I admit it, I have a slight addiction to all things pumpkin spice. Call me a millennial (I am one), call me a sucker for marketing (I am totally a sucker for marketing), call me a lover of this fall tradition (I totally love this tradition). Seriously, what's not to like about Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake!? You better believe that's a fluffy spiced frosting on there too. Initiate drooling sequence.
Reasons why I love this Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake:
- PUMPKIN SPICE!!!!!! (Duh).
- The pumpkin in the recipe makes this cake super moist, not too sweet, and it's balanced with the perfect amount of party in your mouth pumpkin pie spice goodness.
- If you're not the frosting type of person (who are you!?), it's great without as well and pairs marvellously with coffee if I do say so myself.
- I cut the sweetness of the frosting ever so slightly by adding a touch of apple cider vinegar. WAIT! Don't run away. I promise this is a brilliant addition that sounds all sorts of weird but tastes amazing. It gives it a slight cream cheese frosting feel. Sam cooking hack 101. Don't do it if you don't want to (but you'll want to).
- This is the perfect cake for Thanksgiving, tea time, to celebrate autumn, or just as an excuse to eat more pumpkin spice... as if you even need an excuse!
Every visitor I've had this week has happily walked away with a cake to take home. While my first test run of this cake was pretty great, I ended baking up 6 whole cakes. YES, 6! My house smells like pumpkin spice permanently I'm pretty sure (and I'm not mad about it).
Call me nitpicky but I test my recipes multiple times before posting them on It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken so that I know they will work perfectly for you. With this cake, it was a little tricky figuring out the perfect ratios of pumpkin but I finally nailed it. Woohoo!
To make Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake:
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Then in a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix.
Divide the batter among the cake pans and give the pans a little wiggle to help flatten the batter. Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, mix all the ingredients together with a hand or stand mixer until fluffy.
Frost your cake as desired. This time I kept it a little rustic by exposing the cake layers, but there is enough frosting to cover the whole cake if you prefer. I then added a little extra pizazz by grating a bit of fresh nutmeg on top.
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup plant-based milk (such as soy or almond)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ cup light oil (such as canola or vegetable)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 2 tablespoons plant-based milk (such as soy or almond)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F (180C). Lightly grease two 8" round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.
- In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the batter just comes together, don’t over mix. Divide the batter among the cake pans and give the pans a little wiggle to help flatten the batter. Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, mix all the ingredients together with a hand or stand mixer until fluffy, adding 1 - 2 tablespoons plant-based milk to reach desired consistency. Frost your cake as desired. This time I kept it a little rustic by exposing the cake layers, but there is enough frosting to cover the whole cake if you prefer. I then added a little extra pizazz by grating a bit of fresh nutmeg on top.
Nutrition
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Amber says
This is the fluffiest, most moist pumpkin cake I've even had. I love this recipe! I made it with a chocolate ganache filling for Thanksgiving last year, and it was a delicious combo, everyone loved it.
Carolyn Carlisle says
Can this cake be made in a Bundt pan?
Michelle says
I've made this cake before but can't remember if I left a comment or not, so decided it was time to do so! What a FANTASTIC cake! I added a few walnuts and raisins (about 3/4 cup of each) and baked two 9" round cakes and they are incredible. The cake is delicious on its own but the frosting just puts it over the top! Thanks once again Sam!!!
Einnah M says
I made about 2 dozen cupcakes with this recipe. I skipped the icing. My family and I ate them all in one weekend. So delicious and moist. Thank you so much this recipe! I just wish I knew what to do with the remaining can of pumkin puree.
Diana Potyok says
add a cpl tbls to your coffee and put it in a blender for a pumpkin spice latte!
Krista says
Hi there, i was just wondering if the bake time was altered to change the recipe to cupcakes? I have made this cake many times and it’s always perfection but I’ve never done cupcakes. Im throwing a party and planning on bringing cupcakes as its more party friendly.
Thank you