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.
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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.
Sadia says
Hi! I have two questions. One, can I replace coconut sugar for the granulated sugar in this recipe? Two, how many servings is this recipe for?
Sam Turnbull says
Cooling with alternative sweeteners is not my expertise but this article should help you. As for the nutrition information, I have updated it for you, a 2 layer 8" cake serves about 18 people (depending on how large or small you prefer your slices of course).
Karen says
Hi, I recently discovered that most white sugar isn't vegan because of how it's processed. Wondering if you could note that in the recipe for those that eat vegan because of autoimmune diseases. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Karen, using bone char in sugar isn’t very common anywhere other than the US. Always good to double-check with the brand you are purchasing. I use Redpath here in Canada and they say on their site that it’s vegan-friendly. A good tip is that organic sugar is always vegan.
Callie says
Hey Sam,
Do you think I could add walnuts to the batter?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! That would be delish. I would stir them in last before pouring into the pans. Enjoy!
Nancy says
I’m not vegan, but I am allergic to milk, cheese and butter. This is my go-to website for dairy-free recipes! I made this cake and it’s delicious! I made it in a bundt pand and dusted with powdered sugar. Yum!!
Sam Turnbull says
That's wonderful, Nancy!! Thrilled you are enjoying my recipes so much 🙂
Lori Benes says
Hi Nancy,
I don't always have great luck with bundt pans. Did you bake at the same temperature? Approximately how long did you bake the cake?
Nancy says
Oh, my gosh -- it was so long ago I don't remember how long I baked it. But I'm pretty sure I baked it at the recommended temperature, although I recall it took longer than usual. I just kept poking it with a bamboo skewer til it came out clean. But it came out perfect. I was a little worried that the edges would be tough since it was in the oven so long, but it was great.
OK, now I want to make this cake again. Thanks for the reminder!
Jacqueline says
Used squash purée and it came out awesome! Couldn’t believe how fluffy it was, great texture for something without eggs. We have a daughter that is allergic so finding good recipes is hard. This one is being saved!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!!! So happy you loved the recipe so much, Jacqueline!
Susan says
Apple cider vinegar makes everything better! (Well, most things.) Seriously!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! It's a magical ingredient 🙂
Emily says
I made this as a bundt cake (it needed to bake ~20 minutes longer than what you called for) and topped it with a chai glaze. So good!
Sam Turnbull says
Ohhhh sounds delish! Love the idea of chia glaze 🙂
Shannon Leigh says
Next week I have to bake six cakes for a cake walk fundraiser and plan to have six varieties so I test baked this one last night.It came out beautifully. I took it to work and it got, overall, rave reviews. It is fairly sweet so a small piece goes a long way (which is really nice).
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you and everyone at your work raved about it, Shannon 🙂
Ale says
Hi Sam,
lovely page and recipe, however i never manage to get the right consistency frosting. ever!
My frosting always turn out runny, no matter how much sugar i add :'(
could you please advise on what brands i could use for the butter and shortening? I like in the UK so they most likely be different but it would help me compare with the ones i buy?
thank you so much in advance,
Ale 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
I use Earth Balance brand. Make sure the vegan butter your working with is cold and firm, not melted. You want to make sure you're using a powdered sugar (sometimes called icing sugar or confectioners sugar). If you're doing all of that and still have the problem, then I would start with less vegan butter and slowly work your way up as needed.
Sherry says
This looks wonderful! However, I am WFPBNO (whole food plant based no oil) so I was excited to see this listed under the Oil Free Recipe section. Sadly, I click on the recipe and it has oil. I can manage the cake and replace with applesauce but the icing has vegan butter and vegetable shortening. YIKES! I'll have to search around for another oil free icing recipe.
Sam Turnbull says
Apologies for that, Sherry, I incorrectly labelled it. Fixed now! I hope you find a good frosting recipe 🙂
Emma says
I’m so glad I found this recipe! It’s lovely that it’s so fuss free and doesn’t call for anything too crazy. I live in China so finding weird vegan ingredients that some recipes call for can be near impossible and I only have a toaster oven but this still turned out amazing. I decided to not do frosting and it reminds me of my favorite pumpkin bread from my pre-veg childhood.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed the cake so much, Emma!! Fuss-free is the name of the game here 🙂
Jenn Nees says
I made this for our Thanksgiving dessert. Only hiccup was that I didn't actually have icing sugar to make a frosting, but we ate these up regardless! So tasty and delicious!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved it, Jenn 🙂
Coleen Tew says
Hi Sam! This looks delicious! could I use a bundt pan instead of two cake pans?
Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Coleen! Yes, that should work, but the baking time would likely be much longer. Here is some info on it for you to check out. Enjoy!
Coleen Tew says
Thanks very much Sam.
Rebecca Garlett says
I made this cake for my father's birthday and it got rave reviews. My husband, who claims he doesn't like pumpkin, went back for seconds. I turned these into cupcakes. It made about 20, and I cooked them for about 20 minutes. The only recommendation I would make is to leave the vinegar out of the icing. I found it too overpowering, and ended up making a second batch of icing without it. I think the icing is just fine without the vinegar.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww so happy you enjoyed it so much, Rebecca 🙂
Dawna says
Have you ever made cupcakes from this recipe?
If so, how many does it make and what was the cooking time?
Love this recipe and you’re book!
Sam Turnbull says
Thanks Dawna! This recipe would make about 24 cupcakes. The oven temp would be the same but the baking time would be reduced. I haven't tried it myself so I don't know the exact time, but I would guess they would take about 2/3 of the time to bake. Keep an eye on them and do the toothpick test. Enjoy!
Katie says
Just made this today! Wowie wow the flavors are so yummy! Tastes just like fall. Thanks for sharing.
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Katie! SO happy you enjoyed 🙂
Lois says
Wow wow wow! This is the most amazing cake EVER! I made it as the conclusion to a plant-based meal I prepared for my omnivore friends (it was my month to host our book club and to provide our food) - it can be quite challenging to find things to eat that satisfies everyone but I can say that everyone loved this cake... and wanted seconds! I even shared with my son-in-law who isn't a pumpkin spice fan but he was pleasantly surprised at the flavors and said he'd eat another piece - if I had one to give him! Thank you!
Tagging you in IG 😀
PS. I made it in a glass 9x12 pan and it turned out great!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful! I'm so thrilled you loved the cake so much! I made it for my book club too once 🙂
Lorie says
I was wondering how well it would work in a 9 × 12. Did you change the cooking time? Can't wait to try this recipe
Beatriz says
This cake was amazing.. Made it for my husband's birthday and omg... Delicious.. I am not a baker but these was definitely a success. However I made a different frosting from another website it uses only vegan butter cinnamon powdered sugar and vanilla and I added pumpkin spice it was absolutely outstanding!!!! I wish I can share a picture
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed the recipe so much 🙂 You can always tag me in a photo on Instagram @itdoesnttastelikechicken 🙂
Allison says
I'm making this recipe for a friend's wedding in a couple of weeks, thanks for the recipe! I'm starting my first practice runs, and so far, it's tasting delicious but the consistency is slightly dense, more like pumpkin bread than like a cake. Any idea what I could be doing wrong? I'm at high altitude (Colorado) and I'm not sure how to adjust for that, so that could be part of the problem. Also, would you recommend cooling the cakes in the pans or taking them out right away?
Thanks for any suggestions!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Allison, I don't know anything about high-altitute cooking so I can't help there. I let the cakes cool in the pan. If you find the cakes too dense it may mean that you are overmixing them a bit. Hope that helps!
Hayley says
Get really excited for fall and want to make this recipe in August! However I never have apple cider vinegar around. What would you think is a better sub - lemon juice or white vinegar?
Sam Turnbull says
Either would work, but white vinegar tends to have a strong flavour so I would use the lemon juice as you will likely taste it less. Enjoy!
Hayley says
Thank~you! Can't wait for the first cool(er) day of August to whip this up 🙂
Aurora says
I tried this recipe but turned it into a carrot cake by using the same ammount of grated carrots instead of the pumpkin-puree.
I am from Germany and we dont have these cans of pumpkin puree available in stores and as the pumpkin season is over I could’nt make my own. I also dont have pumpkin spice, maybe I buy it online sometime Go try the original recipe.
Also I substituted some of the flour (maybe 1/3) with potato starch. The cake turned out verry light and fluffy and was a huge success 🙂
Thank you for your time and efford to make these recipes available to us!
Aurora
Sam Turnbull says
You're welcome 🙂
J L Gulliver says
I set this recipe aside last fall and finally made it a couple of days ago. This is my first cake to bake since we became vegans two years ago. It is so flavorful. I've made several of a variety of your recipes and want to thank you for your creativity. Too bad I waited so long to taste this deliciousness!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, J L. So happy you finally made it 🙂