• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Loving It Vegan

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
  • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About Me
    • Recipes
    • Free Ebook
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Desserts

    Vegan Pumpkin Cake

    Published: Oct 26, 2017 Updated: Oct 29, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Pumpkin Cake

    Perfectly moist and utterly delicious vegan pumpkin cake with a cinnamon buttercream frosting. Packed with holiday spices and ideal for any special occasion!

    Vegan pumpkin cake topped with cinnamon buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts on a white cake stand.

    Ooooh this vegan pumpkin cake you guys! Soooo good.

    It sort of reminded us of carrot cake. Or a spice cake.

    It’s deliciously spiced in the same way that a carrot cake usually is, with the cinnamon and the nutmeg and it’s also sweetened with brown sugar.

    This pumpkin cake adds in some ground ginger and cloves too, so it’s really a treat.

    So if you like carrot cake, or spice cake, then you’ll love this too!

    But try our vegan carrot cake too of course! And our vegan pumpkin cupcakes are based on this recipe and just as good!

    A slice of vegan pumpkin cake on a white plate.

    How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Cake

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    • Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add light brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and ground cloves.
    • Prepare a flax egg by adding 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed to a bowl with 3 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
    • Then add the flax egg, pumpkin purée, canola oil, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract.
    • Mix into a thick batter. Don’t overmix.
    Ingredients for a vegan pumpkin cake in a silver mixing bowl with a whisk.
    • Divide the batter evenly between two prepared cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper on the bottom).
    Cake batter for vegan pumpkin cake in cake pans ready to go into the oven.
    • Place into the oven and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
    Vegan pumpkin cake in cake pans freshly baked.
    • Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes before removing them from the cake pans and transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
    Vegan pumpkin cake layers on a wire cooling rack.

    The Frosting

    When it came to the frosting, I had a look around the web to see what a good pairing usually is and I saw a lot of recipes using a brown butter frosting.

    So, naively I set out to try and make one using vegan butter. And oh my what an utter disaster. You don’t even want to know how badly that turned out.

    So it seems browning butter really needs actual butter! Hahaha! Who knew (probably everyone). Apparently it’s the milk proteins in the butter that brown, and there ain’t any of those in the vegan varieties!

    So then I decided on a cinnamon buttercream frosting and that was just perfect.

    There’s cinnamon and other spices in the pumpkin cake and so the pairing with a cinnamon flavored frosting did the job fabulously well.

    And then I sprinkled it with some extra cinnamon and tossed some crushed walnuts on top and the result was utterly divine.

    Vegan pumpkin cake topped with cinnamon buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts on a white cake stand.

    Canned Pumpkin or Fresh?

    I searched high and low in our small town for some canned pumpkin because when you’re making pumpkin desserts, canned pumpkin purée is the business!

    Sadly though it seems canned pumpkin isn’t a ‘thing’ around here. I guess pumpkin desserts aren’t really a thing around here either. Maybe folks here don’t realize how good they are!

    So I had to do things the old fashioned way and make pumpkin purée from scratch! Was pretty easy really, just bought some ready peeled and chopped pumpkin cubes and baked them on a parchment lined baking tray at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes. No spices or oils, just plain.

    And when baked, you just let it cool and then puree it in a food processor! The baking part gets rid of any excess moisture so you don’t end up with pumpkin puree that is too ‘wet’. But if you do, you can just stand the pumpkin purée in a strainer so any excess water runs off.

    So it was really too easy. Probably still better to use canned though if you can get it, saves time!

    Vegan pumpkin cake topped with cinnamon buttercream and crushed walnuts on a white cake stand.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days, or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay fresh for up to a week.

    It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.

    A slice of vegan pumpkin cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    More Delicious Vegan Cakes

    1. Vegan Carrot Cake
    2. Vegan Gingerbread Cake
    3. Amazing Vegan Chocolate Cake
    4. Vegan Red Velvet Cake
    5. Vegan Vanilla Cake
    6. Vegan Banana Cake
    A slice of vegan pumpkin cake on a white plate with a cake fork.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan pumpkin cake on a white cake stand.

    Vegan Pumpkin Cake

    Perfectly moist and utterly delicious vegan pumpkin cake with a cinnamon buttercream frosting. Packed with holiday spices and ideal for any special occasion!
    5 from 68 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Cakes, Desserts
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10
    Calories: 501kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    For the Pumpkin Cake:

    • 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
    • 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (200g)
    • ½ cup White Granulated Sugar (100g)
    • 1 tsp Baking Soda
    • 1 tsp Baking Powder
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • 2 tsp Cinnamon
    • ½ tsp Nutmeg
    • ½ tsp Ground Ginger
    • ½ tsp Ground Cloves
    • 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
    • 1 ½ cups Pumpkin Purée (337g)
    • ¼ cup Canola Oil (60ml) or Vegetable Oil
    • 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
    • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

    For the Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting:

    • ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
    • 3 ¾ cups Powdered Sugar (450g)
    • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
    • 2 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
    • 1 tsp Cinnamon

    For Decoration: 

    • Cinnamon
    • Crushed Walnuts
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 7 inch cake pans (*see notes) with non-stick spray and cut out circles of parchment paper line the bottoms.
    • Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and add the light brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
    • Prepare your flax egg by adding 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal to a bowl and then adding in 3 Tbsp of Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute to become gloopy.
    • Add the flax egg, pumpkin purée, oil, vinegar and vanilla to the mixing bowl and mix into a batter. Don't overmix.
    • Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans.
    • Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
    • Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
    • Prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and soy milk to the bowl of an electric mixer. Starting at slow speed, gradually increase the speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If your frosting is too thick, add in soy milk a drop at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
    • Add the cinnamon last and mix on low until just mixed in.
    • When your cakes are completely cooled, frost them and then sprinkle cinnamon and crushed walnuts on top.

    Notes

    1. Measure your flour correctly. Either weigh it out on a food scale for the most accurate results or use the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Don’t scoop it and don’t pack it into the cup. 
    2. Pumpkin purée. I used homemade pumpkin purée. I baked peeled and chopped pumpkin in the oven (plain, no oils or spices) for 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until soft and cooked and then pureed it in the food processor. If you do it this way and your purée is a bit ‘wet’ then stand it in a strainer so any excess water can run off.
    3. Cake Sizes: This cake can be adapted for different cake sizes as follows:
      • Three 6-inch round cake pans – bake for 25 minutes.
      • Two 8-inch round cake pans – bake for 25-30 minutes. 
      • One 9-inch round cake pan – bake for 30-35 minutes.
      • 9×9 square cake pan – bake for 35 minutes.
      • 9×13 sheet cake – bake for 25 minutes. 
    4. Storing and freezing: Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days, or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay fresh for up to a week. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
    5. Nutritional information is for 1 slice of 10 with a generous amount of cinnamon buttercream frosting. It excludes crushed walnuts.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Slice | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 98.3g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 11.4g | Saturated Fat: 1.8g | Sodium: 375mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 75.1g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!
    « Easy Thai Pumpkin Curry
    Vegan Pumpkin Ice Cream »
    38.3K shares

    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Karen W says

      February 10, 2023 at 2:51 pm

      This was a great recipe for me, very quick and easy, and delicious. Thank you for being so accepting of changes to it. I read some of the other comments, made some of my own adjustments, and it turned out more like a pumpkin bread than a cake, which is better for me. I used whole wheat pastry flour, cut the sugar and oil in half, used the applesauce suggestion from another comment instead of the flaxseed egg, plus a little extra applesauce in place of the oil, and baked it in a Bundt pan for 50 minutes. After all that, it came out surprisingly well, was still sweet enough, and pretty moist. I made the frosting according to your recipe, but it didn’t really need frosting. However, if I need to bake a cake for a special occasion, I will definitely try it again, following the original recipe, because I’m sure everyone will love it.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 17, 2023 at 12:35 pm

        Happy to hear you enjoy the recipe Karen! Thank you so much for your great review!

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Comment Policy: Your feedback is really appreciated! Please do us a favor and rate the recipe as well as this really helps us! The most helpful comments are the ones that give useful feedback for others who might make the recipe, tell about substitutions you made or adjustments you made and how it turned out, or assisting other commenters. Rude or insulting comments will not be accepted.

    Leave A Comment & Review Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I’m Alison Andrews! I love making delicious vegan food and creating delicious vegan versions of all your old favorite dishes, so you can have your vegan cake and eat it too!

    More about me →

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Popular Posts

    • Vegan tuna on an open faced sandwich on a wooden board.
      Vegan Tuna
    • Serving spoonful of vegan mac and cheese.
      The Best Vegan Mac and Cheese (Classic, Baked)
    • Vegan burritos stacked up on top of each other.
      Vegan Burrito
    • Vegan tofu scramble with sliced avocado and fried tomatoes on a white plate.
      Super Eggy Vegan Tofu Scramble
    • Thick slice of cashew cheese on a wooden board.
      Sliceable Cashew Cheese
    • Homemade vegan butter in a glass butter dish with a knife.
      Homemade Vegan Butter

    Veganuary

    • Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles in a black bowl.
      Vegan Thai Peanut Noodles
    • Slices of grilled vegan halloumi on a gray plate.
      Vegan Halloumi
    • Vegan stuffed mushrooms on a white plate.
      Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms
    • Vegan stuffed peppers in a white baking dish.
      Vegan Stuffed Peppers
    • Vegan granola on a baking sheet with a wooden spoon.
      Vegan Granola
    • Powdered sugar sprinkling down over a stack of waffles.
      The Best Vegan Waffles

    See all Veganuary Recipes →


    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    As Seen In

    Press logos black and white

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Follow Us

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Pinterest

    Contact

    • About
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Loving It Vegan

    Get 10 fabulous dinner recipes!
    Absolutely free! Sign up below!
    Get Your Copy! It's FREE!