Brown Sugar Spoon Cake

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Brown Sugar Spoon Cake with peaches and ice cream is the epitome of homestyle comfort food.

Unlike fluffy cakes that you slice and serve, a spoon cake is an ooey-gooey buttery concoction that you spoon out the pan and enjoy while it’s still warm with a scoop of ice cream on top.

And simple as it may look, there’s something magical about this spoon cake recipe and the way the warm peaches become infused with the brown sugar to create the perfect pop of summery sweetness.

It’s buttery and caramely from the dates, and the walnuts toast slightly while baking and provide a subtle but delicious hint of nuttiness that really brings all of these flavors together.

There’s nothing fancy or complicated about this recipe (especially since it happens to be semi-homemade 🙌) but every bite tastes like a cozy summer evening at home, and it doesn’t get much better than that if you ask me 😊

I can’t wait for you to try this recipe, it’s unbelievably delicious ☀️

• 1/2 stick of vegan butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 2 large Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 can of peaches, sliced in juice not syrup
• 1 15oz box of cake mix, or 2 7oz mags if you’re using the Thrive Mix I used (see notes*)
• vegan ice cream for serving

PREP

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.
3. Then open one can of peaches, drain the juice, and set aside. Chop the dates into small pieces and..you guessed it, set aside 😊

ASSEMBLE

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, walnuts, dates, and peaches. Gently mix and set aside.
2. Prep the cake batter according to package directions (below) and set aside.
3. In a 9 x 13″ pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, add the peach mixture and spread into an even layer, leaving 1/2″ space between the edge of the pan.
4. Then dollop the cake batter on top and gently spread into an even layer. The reason I dollop, instead of pouring it straight in is because it moves the peaches around too much.
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and pulling away from the edge of the pan.

SERVE

1. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes. This is important for the texture 👩🏻‍🍳
2. Then run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake and using a spatula, then cut yourself a square and scoop into a bowl. Make sure you scoop up any of the caramelized peaches and walnuts that may have fallen behind!
3. Top with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, take the bowl someplace cozy, and prepare to be very very happy 😊

VEGAN CAKE MIXES:

1. Thrive Market Yellow Cake Mix (vegan, gluten-free, naturally sweetened)
2. Dunkin Hines Classic Yellow Mix (vegan according to Peta but check to make sure they haven’t changed anything 🤓)
3. Pilsbury Moist Supreme Golden Butter Mix

I used and recommend Thrive Market Yellow Cake Mix for this recipe It’s vegan, gluten-free, and naturally sweetened with coconut sugar which gives the cake a graham cracker-like nuttiness that is delicious, and not too sweet, which I think works well for this recipe.

Note, the Thrive mixes are only 7oz, so you’ll need two for this recipe.

You can use any store bought cake mix you like. Click here for easy ways to replace the dairy and eggs in store-bought cake mixes.

BAKING TIPS:

If you’re using the Thrive mix, make sure you bake for at least 35 minutes. Because of the coconut sugar, it will look dark golden brown eerier but there’s a lot of moisture in this batter, so it can take a little more baking. You want the texture to be gooey and caky at the same time, so resist the urge to pull it out too soon!

If you’re using a different mix, bake for the time it calls for on the box 😊

Either way, make sure you let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

SERVING TIPS:

In the video, you may have noticed that some of the slices has peaches on the top, and some were on the bottom. That’s because you can serve this like an upside down cake, with the peaches on top, or not. it’s up to you.

I don’t recommend inverting the cake onto a platter and serving it like an upside down cake, because the texture is more similar to a Gooey Butter Cake. I like to cut a square and use a spatula, the one I use for flipping pancakes, to serve it up by the slice right out of the pan 😊

Vegan vanilla ice cream is classic for this recipe, but a cinnamon or butter pecan flavor would be good too! Comment below and let me know what your favorite brand and flavor of vegan ice cream is!