Author: 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.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake
Servings: 8" layer cake with frosting
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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
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Grace Attwell says
Hi Sam, the recipe looks fantastic, I am going to do it today! I am from the UK so may be asking a really silly question: how many people does the recipe serve? I have clicked on the arrow so that it says Servings: 2 but I don't know if that means it only serves two people? Sorry, really dumb but I am a baking novice! Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
2 would mean "2 8" layer cakes with frosting", enough for a 2 layer cake as shown in the pictures. A 2 layer cake usually makes 10 to 20 servings (depending on how thick of slices you like). Enjoy!
Disa says
Favorite fall cake. I make it with GF flour and it turns out perfect every time! My kids love it too.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh wonderful! Great to know it can be made gluten-free as well 🙂
Eileen Flaig says
I am going to make this for Thanksgiving! I am a relatively new vegan so I am still trying to figure things out so sorry if this is an obvious question! Why do you use both vegetable shortening and vegan butter in the frosting? Is it a flavor thing, or could you just use something like Earth's Balance for both? I am going to get both and make it like you suggested, I was just wondering for future reference!
I will let you know how it turns out after Thanksgiving!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Eileen, congrats on your new veganism! I use vegan butter (Earth Balance brand is my preference), and vegan shortening so that they frosting holds up and doesn't melt. I find the combo gets the perfect flavour and consistency. Enjoy!!! 🙂
Anubha Sahai says
Hey, what if I do not have pumpkin puree? Can you please tell me her w to make it at home ?
Sam Turnbull says
You can follow any recipe, such as this one.
Rosie says
Hands down the BEST pumpkin spice cake I've ever made, There is nothing "vegan tasting" about this cake, It's light, fluffy, and has the perfect texture. (meaning NOT gummy, or dense). It was great the day I made it, but even better the next day!! Thanks so much for sharing!! xoxo
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo!! Thrilled you loved it so much, Rosie 🙂
Franzi says
Thanks for this wonderful recipe - I used it for a Halloween Party and changed it a little bit, since it was handier carrying brownies to a party rather than a cake. If you are interested in my result, visit my blog 🙂
Unfortunately, it is in German, but the pictures should speak for themselves! The Halloween-Pumpkin-Brownies with Pumpkin-Buttercream-Icing were so yummy!
You are a great inspiration for vegan cooking and baking - thank you so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Jen says
Do you think it would still turn out if I subbed lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar in the frosting? I want to make this for my mom-in-law's birthday, but ACV is just so....barfy.... >.<
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, it will, but of course the frosting will taste lemony instead of cream cheesey. Up to you! 🙂
Lauren says
This recipe is AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing it! In my icing instead of regular plant-based milk, I subbed Caligula Farms Pecan Carmel Almondmilk creamer... and it seriously was like caramel pecan/pumpkin pie icing!!! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Wow that sounds amazing!! Thrilled you love the cake so much 🙂
Esther says
Can you use sweat potato instead of pumpkin puree?
Sam Turnbull says
I'm sure that would work just fine! Enjoy 🙂
Amanda says
Just made this; delicious! The Apple cider vinegar gave the frosting the real cream cheese taste. Thank for sharing your amazing recipes!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So happy you enjoyed it, Amanda! You're most welcome 🙂
Erin says
I made this to celebrate my dad's birthday last night, Sam, and it was delicious! Bonus that it was easy to make with readily available ingredients. It's the Pumpkin Spice Cakes of everyone's dreams. Thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Wow! Thanks so much for the lovely review, thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Erin! 🙂
Adrienne says
Saaaaaam! What Vegetable Shortening do you use? I found out Earth Balance has been discontinued! 🙁 I work in a Health Food Store and we haven't been able to get it in! I contacted Earth Balance and they said it has been discontinued in Canada and the US! I don't like the ones in the grocery store, they all use hydrogenated oils. Have you ever tried the Spectrum or Nutiva brand of shortening?
I need to make this cake 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Oh no, I didn't know that the Earth Balance one had been discontinued. That was normally my go-to, but when I'm lazy and don't want to go to a health food store I use regular Crisco. I haven't tried Spectrum or Nutiva but I am sure both would work great!
Adrienne says
Thanks! I'm going to search our catalogues and see if we can find a suitable replacement! We have had customers asking, especially now that baking season is full on!
Jen says
This looks amazing!
My dad's birthday is right on Halloween and normally we would have massive amount of pumpkin from people... I could use those for this recipe!
Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, you could!!! I hope you and your dad love the cake, Jen. 🙂
Kari says
Oh boy. I think this is going to go over very well this weekend when I have my non-vegan parents over. Thanks for making yummy SO easy.
Sam Turnbull says
My absolute pleasure! Enjoy 🙂
Kari says
Just to let you know, my dad, who is as traditional as they come, liked this cake so much that he suggested that we replace pumpkin pie with it. So, I may be making this cake again next weekend for our Thanksgiving meal.
You were right. You could eat this cake without the frosting and still get that pumpkin satisfaction. But, the frosting with the apple cider vinegar is awesome.
Freja says
We don't have vegetable shortening in Denmark, so I was wondering if you think I can leave it out, and maybe use double the butter? 🙂
Also, I just wanna say thank you for this amazing blog! All recipes I've tried were amazing. I lived in Canada for a while and coming back to Denmark and discovering vegan recipes for nanaimo bars and poutine has been perfect for when I'm feeling Canada homesick!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Freja, yes you can use all vegan butter. The frosting will be a little softer, so might want to reduce or omit the non-dairy milk, and keep the cake in a cool place so it doesn't melt. Enjoy!
Janet Schmidt says
All I can say is Wow! This is one great cake-I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for the wonderful recipe '-)
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! You're most welcome, Janet! So very happy you enjoyed it so much 🙂
Darcee says
Made this and your chocolate cake recipe for a party I had last night and both were devoured and loved by everyone! I got so many compliments and I will definitely be making this repeatedly in the future!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo!! Thrilled to hear that Darcee! 🙂
Jamie says
Thanks so much for this recipe!! I was wondering if you know how this batter would work if I wanted to make a loaf instead of 2 cake rounds?
Thanks again!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jamie, it should work ok, but use this helpful chart to help you. Make sure the measurements match up. It looks like you will be able to half the recipe for a medium loaf pan. Also, the cooking time will likely be a little longer, so make sure it is done by inserting a toothpick in the middle. Enjoy!
Nora says
Oh.My.Gosh. Amazing! So I saw this on facebook this morning, and I'm like nah, I can wait on it...I'll make it for Thanksgiving or something....Well, couldn't wait, went to the store, grabbed me some pumpkin, and just made this cake exactly as written. It's SO unbelievably delicious, and made my kids very happy! 🙂 I love how simple your recipes are and easy to make. I wasn't sure about the apple cider vinegar in the frosting, but yeah, it works! It gives it a little "tang" like cream cheese frosting. Thanks Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That was super fast. Yaaaaayyy!!! So happy you and your kids loved it so much, Nora! Thank you for your comment and stars 😀
Kristi says
I cannot even express my excitement at seeing this recipe this morning. A million thanks! I wanted to make something pumpkin today but couldn't decide what to make. Decision made!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wow! Maybe I'm a mind reader? Haha. How's that for timing! I hope you love the cake, Kristi 🙂
Kristi says
So I finally got around to making this last night. It’s amazing! Perfectly pumpkin spice! You’ve done it again, Sam! I sent the recipe to my friend, but she can’t have apple cider vinegar. She can’t have lemon juice either, so can’t sub that out. Is it possible to omit it? Would she want to increase the baking powder or baking soda?
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so very much 🙂 You need an acid to activate the baking soda which helps it rise. Without an acid, it will be too dense. Can she use another type of vinegar?