponge cake texture. Can be subbed for mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash puree, but the flavour will be noticeably different.
- Pitted Dates: For natural sugars and a sticky, caramel-like flavour. These can be subbed for prunes in a pinch!
- Pumpkin Spices: A blend of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves for those warm spices we all associate with autumn.
- Dark Brown Sugar and Black Treacle: These are essential for that deep, rich toffee flavour. Black treacle can be tough to find in some parts of the US, so feel free to sub with black strap molasses.
- Vegan Butter: The base for a silky toffee glaze. Store bought works well or you can make your own vegan butter. Alternatively, sub for deodorized coconut oil.
- Plant Milk: I use oat milk or soy milk for creaminess in the cake batter and sauce ingredients. You can sub for any plant milk though, just make sure it's unflavored and unsweetened.
- Plain White Flour: To keep things simple while achieving a perfect dessert texture. For a gluten free sticky toffee pudding, sub for a 1:1 gluten free flour blend.
- Vegetable Oil: This helps to keep the pumpkin pudding super moist. You can sub for any neutral oil, like sunflower oil, rapeseed/canola oil or even a light olive oil.
Pro tip: Keep the leftover pumpkin puree in an airtight container—it’s brilliant for other recipes like Vegan Pumpkin Cookies, Vegan Pumpkin Muffins or Vegan Pumpkin Scones!
How to Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin spice is just a blend of spices you likely already own. No need to run to the shops! For this recipe, mix together:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Pinch of cloves
And voilà! You’ve got your pumpkin spice ready to go.
Step by Step Instructions
Making Vegan Sticky Toffee Pudding is a doddle if you follow these steps! The full recipe is at the bottom of the page - this is just a little visual walk-through for you!
- Prep the Date Mixture: Soak pitted dates in hot water and baking soda for 10 minutes. This will soften them up nicely.
- Make the Cake Batter: Sift your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, plant milk, sugar and treacle to the soaked dates then blend until smooth. Stir together the wet and dry mixtures to make the batter.
- Bake: Pour the batter into a 20 x 20cm brownie tin an pop it into the oven. Bake at 160ºc/320°F (fan) until the sponge is fluffy and risen.
- Make the Toffee Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter with brown sugar and black treacle. Stir in the pumpkin purée and vegan double cream for a rich, silky sauce. Now pour this over the cooling sponge, reserving some for serving. And you're done! Let it cool a little more before serving with ice cream of vegan custard!
How to Serve This Recipe
Serve this Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding with these recipes from School Night Vegan for a feast like no other!
- Vegan Whipped Cream - For the dreamiest, silky smooth topping. Maybe even dust with a little extra cinnamon!
- Vegan Rosemary Gelato with Pecan Brittle - The ideal flavour combo! This vegan gelato will melt into your pumpkin pudding like a dream!
- Vegan Custard - A classic dessert needs a classic companion! Serve your pud like we do up north - with custard! By eck, it's gorgeous!
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie Bars - Not ready to bid farewell to pumpkin themed recipes yet? Don't worry! I've got you!
Got Leftovers?
If you’ve got leftovers (unlikely, but it happens), store them in an airtight container and pop in the fridge for up to five days. Alternatively, you can freeze leftovers for up to three months! To reheat, microwave in short bursts, making sure the sponge is topped with plenty of toffee sauce. The toffee sauce can be stored in a sterilised jar and reheated over low heat in a small saucepan.
Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding FAQs
Yes, bake the pudding a day in advance and store in an airtight container at room temp. Alternatively you can store in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. Reheat before serving.
A food processor or stick blender will do the job perfectly.
You can, but roast it well first to remove excess water and intensify the flavour.
Molasses works well as a swap for that rich, malty flavour.
Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding is everything I love about British desserts, cmobined with big American holiday flavours: rich, comforting, and absolutely indulgent. It’s the perfect dessert to enjoy during the holiday season or whenever you fancy something warm and cosy!
More Classic Desserts!
If you tried this Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding or any of the other fun vegan recipes on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. And don't forget to follow me on Substack today for weekly updates!
Vegan Pumpkin Sticky Toffee Pudding
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl: For combining the dry mixture and folding in the wet ingredients.
- Stick Blender or Food Processor: To blitz the date mixture into a smooth paste.
- Medium Bowl: To soak the dates and mix the wet ingredients.
- Small Saucepan: For making the toffee sauce.
- Square Tin (8x8 inch): To bake the moist sponge cake.
- Sieve: To sift the flour mixture and remove any lumps.
- Wooden Spoon or Spatula: For stirring the cake batter.
- Whisk: To combine the sauce ingredients smoothly.
Ingredients
For the Pudding
- 100 g pitted dates roughly chopped (I use medjool dates)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda bicarbonate of soda
- 180 ml boiling water
- 170 g plain white flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 teaspoon pumpkin spice (see note 1 below)
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 100 g canned pumpkin purée (see note 2 below)
- 80 ml vegetable oil
- 60 ml plant milk unsweetened & unflavoured
- 80 g dark brown sugar
- 40 g treacle or blackstrap molasses
For the Pumpkin Toffee Sauce
- 150 g vegan butter
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon treacle or blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon pumpkin purée
- 150 g vegan double cream (see note 3 below)
Instructions
To Make the Pudding
- Preheat the oven to 160ºc/320°F (fan) or 170ºc/340°F (conventional).
- Grease an 20cm/8 inch square brownie tin or a similar-sized cake tin.
- Combine the dates and baking soda in a medium bowl and cover with the boiling water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.100 g pitted dates, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 180 ml boiling water
- Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice and salt in a large mixing bowl.170 g plain white flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 3 teaspoon pumpkin spice, Pinch of fine sea salt
- Add the pumpkin purée, vegetable oil, plant milk, dark brown sugar, and treacle to the soaked dates. Blend until smooth with a stick blender, or transfer to a standard blender or food processor.100 g canned pumpkin purée, 80 ml vegetable oil, 60 ml plant milk, 80 g dark brown sugar, 40 g treacle or blackstrap molasses
- Pour the blended mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes.
To Make the Pumpkin Toffee Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine the vegan butter, light brown sugar, treacle, and vanilla extract. Place over medium heat and stir until melted and bubbling. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.150 g vegan butter, 150 g light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon treacle or blackstrap molasses, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Stir in the flaky salt, pumpkin purée, and vegan double cream. Set aside until ready to serve.¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt or kosher salt, 3 tablespoon pumpkin purée, 150 g vegan double cream
To Serve
- Once baked, remove the pudding from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Prick the top of the pudding all over with a cocktail stick and pour over half of the pumpkin toffee sauce.
- Leave to cool for another 10 minutes before slicing into 9 squares.
- Serve warm with vegan ice cream and extra pumpkin toffee sauce. If the sauce becomes too thick to pour, gently reheat it in a saucepan or microwave for 3-second intervals.
Kathleen
This looks delicious and I'd love to try it ... but making the toffee sauce, in the ingredients it calls for vegan double cream, which in NZ we can't buy. The directions say go to Note 3 ... no note 3! Can I substitute thick coconut cream?
Becky
I can't stop making this! Good lord!