We always look forward to the change of seasons from Summer to Autumn. Like, really look forward to it. This is a perfect, transitional dessert for the changing of that particular guard. These pumpkin bars are great enough on their own, and call to mind fallen leaves, cable knit sweaters and bonfires with loved ones–all of which you get guilt-free. While they are as rich, chewy and delicious as you would want them to be, they are vegan and gluten free without sacrificing an iota of flavor. They are proof that allergen-free desserts can be as fall-out-of-your-chair indulgent as their “normal” counterparts.
If you’re not quite ready to leave Summer behind, turning them into ice cream bars is the perfect way for your tastebuds to have their little feet firmly planted in both seasons. Even at that, the guiltlessness continues, since the ice cream is vegan, too.
This coconut milk based ice cream recipe is so simple, and if you make it with regular white sugar, it can be adapted in so many ways to suit your palate, which is great if you have a dairy allergy and don’t want to fork (or spoon) out a small fortune for the non-dairy stuff at the grocery. Make it yourself and enjoy!
Pumpkin Bars adapted from Oh, Ladycakes.
Ice cream adapted from The Kitchn.
- For the Pumpkin Bars:
- 3 cups (15 oz.) all-purpose flour OR 15 oz. gluten-free flour blend, plus 1 ½ tsp. xanthan gum
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 1 cup (8 oz.) vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cup (10 oz.) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (3.5 oz.) dark brown sugar
- 4 tsp. molasses
- 1 tbsp.vanilla extract
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- For the Ice Cream:
- 2 14-ounce cans unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup (7 oz.) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- For the Pumpkin Bars:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Line 2 8x8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, sugars, molasses, vanilla, and pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.
- For the ice cream:
- Reserve ½ cup coconut milk.
- Place remaining coconut milk, brown sugar, and salt in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 3-4 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and boil, stirring constantly, until mixture is reduced to about 2 ½ cups, about 20 minutes.
- Stir cornstarch into reserved coconut milk, then gradually whisk cornstarch-coconut milk mixture into the coconut milk-sugar mixture. Heat over medium until thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract, then chill thoroughly. Churn mixture according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to freezer for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- To assemble the sandwiches:
- Remove one batch of bars from their pan, flip upside down, and return to pan. Spread the ice cream over the pan of flipped pumpkin bars. Remove the other batch of bars from their pan, peel off the parchment paper and plop on top of the ice cream, pressing down gently to evenly distribute the ice cream. Wrap pan in plastic wrap and return to freezer for at least another hour or two to firm up. Remove pan from freezer, unwrap, and place the pumpkin-bar-ice cream block on a cutting board. Cut into squares and serve immediately, or store in the freezer. I individually wrapped mine in plastic wrap and stored them in a freezer bag, but they should be fine kept in a sealed container.
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