Juicy plums on a tender spelt crust, crunchy cinnamon streusel on top and a warm vanilla sauce on the side – this healthier vegan plum crumble pie skips the sugar, butter, margarine and eggs entirely! It’s sweetened with nothing but dates, gets its buttery richness from cashew butter.
Plum season follows the exact same script for me every year: I miss it. Yep, shame on me. But not this year! This year, it’s all about this glorious vegan plum crumble pie – with a generous pour of vanilla sauce on top.
A classic German plum streusel pie relies on two things, though: lots of butter and even more sugar. Neither of them goes into my dough. And if you’ve ever baked a cake without butter or margarine, you know the real sticking point – a shortcrust without fat turns out either dry or gummy, depending on what you use to replace it.
Cashew butter solves exactly that problem. Baking with nut butter is my favorite trick for whole-food baking anyway: it makes the dough smooth and pliable, gives it that tender, crumbly bite and adds a subtle creaminess that pairs beautifully with the tart plums.
Instead of sugar, I use date sugar. Its big bonus is a lovely, slightly caramel-like flavor – which, let’s be honest, suits this pie much better than white sugar anyway.
The result: a crust that doesn’t crumble, streusel that actually stays crisp, and a sugar-free pie that had my husband quietly reaching for a second slice.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Vegan pie without sugar: Both the crust and the streusel are sweetened exclusively with date sugar – simply dried, ground dates.
- No butter, margarine or oil: All the fat in the dough comes from cashew butter.
- Easy to make: Cut the plums, knead the dough, crumble the streusel – then layer everything up and pop it in the oven.
- With warm vanilla sauce: Whisked together in five minutes, no custard powder needed.
Ingredient Notes
The most common question about a whole-food, plant-based pie like this is always the same: does it actually taste good? Short answer: yes – as long as you bring the right players off the bench.
For the Pie
- Plums: If you can, use Italian prune plums (in German: Zwetschgen). They’re firmer and less juicy than round plums and come away cleanly from the pit – which makes them the better choice for baking. Regular plums work too, but your crust will turn out a bit moister.
- Spelt flour: I use German Type 1050 spelt flour, which sits somewhere between white and whole-grain flour. Light spelt flour or all-purpose flour work too – with a finer flour, you may need a little less water.
- Almond flour: Makes the dough extra tender. Important: don’t use defatted almond flour – it soaks up much more liquid. Blanched ground almonds work just as well.
- Date sugar: This is simply dried, ground dates – sometimes also sold as date powder.
- Cashew butter: The most important building block here. Use a creamy, well-stirred cashew butter – not the firm layer from the bottom of the jar, or your dough will turn crumbly.
For the Vanilla Sauce
- Soy milk: Ideal for the vanilla sauce, because its higher protein content helps it thicken into something lusciously creamy. Oat milk works too, but tastes a little sweeter.
- Vanilla: Use vanilla extract or the seeds of a vanilla bean.
- A small piece of carrot: Sounds weird, I know – but it’s the whole secret behind that golden color. Completely optional. A pinch of turmeric works instead.
- Cornstarch: For thickening. You can also use vanilla custard powder – just leave out the extra vanilla.
(You’ll find the exact quantities in the recipe card below.)
Step-By-Step Instructions
Besides one or two mixing bowls, all you need for this recipe is a 10-inch (26 cm) tart pan or springform pan.
- Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients for the shortcrust in a bowl. Add the cashew butter, vanilla and water.
- Step 2: Work everything into a smooth dough. If it’s too dry, add water a spoonful at a time. If it’s sticky, knead in a little more flour. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and refrigerate.
- Step 3: Wash, halve and pit the plums, then cut the halves in half again. Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C), conventional/top and bottom heat.
- Step 4: For the cinnamon streusel, stir together the dry ingredients. Work in the cashew butter and gradually add a little water. Use your fingers to form crumbly streusel.
- Step 5: Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and transfer it to a lightly greased 10-inch (26 cm) tart pan, lining the bottom and sides. Arrange the quartered plums over the crust, overlapping them like roof tiles.
- Step 6: Scatter the streusel evenly over the top. Bake on the middle rack for about 45 minutes. If the streusel browns too quickly, cover the plum tart with parchment paper or foil halfway through.
Last but not least: the vanilla sauce. Completely optional, but it’s just such a perfect match for fruity crumble pies like this one.
Whisk 2–3 tablespoons of the soy milk with the cornstarch until smooth. Add the remaining soy milk to a small saucepan along with the chopped carrot and bring to a boil.
As soon as the milk boils, remove the carrot pieces. Stir in the cornstarch slurry, maple syrup and vanilla. Bring back to a boil and let it simmer for about a minute, whisking constantly.
Top Tip
Pack the plums in more tightly than you think – and use every last one. Plums shrink quite a bit as they bake. If you really overlap the quarters snugly like roof tiles, you’ll end up with that beautiful, juicy fruit layer.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
I haven’t tested it myself, but I think it should work just as well.
Use a light almond butter made from blanched almonds. It’s a bit runnier than cashew butter, though, so you may want to start with a little less water for both the dough and the streusel.
It’s purely for the color. You can simply add a pinch of turmeric instead or omit entirely.
The pie might not turn out quite as juicy with apples.
More Vegan Cake & Pie Recipes
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PrintRecipe
Sugar-Free Vegan Plum Crumble Pie with Vanilla Sauce
Vegan crumble pie with juicy plums, a tender spelt crust, cinnamon streusel and warm vanilla sauce. A sugar-free fruit pie without eggs, butter or oil.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 60 min
- Yield: 12 slices
Ingredients
Plums
- 1 ½ lb (700 g) Italian prune plums
Sugar-Free Shortcrust
- 1 cup (120 g) spelt flour (German Type 1050)
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (60 g) almond flour
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon (60 g) date sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoon (75 g) cashew butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds of ½ vanilla bean)
- 60-70 ml (¼ cup or more) cold water
Cinnamon Streusel
- 1 cup (120 g) spelt flour (German Type 1050)
- ¼ cup (30 g) almond flour
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon (60 g) date sugar
- 5 tablespoon (75 g) cashew butter
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 3–6 tbsp cold water
Vanilla Sauce
- 1 cup (250 ml) soy milk
- 1 small piece of carrot (optional, for color)
- 1 heaping tablespoon (10 g) cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon maple or date syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds of ½ vanilla bean)
Instructions
Prepare the Shortcrust
- For the shortcrust, mix the spelt flour, almond flour, date sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
- Add the cashew butter, vanilla and water and work everything into a smooth dough. If it’s too dry, add water a spoonful at a time; if it’s sticky, knead in a little more flour. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and refrigerate.
Prepare the Plums and Streusel
- Wash, halve and pit the plums, then cut each half in half again.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C), conventional/top and bottom heat.
- For the cinnamon streusel, stir together the dry ingredients. Work in the cashew butter and gradually add a little water. Use your fingers to form crumbly streusel.
Bake the Pie
- Roll out the chilled dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and transfer it to a lightly greased 10-inch (26 cm) tart pan or springform pan, lining the bottom and sides.
- Arrange the quartered plums tightly over the crust, overlapping them like roof tiles.
- Scatter the streusel evenly over the top.
- Bake on the middle rack for about 45 minutes. If the streusel browns too quickly, cover the pie with parchment paper or foil halfway through.
Make the Vanilla Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk 2–3 tablespoon of the soy milk with the cornstarch until smooth.
- Cut the carrot into small pieces. Add them to a small saucepan with the remaining soy milk and bring to a boil.
- Briefly remove the pan from the heat and take out the carrot pieces.
- Stir in the cornstarch slurry, syrup and vanilla. Bring back to a boil and simmer for about 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Notes
Storage: Let the pie cool completely, then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Note: the streusel softens over time as it absorbs moisture from the plums.
Vanilla sauce: The sauce thickens as it cools. To reheat, stir in a splash of soy milk. The vanilla sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Use a scale: For best results I recommend measuring the ingredients with a kitchen scale.
This post is also available in German (Deutsch).
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