Sticky Gingerbread Pudding Cake (Paleo & Vegan)

Sticky Gingerbread Pudding Cake is a delicious dessert for the holidays! You’ll simply bake your cake, and a sticky caramel sauce will form at the bottom (and top) while it bakes. So yummy and a hit with everyone! Paleo and Gluten-Free. 

The idea for this Sticky Gingerbread Pudding Cake came to fruition over the most random circumstance. I chaperoned a field trip for my daughter’s 7th grade class to go and see A Christmas Carol play. First off, it was an amazing performance. Second, throughout the entire play, Scrooge and others kept mentioning the Christmas “pudding” cake. And I was literally craving pudding cake. But I wanted to add in Christmas flair, with one of my favorite Christmas flavors: Gingerbread!

What is Pudding Cake?

You might be thinking, what is pudding cake? If you are from the UK or have spent any time there, you know exactly what it is. For my other readers, it’s basically a cake with a ridiculously yummy toffee caramel sauce.

There are a few different ways to make it, as I noticed when researching online. One way is bake a a rectangle or square cake, and pour a yummy caramel sauce on top once complete.

I opted for another way. Make cake batter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and top with hot water. While baking, the sauce forms on it’s own. Making it super easy!

How to make Sticky Gingerbread Pudding Cake

My version here is Paleo and Vegan. This does present a different sort of challenge to still create a similar, delicious tasting pudding cake. But I am pretty sure you will be just as thrilled as I was with the result! So let’s gather up our ingredients and get started!

Ingredients:

• Almond flour
• Tapioca flour
• Coconut or palm sugar
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Ginger
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Molasses
• Applesauce
• Coconut Oil
• Vanilla Extract
• Hot water
• Pecans

Directions:

We’ll start by whisking together the dry ingredients, and in a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to wet and whisk until smooth. Now spread the batter evenly in an 8×11 rectangular pan. Smooth the top.

In a small bowl, combine more coconut sugar with cinnamon, and sprinkle all over the top of this cake.

This is where things get a bit interesting. You will now pour hot water on top and don’t stir. Trust me!!! I was skeptical too, and thought I was creating a swampy mess. But it works! This will help create a sticky sauce with the sugar and cinnamon.

We will bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour. This may depend on your oven. You will start to notice the cake bubbling and creating a layer of sauce. It may also seem undercooked, but I promise you to just let it sit for 10-15 minutes and all is good!

Serving and Storing:

This Gingerbread Pudding Cake is best served warm, like within 20 minutes after pulling out of the oven. Also keep in mind, that it is a “wet” cake, similar texture to a bread pudding and works best served in a bowl. Top with ice cream or whipped cream if you’d like! I also love the addition of pecans, and my kids and husband agreed.

I would not recommend making ahead and then re-heating; this is not one of those recipes that would work with that time frame. However, if you have leftovers, you can store in an air tight container in the fridge. Then heat up before serving.

Other Gingerbread Recipes:

If you love gingerbread as much as me, you’ll love these other recipes!!

• Paleo Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls
• Grain-Free Gingerbread Pumpkin Muffins with Pecan Streusel
• Gingerbread Latte

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Sticky Gingerbread Pudding Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 8

Author Amy Rains

0 from 0 votes

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Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 3 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or palm sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup unsweetened dairy free milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or palm sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup diced pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: both flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: applesauce, molasses, milk, and vanilla extract. Slowly fold the dry ingredients to wet. Continue to stir until batter is well combined.

4. Spread batter in an 8x11 dish (can also use a 9x9 pan but it may require a bit more baking time). Make sure the batter is evenly smooth by spreading a spatula over the top.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Spread this on top of cake batter. Now pour the water over the top, do not stir!!!!

6. Carefully transfer to the oven. Bake for approximately 1 hour, but start checking the cake around the 45 minute mark. Ovens will vary drastically on a recipe like this. It may take longer then an hour. You will notice the top is bubbling with the "caramel" sauce, and the cake should be mostly set before pulling out of the oven. It should also appear slightly undercooked, this is due to the caramel sauce on top.

7. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve warm with optional pecans.