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    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 83 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
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    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. Bethany says

      January 02, 2025 at 12:31 am

      Made recipe as described. I used an 11 x 7 glass pan which was a perfect size for this recipe. Baked up beautifully. Nice fluffy cake with good flavor.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        January 22, 2025 at 12:44 pm

        Awesome! Happy to hear it worked out for you Bethany. Thanks for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    2. Carla says

      November 03, 2024 at 2:38 pm

      Do you think the recipe would work using whole wheat flour?

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        December 04, 2024 at 1:15 pm

        Sure! If the batter seems dry, you can just add more soy milk to loosen it up a bit.

        Reply
    3. Chris says

      October 31, 2024 at 2:17 am

      Amazing, perfect, easy to make, it goes quickly.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        December 04, 2024 at 1:28 pm

        Awesome! Thanks so much for your great review Chris!

        Reply
    4. Sarah H says

      October 25, 2024 at 2:15 am

      This is an awesome cake. The batter was very thick (I would say stiff!) but turned out beautifully once baked. I wanted a less sweet frosting/buttercream so I only used 2 cups of icing sugar. I also substituted 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree for the soy milk and used pumpkin spice.
      I think next time I make it (and there WILL be a next time!), I’ll use more spice as this is quite subtle.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 29, 2024 at 1:07 pm

        Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Sarah. Thanks for sharing and for your great review!

        Reply
    5. Kate says

      October 24, 2024 at 4:14 pm

      Hi there! I’m thinking of using Pumpkin Pie Spice blend in lieu of the individual ones. Do you think I should directly sub the spice amounts 1:1? 🙂

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 24, 2024 at 5:46 pm

        Hi Kate. Yes, that would work!

        Reply
    6. SBS says

      October 19, 2024 at 7:27 pm

      Made this for my own birthday cake and it was incredible!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        October 21, 2024 at 9:41 am

        Awesome! Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    7. Rikke says

      June 14, 2024 at 4:20 pm

      Perfect cake – not too moist5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        June 28, 2024 at 11:48 am

        Woohoo!!

        Reply
    8. Lisa L. says

      May 26, 2024 at 1:23 am

      The cake was delicious. I made it as written with plain vanilla frosting and everyone loved it. Thanks!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        May 29, 2024 at 1:07 pm

        Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Lisa! Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    9. Maryam says

      May 17, 2024 at 4:02 pm

      My family is addicted to this vegan pumpkin cake and so have made it for every special occasion and holiday since 2020. I’m getting older and perimenopausal and needing to try and minimize my consumption of carbs, so i tried making a special alternative batch of cupcakes for myself by substituting almond flour 1:1 in place of all
      Purpose flour, and using a sugar substitute in place of regular sugar. The cupcakes still tasted amazing but the texture was strange and soggy. Might you have any suggestions for a better ratio to use when making these cupcakes, but with almond flour instead of all purpose flour? Thank you so much for your amazing vegan baking recipes!!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        May 30, 2024 at 12:34 pm

        Hi Maryam! You can check out our recipe for vegan pumpkin cupcakes. We haven’t tested the recipe with almond flour so I’m not sure if that would work out. If you want to make this recipe gluten free, rather try an all purpose gluten free flour like Bob’s gluten free flour.

        Reply
    10. P says

      December 16, 2023 at 5:39 pm

      Just made this today. Beautifully soft and moist, lovely gingery flavour, not too sweet. Family preferred this without the icing.5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        December 18, 2023 at 8:10 am

        Thank you so much for your wonderful review!

        Reply
    11. Julia L says

      November 24, 2023 at 12:14 am

      Delicious and moist! Love that different pan baking times were mentioned. I opted for a vegan german buttercream since I don’t like how sweet american buttercream is. The cinnamon icing with the pumpkin spice was perfect for thanksgiving <35 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        November 27, 2023 at 12:42 pm

        So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Julia! Thanks so much for your great review!

        Reply
    12. Jordana Otten says

      November 22, 2023 at 7:14 pm

      I’ve baked this cake last year for my own wedding. We wanted something different, and since we eloped, it was just for us. This year, it’ll be our first anniversary and also Thanksgiving, and I’m going to bake it again to share with the rest of the family. It is truly delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s going to be a staple at our table for every anniversary. ♥️5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        November 23, 2023 at 10:40 am

        That’s amazing Jordana! Thanks so much for your lovely words and great review! Happy Anniversary for all of us at Loving it Vegan! 🙂

        Reply
    13. Beth says

      November 13, 2023 at 5:34 am

      My friend Sue served the most delicious cake today…so I asked for the recipe and was delighted to discover it is one of Alison’s. Unsurprising in a way, as I rave about these recipes to everyone and I’d told Sue about this site. Thank you for another great recipe, Alison!5 stars

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        November 17, 2023 at 8:56 am

        Thanks so much for sharing and for your amazing review Beth!

        Reply
    14. 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
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