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Home » Recipes » Dairy Free

Vegan Pumpkin Cake

By Erin · September 10, 2020 · Updated November 3, 2022 · 48 Comments

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Dairy FreeVeganVegetarian

Enjoy this 3-tier Vegan Pumpkin Cake any time of day! It's incredibly moist, made with easy-to-find ingredients and topped with the most delicious cinnamon buttercream icing. 

slice of cake on a plate

This vegan pumpkin cake is insane and I'm pretty positive you won't know it's vegan! It's also made with easy ingredients, like all purpose flour, almond milk and canned pumpkin, which I think is important if you're at all intimidated by vegan baking.

You should know by now that I'm a huge fan of pumpkin. I like it for breakfast, like in these pumpkin overnight oats or my favorite pumpkin smoothie bowl, and I even made a cake for my dog (helloooo pumpkin dog cake recipe!). What can I say? It's just the BEST fall flavor.

Recipe features

  • The cake is just the right amount of pumpkin and spice, and is incredibly moist (nothing worse than a dry cake!)
  • It's topped with cinnamon buttercream, which may or may not be the icing of my dreams
  • It'll 100% get you in the mood for fall (if you aren't already!)

cake ingredients with text overlay

Ingredient notes

Unfortunately, there aren't many substitutions available for this cake recipe. The two that I can think of are listed below.

Almond milk - can use any dairy free milk

Coconut oil - you can probably get away with using any kind of oil. I tend to use coconut oil in my baking because I like the flavor of it, but I'm sure olive oil would work too

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Melt the coconut oil. I almost always use coconut oil in baking, simply because I like the flavor. But, you have to melt it first so it can cool to room temperature before mixing with the other cold ingredients. Otherwise, it solidifies. So, do this step first, then set the oil aside.

Step 2: Mix dry ingredients, then wet. In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, pumpkin and vanilla together, then combine the wet and dry ingredients. Last, stir in the melted coconut oil.

cake batter in a bowl

Step 3: Add batter to pans. Evenly distribute the cake batter into three lined cake pans, using a spatula to smooth the batter out.

Step 4: Bake, then slice tops off of cakes. Bake the cakes for 33-38 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait 10 minutes and then carefully invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Once cakes have have cooled, slice the "domes" off the top of them so you can easily layer the cakes.

cake batter in cake pan

Tips and FAQs

  • Mix the ingredients, but don't over-mix: When baking, I like to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together until the batter is smooth. However, it's important that you don't over-mix or else the cake can end up being too dense in texture, which we don't really want for cake!
  • Line your cake pans: This step may seem a little tedious, but there's nothing worse than baking a cake and then having it stick to your cake pan. Place one of the cake pans on parchment paper, then trace a circle around it three times, cut out three parchment circles and place them on the bottom of the cake pans.
  • Use a serrated knife: If your cake has a bit of a dome on top (mine usually do), it's important to use a serrated knife to carefully slice the dome part off. Simply place the knife on the cake where the dome starts, then rotate the cake while running the knife along the edge of the dome. Once you make a full circle, the dome should come off easily.

Should I add the caramel sauce?

The original recipe called for a drizzle of my homemade (vegan-friendly) caramel sauce over top. Recently, I decided it's not totally necessary, but you're more than welcome to include it if you want!

Can I use a different size cake pan?

This cake is a 3-layer cake made in three 6" cake pans. But, you can use two 9" cake pans instead if you prefer.

three tier cake on a cake stand

More vegan cake recipes

  • Vegan Vanilla Cake with Chai Icing
  • Vegan Chocolate Birthday Cake
  • Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake

If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!

slice of cake on a plate

Vegan Pumpkin Cake

Enjoy this 3-tier Vegan Pumpkin Cake any time of day! It's incredibly moist, made with easy-to-find ingredients and topped with the most delicious cinnamon buttercream icing. 
4.89 from 18 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12 slices
Author: Erin

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups raw cane sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon all spice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups almond milk or any dairy free milk
  • ½ cup coconut oil melted
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

for the buttercream:

  • ½ cup dairy free butter softened
  • 3 tablespoon almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups powdered sugar

for topping:

  • homemade caramel sauce optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Heat coconut oil in a microwave safe dish or over the stove until melted and then set aside so that it cools a bit.
  • In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, vinegar, and vanilla; stir well and then pour in coconut oil.
  • Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to combine, but be careful not to over mix.
  • Line three 6" pans with coconut oil (or parchment) and then pour batter evenly into the pans, pounding them down on the countertop a few times to even out the batter.
  • Bake cakes for 33-38 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Remove cakes from the oven and allow them to sit for 10 minutes before inverting them onto cooling racks. Wait until cakes are completely cooled before icing.
  • For the icing: cream all ingredients together in a stand mixer, or with a hand electric mixer. The icing should be on the thicker side, but still spreadable.
  • To assemble: slice the "dome" off of each cake layer. Place a large spoonful of icing on the top of one cake, using a spatula to smooth it out before placing the second cake overtop of the first layer, repeating this process for the next layer. Use the rest of the icing to ice the sides of the cake. Top it off with some of the caramel sauce (optional).

Video

Notes

*Caramel sauce is optional. If you want the cake to be on the sweeter side, definitely add it! If you don't like super sweet cakes, omit the caramel sauce. 
*Make sure to line your cake pans with parchment rounds (or use plenty of coconut oil) so they don't stick! 
*Calories are per slice and an estimation 

Nutrition

Calories: 466kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 418mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 3177IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in September 2016. It was updated with new text and photos in September 2020.

« Healthier Salted Caramel Sauce
Butternut Squash Chickpea Chili »

About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Annette says

    November 25, 2022 at 7:18 am

    5 stars
    This cake is delicious. Now to find more of your cake recipes.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 25, 2022 at 9:31 am

      Thanks Annette -- I'm glad you liked the cake!

      Reply
  2. Robyn says

    October 10, 2022 at 7:01 pm

    5 stars
    Holy S***! I just made this cake for my newly-vegan husband and he is OBSESSED! I've never had anything so moist! Absolutely delicious. Nobody would ever know it was vegan. This is now our go-to cake. Thank you SO MUCH!!!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      October 11, 2022 at 10:44 am

      Best comment ever!! I'm so happy you and your husband enjoyed the cake 🙂

      Reply
  3. rsp says

    October 20, 2021 at 6:14 pm

    5 stars
    you can substitute any vegetable oil for the coconut oil, including a mild olive oil. Cake always came out great

    Reply
  4. Maureen says

    September 17, 2020 at 9:50 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing! I made this for a work bake off and I won! And no one knew it was vegan.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      September 18, 2020 at 8:21 am

      Woohoooo! Isn't that the best? Thanks for the comment, Maureen!

      Reply
  5. Jack says

    September 17, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    5 stars
    This pumpkin cake was so delicious! My wife is vegan and we absolutely engulfed this cake in 2 days!!

    Reply
  6. Susan Maxey Townsend says

    September 10, 2020 at 8:03 am

    Have you tried substituting with gluten free flour?

    Reply
  7. Rachel says

    March 19, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    5 stars
    Best ever recipe.

    Reply
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