This gooey pumpkin pudding chômeur (aka pumpkin pudding cake or self-saucing pudding) tastes like warm pumpkin pie smothered in butterscotch, only far simpler. Gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and optionally dairy-free too.

If you're looking for a delicious and easy-to-make pumpkin recipe that's different than the usual pumpkin pudding or GF pumpkin pie, let me introduce you to this pumpkin chômeur.
This dessert goes by many names: Pudding cake. Baked pudding. Self saucing pudding. Chômeur. Call it what you like; around here, we call it "best dessert ever" and "dessert that we most likely want to eat any given night of the week." It's so quick and easy that we often do.
Serve this up with something creamy such as whipped mascarpone or homemade vanilla ice cream for a treat for the holidays – or any day!
Despite not having had much of a sweet tooth before I came along, Jay's always had a soft spot for pumpkin pie. On this we can agree: pumpkin desserts should be enjoyed year round, not relegated to the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. I have strong feelings about pumpkin pie and put my ultimate version, complete with a flaky buckwheat crust, in my cookbook. Pumpkin pie does take a bit of fussing to get just right: ideally, fresh squash puree should be made, the crust should be blind-baked, the filling should be simmered on the stove and put through a sieve, and the pie should be baked at a low temperature to retain its silky texture, then given a lengthy cool down to make it sliceable. With these steps, pumpkin pie does become a bit of a special occasion dessert.
Not so chômeur, which means "unemployed person's pudding" in Québecois and was commonly made from pantry staples. Just whisk together a thick, one-bowl cake batter, pour over it a mess of butter and maple syrup, stick it in the oven, and when you pull it out, it will have magically transformed into distinct layers of springy cake and gooey sauce.
This pumpkin pudding chômeur uses the same simple method, just a slightly longer ingredient list than the classic thanks to a handful of pumpkin spices and a trio of flours – oat, millet, and sweet rice – that keep it gluten-free. Pumpkin adds its orange hue and earthy taste (canned works perfectly well, though roasted pureed kabocha and butternut can stand in if you happen to have some on hand). The base recipe comes from the maple queen herself Katie Webster. I shared a GF chestnut flour version of the chômeur from her book a couple of years ago, and I got to thinking that a pumpkin version might be a winner in our pumpkin dessert loving household. I was right.
I've probably made this pumpkin pudding chômeur more than any other dessert in the past year. We can't seem to get enough of springy cake meeting gooey maple sauce, all swirled together with a melty scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's simple to throw together and can go from raw ingredients to luscious spoonfuls in your mouth in about an hour. If you're making it for guests, you can bake it up to several hours ahead, then reheat it in the oven until bubbly hot when you're ready to serve up dessert. It keeps well for several days and reheats beautifully.
The chômeur gets added depth of flavor from millet and oat flours, both of which help to temper the inherent sweetness in a recipe that contains nearly a cup of maple syrup. Happily, maple is the only sweetener here – no refined sugar needed. I'm curious to try a dairy-free version of this using Miyoko's vegan butter and 2 tablespoons each almond yogurt and almond milk in place of the dairy in the recipe. (UPDATE: I did! And it's every bit as good as the original.) Luckily for us, we don't seem to have a problem getting rid of too much chômeur!
*Thanks for reading! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,Facebook, or Pinterest, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this maple pumpkin pudding chômeur, I’d love to see! Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*

Maple Pumpkin Pudding Chômeur {gluten-free, dairy-free option}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Sauce:
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter (plus 1 teaspoon for the pan) (for a dairy-free option, use vegan butter such as Miyoko's cultured vegan butter)
- ¾ cup (180 ml) maple syrup
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
Pudding:
- 1/3 cup (40 g) millet flour
- 1/3 cup (50 g) sweet white rice flour
- 1/3 cup (35 g) GF oat flour
- 2 teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt (decrease to 1/4 teaspoon if using salted vegan butter)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup (60 ml) well-shaken, low-fat buttermilk (for a dairy-free option, use 2 tablespoons almond milk and 2 tablespoons dairy-free yogurt such as Forager cashew yogurt)
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) mild vegetable oil, such as sunflower
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- powdered sugar for sprinkling (optional)
- vanilla ice cream, for serving (for a dairy-free option, serve with vegan ice cream such as Nada Moo)
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375ºF. Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan with 2-inch high sides or a 10-inch pie pan (or the equivalent) and place on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.
- In a small saucepan, combine the butter, maple syrup, and water. Place over medium heat until the butter melts, then remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl, sift together the millet, sweet rice, and oat flours with the baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the eggs, pumpkin puree, buttermilk, maple syrup, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well-combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish and pour the maple-butter mixture over and through the batter; the cake batter will begin to float to the top. Carefully transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the chômeur until the top is golden, the sauce is bubbling, and a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, 30-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, dust with powdered sugar if desired, and spoon into bowls along with scoops of ice cream.
- Extra chômeur keeps well, refrigerated airtight, for up to 3 days. Reheat before serving.
Christine / my natural kitchen says
I never knew there was a fancier name for pudding cake! My mom used to buy those boxed versions when I was a kid, and it would be one of those things that even as a child, I could "bake myself" hahah - your version obviously sounds a million times better and must happen soon!
Alanna says
Aw, I love that you had early experiences with chômeur and I'm a little jealous ;) LMK if you give this one a go!
Debbie Feely says
Thank you. Yesterday I was angry for the first time since my recent wheat/gluten sensitivity diagnosis, as my first major holiday approaches. This helps. 😀 It may even be my breakfast while the family gobbles cinnamon rolls, my signature holiday treat.
I found a deal on the kindle version of your book and I’m avidly reading through it. It looks like I’ll need the paper version as well.
Alanna says
Hi Debbie, I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis! Having a gluten sensitivity is a total drag. But it also opens doors to all the other delicious grains and flours that are out there! I'm so glad you've loving the book! Let me know if you try any of the recipes and if you give this chômeur a go - breakfast is a genius idea! There's a biscuit cinnamon variation of the raspberry swirl biscuits in the breakfast section of the book, FYI! Not the same as a yeasted one, but still yummy IMO. :)
Debbie Feely says
I did make the raspberry swirl biscuits since we were gifted a pumpkin pie and I scored organic raspberries at our farmers market. But I couldn’t eat it! Please help. I’ve not used millet before. You describe it as mild but it was so bitter! I have been baking happily with sweet rice and oats, so much tastier than the usual rice starch blends. I read millet goes rancid and gets bitter. What do you think? Is it me or the flour? Suggestions for substitution? I’m not complaining. The dough was amazing to work up and baked just as you said, crisp edges and soft lovely middles. My millet is Bob’s Red Mill with a freshness date at least a year from now. Thank you!
Alanna says
Hi Debbie! Yikes, I'm sorry to hear about the millet bitterness! My friend Sarah from Snixy Kitchen is highly sensitive to bitter tastes but uses millet regularly - she even tested this recipe for me and didn't have any problem with the flavor. So I do wonder whether your flour was maybe stored improperly at too high a temperature or something before it got to you. Either way, I wouldn't blame if you if threw it away and never looked back! Sorghum and corn flour are probably the closest subs for millet, though they both have a slightly more brittle texture when baked. I bet these biscuits would be lovely made with either, though! Please let me know what you end up experimenting with. :)
Debbie Feely says
Hi again, I did an experiment mixing each of six flours with water and baking them on the griddle like pancakes. It was very interesting to see the difference in cohesiveness. The millet was very bitter to me. The corn was somewhat bitter but less and the rice, oat, buckwheat and teff were pleasant. I do not detect any odor in the millet. I will call Bob’s Red Mill for help, but it looks like I will need a substitute for millet. I have not tried sorghum. Thanks for any insight you have.
Alanna says
Wow, what a cool experiment! Thank you for sharing your findings - that's super interesting! Millet is for sure bitter on its own, which is why I like to use no more than 1/3 in a blend of milder flours, but absolutely sub it out if it isn't to your taste! I'd be curious as to what Bob's has to say, too. I'd be curious to see what you think of chestnut flour, too. It's very fluffy and powdery, and the flavor is sweet but assertive. Please let me know what you end up trying!
Debbie Feely says
Alanna, thanks for hanging in there with me. Bob’s Red Mill suggested trying again. I saw you pinned Snixy Kitchen’s snickerdoodles soni tried them with total success. I chose that recipe because it uses baking soda rather than baking powder. I’ve always disliked baking powder flavor. I suspect my problem with your biscuits was a combo of flavors. I will try again as the dough was lovely to work up, and isn’t baking largely about that? I so appreciate you and the few others who are baking without the gluten substitutes. I don’t tolerate any of them. Xanthan gum causes my throat to close up. It’s that important to me. Thank you.
Susan says
I have celiac, and this is my absolute go-to site for any dessert. I especially love that Alanna doesn't use artificial products such as gums, which I suspect I'm also developing an allergy to, ugh!
Question about the pudding (I cannot say "self-saucing pudding" with a straight face after The Great British Baking Show.) Is it possible to substitute another flour for the oat flour--perhaps sorghum? Or is it too different in consistency? (I've done it in your blackberry scones when I didn't have millet flour on hand and it worked, but not sure about oat flour. And I really don't want to use brown rice flour if I can avoid it.) Thank you!
Alanna says
Aw, thanks so much for the sweet words Susan - I'm so glad you're enjoying TBG! I need to watch that Great British Baking Show episode - I'm ashamed to say I haven't watched it at all yet!
I think sorghum would be a good choice to swap in for the oat flour; maybe add in a tablespoon or two of tapioca flour since sorghum tends to be more brittle and less starchy than oat? If you happened to have chestnut flour on hand, that would probably work too. I tried these once with buckwheat in place of the millet flour, and the flavor and texture were great, but the pudding was UGLY, hahaha. Please let me know what you end up trying!
Rachel @Clean Eating for the Non-Hippie says
You have no idea how much I want this in my life - hahha! Please tell me you think it'll be ok to ditch the buttermilk and use water instead since it's such a small amount??
Alanna says
Hi Rachel! Aw, thanks for the sweet words! Water could work; you'd probably only need 2-3 tablespoons since water is so much thinner than buttermilk. Let me know how it comes out!
Charlotte says
Maple and pumpkin? In one dish? genius!
Christina says
Holy friggin moly! I'm obsessed with your food photography! Seriously amazing job! This recipe looks and sounds utterly amazing!
Alanna says
Aw, thank you Christina - that means a lot to me!
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
I think I just fainted. I cannot wait to make this Alanna! Thank you so much for the shout out too. Lol, the maple queen! Love it!
Alanna says
That's you! Thank you SO MUCH for the amazing maple syrup and for introducing me to chomeur - best dessert ever!!
Morgan says
I just made this for thanksgiving dessert and it was amazing!!! Thank you so much for the recipe, Alanna!
Alanna says
Yay! Thanks so much for the sweet note!
Trish says
This is delicious! I put it together while fixing lunch today and it truly is easy to make as you said. I had purchased some gingerbread goat cheese (!) in December thinking it might be fun to put on a dessert board but never had a chance to use it. So I whipped it with cream cheese and a touch of honey and topped the chomeur with it. A real keeper of a combo! Thanks for such consistently good recipes and all of the work you put into developing them.
Alanna says
Oh my goodness, gingerbread goat cheese?! Be still my heart! That all sounds incredible, I'm so glad you love the chomeur!
Nanda says
I also just made this for Thanksgiving dessert and we all loved it! I adore maple syrup so I've been wanting to try one of Katie's recipes for some time. Glad I did with your delicious pumpkin GF version, Alanna. Thanks so much!!!
Alanna says
Yessss, Katie's recipes are the best! So glad you guys loved the chomeur. :D
Tara says
Made this almost as written, but used 2 tbsp melted and cooled butter in place of the vegetable oil. Super simple recipe and it turned out amazing - we didn't miss the pumpkin pie at all. We did find the sauce to be quite sweet. What are your thoughts on cutting the maple syrup down to 1/2 c? Or even cooking this maybe with some sort of applesauce?
Alanna says
So glad you liked it! I think you could totally cut the maple down to 1/2 c, and maybe add an extra 2 T water to make up the difference? I'm not sure how applesauce would work here, it might do weird things to the texture, but definitely let me know if you experiment! :)
Jenny Engle says
Hi Alanna! Thank you for another amazing gluten free dessert recipe. My daughter has recently decided to eat a vegan diet so I tried the subs you recommended (Mrs. Miyoko’s vegan butter, 2T almond milk mixed with 2T plain almond yogurt) and it was delicious! I also used butternut I had cooked and drained for scones instead of pumpkin. Will be making this again and again!
Alanna says
Aw, perfect! I tried those options too and was happy with the results - will update the recipe. Thanks so much for trying it out and for the sweet note!
Natalie says
YUM! This pudding looks so delicious! I can't wait to try it already ♥
Caterina Snyder says
OMG I am sooooo making this tonight! Pumpkin and maple in a french pudding cake form is surely the best idea ever. And it's using everything I always have in my pantry! Thanks lady you are my dessert queen!!! 🙇🙇🙇
Alanna says
Aw, you're MY dessert queen! Let me know how you like it Caterina! I want allllllll the details. ;)
Brigitte Anelli says
Wow, i have to try this. I grew up in Montreal and my mom use to make pudding chomeur all the time in winters. Now that i eat gluten free, i would love to try this but i don't like pumpkin. Can i just leave it out? If i do, will it be like the traditional white cake? Thanks and Happy New Year.
Nuriya says
Is there a good substitute for millet flour ? It isn't available where I live nor is buttermilk. I have heard that a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice in milk can work in place of buttermilk but perhaps you have a different recommendation.
Alanna says
Hi Nuriya! In place of millet flour you could try sorghum, or more oat flour. For a buttermilk sub, I like watering down a runny yogurt with a bit of milk until it's the consistency of buttermilk or heavy cream. That way you still get the lactic tanginess. Please let me know what you try! I have some leftover pumpkin and was thinking of making one of these myself!
Michele says
This sounds delicious but could I substitute coconut flour for the flours? I have so much in my freezer! Maybe I should just try it.
Thank you
Alanna says
Hi Michele, Coconut flour is SUPER absorbent compared with all other flours. I would not recommend substituting it here unless you're prepared to experiment a whole bunch! You would need to decrease the flour by half or more, and possibly add more liquid. I'd recommend making the recipe once as written so you know how the texture is supposed to be before going rogue. Other flours are easier to sub, but coconut is a special beast that requires lots of testing unless you're using a recipe already formulated to work with coconut flour. Let me know what you decide to try!
Michele says
Good morning Alanna! Thank you so much for your quick response! I will make this for TG as written because texture as you recommend it, is very important to me. I will check out your recipes with coconut flour. You have a beautiful website and yummy sounding recipes, can't wait to try some.
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad you're liking the site! I don't have many coconut flour recipes on my site, but there are more in my cookbook!
Jamie says
Made this for Thanksgiving and was so blown away! Loved loved loved it! All two of us! ☺️ (Could have polished it off in one night but we practiced restraint).
I was skeptical when I stuck it in the oven because it was so liquidy, thought perhaps I had prepared it incorrectly, but what emerged 40 minutes later was MAGIC! Such perfectly fall flavors and such a comforting, warm, gooey cake. So nice to have a change of pace from pumpkin pie. Also love finding more uses for millet flour!
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad you loved the chomeur! I feel exactly the same way every time I make it - it's like, this can't be right?! But it always is. Hope you're enjoying the leftovers just as much!
Halle says
A friend at work told me about this, said it was scrumptious. I'm stoked to make it, but am wondering if I could sub sweet potato for the pumpkin? I can't think of why it wouldn't work.
Alanna says
I think that should work! You might want to add a splash more liquid to the batter since sweet potato is more dense and has less moisture. Please let me know how it turns out!
Alisa says
Alanna, can I make this with regular wheat flour? It sounds amazing. I love your recipes too much even though I'm not sensitive to gluten or anything really. ;)
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
You can absolutely use wheat flour for this! Just use 125 g wheat flour (about 1 cup) in place of the three GF flours, and whisk the batter until *just* combined. Please let me know how it turns out!
Alisa says
Finally made it tonight and it turned out delicious! So easy to make, too! It will be in my fall dessert rotation. Thank you, Alanna!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yaaaayyyy, so glad you liked it!
Alene says
Hi! Hope you are well. I think I Iooked at all the comments, looking for a rice question. I only saw one, but it was more of a statement. Do you think I can switch the rice to more of the two other flours and a smidgen of something else that would hold it together. We are having a very small Thanksgiving this year, and this might work. Thank you for all your work.
Julie says
This is quite delicious. It is not too sweet at all. I made buttermilk out of sour cream and whole milk. Fabulous desert if you happen to have company coming over. It is quite light and loaded with flavor. Your kitchen will smell as heart warming as it tastes! Top with ice cream with a smudge of cinnamon n nutmeg.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad you liked the pumpkin pudding goodness! I bet it was extra rich and delicious with the sour cream, yum. Thanks so much for the sweet note and rating!
Trish says
Made this again yesterday and it is so easy and good! The sauce is so butterscotch-y and warm with maple flavor that is perfect for a cold fall day! I like it plain, too, no adornment needed.
I have a question about another recipe of yours I saw on snixykitchen that I also loved, the ginger goat cheese cheesecake with honey roasted figs. Could you please suggest another topping as I don’t have access to fresh figs? A couple of friends also taste-tested it and loved it and I’d like to make it again. Thank you for your thoughts, Alanna.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Trish!
Aw yay I'm so glad you love this recipe - it's one of my all-time faves as well!
Great question about that tart. I would totally go with a batch of wine or tea-poached pears right now, since pears are very much in season. Or you could do poached or roasted quince if you happen to have access to any. One other idea is sliced, sauteed apples or fuyu persimmons.
Please let me know what you try!
xoxo,
A