Soft & Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
This is the BEST vegan pumpkin cake ever! Topped with a silky vegan cream cheese frosting, this pumpkin spice cake is full of cinnamon and fall flavors while being super moist, tender, and rich!
The best pumpkin cake I’ve ever had
If you love all things pumpkin (like vegan pumpkin spice lattes, vegan pumpkin roll cake, vegan pumpkin cupcakes, vegan pumpkin coffee cake, and of course vegan pumpkin pie) then you need to try this ultra rich and fluffy vegan pumpkin cake.
It’s soft, moist, and full of pumpkin spice flavor. Next to my chocolate vegan pumpkin cake, this is the ultimate Thanksgiving cake recipe (and for more vegan Thanksgiving desserts, check out our vegan Thanksgiving dessert recipes and vegan Thanksgiving menu!).
This twist on a spice cake is full of fall flavors, super tender and soft, and deliciously sweet yet tangy, thanks to the dairy free cream cheese frosting.
And yet, this pumpkin cake is entirely vegan, eggless, dairy free, nut free, soy free, and can easily be made gluten free.
I KNOW, right?!
Get ready for the best pumpkin cake you’ve ever had as well!
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients
Here’s all that you need to make the best damn vegan pumpkin cake you’ll ever taste:
- Flour: you can use gluten free 1:1 baking flour here or cake flour. I note in the recipe card below to use cornstarch or arrowroot powder if you’re not using cake flour! This yields an extra tender cake texture.
- Pumpkin pie spice: or a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and cloves!
- Leavening agents: baking soda and baking powder
- Vegan buttermilk: a mixture of dairy free milk (keep this vegan cake recipe entirely nut free with my oat milk) and apple cider vinegar.
- Pumpkin puree: This replaces any need for eggs in our vegan pumpkin cake.
- Vegan butter: I like Miyoko’s here.
- Maple syrup: For flavor!
- Sugar and brown sugar: I recommend Florida Crystals sugar here, as they are vegan and sustainably produced.
- Vanilla extract
Then of course we have the super dreamy and smooth vegan cream cheese frosting with a kick of cinnamon for extra fall flavor!
How to make a vegan pumpkin cake with vegan cream cheese frosting
The vegan pumpkin cake
You just need one bowl to make this pumpkin spice cake!
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add in the wet ingredients and fold together using a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter into cake pans.
- Bake!
With pumpkin, it’s a very dense ingredient, so the cakes take slightly longer to cool than any of my other vegan cake recipes.
I recommend allowing the cakes to cool in the pans first, then transfer them to a cooling rack to fully cool evenly. Only when the cakes are fully cool should you begin to frost! Otherwise, you’ll have cake layers slipping onto the floor!
The vegan cream cheese frosting
This is my favorite touch to this pumpkin cake that I think just really sets it apart.
My biggest tips for making an ultra velvety smooth and sweet yet tangy vegan cream cheese frosting are these:
- Bring the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese to room temperature: you should be able to easily dent the two with your index finger.
- Sift the powdered sugar: this ensures that there are no clumps of sugar in your frosting, and the dairy free frosting is so creamy and smooth.
- Use dairy free milk for an ultra velvety texture: this ties together the entire recipe
- Add in cinnamon for an extra fall kick!
How to decorate vegan pumpkin cake
My absolute favorite part about make a vegan cake recipe is the decorating part.
For this vegan pumpkin cake, I decided to make little cream cheese frosting pumpkins out of the vegan frosting I made!
To do this, simply reserve a 1/2 cup of frosting prior to frosting your cake. Dye the frosting orange by mixing in turmeric and beet powder or your favorite plant based yellow and red food dyes.
Chill the frosting so that it becomes moldable, like clay. Then roll the frosting into oval shaped balls, like pumpkins! You can do varying sizes and shapes, because as we know, pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes!! 😉
Use chopped cinnamon sticks, chocolate chips, or actual twigs for the pumpkin stems!
The best vegan pumpkin dessert recipe you’ll make this season!
Of course, I do love a classic vegan pumpkin pie. Don’t get me wrong.
But with how lush and tender this vegan pumpkin cake is, all while being super easy, I mean, you just cannot go wrong with cake.
This eggless pumpkin cake is
Super moist
Silky smooth + tender
Full of pumpkin spice flavor- Hellloooooo, FALL!
Sweet, yet slightly tangy thanks to the vegan cream cheese frosting
An absolute showstopper at any fall party, Thanksgiving table, or winter celebration!
Make it gluten free if needed and entirely nut free and soy free with the recipe below!
I hope you love this vegan pumpkin cake as much as I do! If you make it, let me know down below in the comments section, as well as giving it a rating so that others may find it.
As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy pumpkin cake baking!
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If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!
Print
Soft & Fluffy Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is the BEST vegan pumpkin cake ever! Topped with a silky vegan cream cheese frosting, this pumpkin spice cake is full of cinnamon and fall flavors while being super moist, tender, and rich!
Ingredients
Vegan Pumpkin Cake:
- 1 cup (240 mL) vegan buttermilk
- 3 1/2 cups (440 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 1 3/4 tbsp pumpkin spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 650 g pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
- 6 tbsp (87 g) vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 3 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 batch vegan cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk first: whisk together the dairy free milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5-7 minutes to curdle. You’ll start with the dry ingredients while this is setting.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line three 8″ cake pans with olive oil and parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add in the pumpkin puree, sugars, vegan butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined. Then add in the dry ingredients, along with the vegan buttermilk, and whisk just until incorporated.
- Divide the batter into the three cake pans evenly and place the cake pans into the oven to bake for 32-35 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cake pans from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer the pumpkin cake layers to a cooling rack to fully cool before frosting. This should take between 35-40 minutes.
- Once the cakes are cooled, you can prepare the vegan cream cheese frosting. Beat together the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese until fluffy. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer.
- Sift in the powdered sugar and continue to beat. Add in the cinnamon, maple syrup and dairy free milk while beating the vegan cream cheese frosting. The frosting should be fluffy and smooth.
- When ready to frost your cake, reserve about 1/2 cup frosting for making the pumpkins. If making the pumpkins, add in turmeric powder and beet powder or your favorite vegan orange food coloring, and mix the food coloring into the frosting. Place the frosting into the fridge while you frost the rest of the cake. Then layer the frosting onto each cake layer and use a bench scraper to smooth the edges.
- Place the cake into the fridge to set while you make the pumpkins. Roll the frosting into small oval balls, like a pumpkin, and place onto parchment paper. Place them back into the fridge to set for 10 minutes. When ready to serve, remove the pumpkins and the cake from the fridge and place the pumpkins on top. You can use cinnamon sticks, chocolate chips, or twigs for the pumpkin stems. Decorate and serve!
Notes
Gluten free: Swap in King Arthur’s Measure for Measure gluten free baking powder for a gluten free pumpkin cake.
Keywords: vegan pumpkin cake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin spice cake, vegan pumpkin spice cake, vegan cream cheese frosting, cream cheese frosting
So good! I made this for my family and family friends, none of which are vegan and all of which love sweets. They loved it! Personally it can’t top your vegan vanilla cake, which is so moist and fluffy, but this is a keeper!
★★★★★
Aw my goodness!! You are too kind!! So happy to hear it (and so glad you also love the vanilla one!! I’m making that for my birthday again in 2 weeks ha!!). Thank you so much again and enjoy!!
What is the vegan cream cheese you use? I’m super interested in making this cake with this frosting but I haven’t found a tasty dairy free one yet.
Hi Liliana! I’ve tested this with both Kite Hill and Miyoko’s- I really like them both!! I find that Miyoko’s (the classic version- NOT the lox version, it’s not so clear on the packaging at first glance!) tastes the most like a cream cheese frosting when paired with the vegan butter, but Kite Hill is also good! For nut-free, I believe Go Veggie has a nut-free vegan cream cheese!
Can you use regular milk or buttermilk instead? My niece has an egg allergy, but no issues with milk
Hi Danielle! Yes you can use regular buttermilk here, in the same quantity!
What temperature do I set the oven to and how long do I bake it for? Thank you so excited to try it!
Hi Cara! So excited for you to try it! The temperature is 350F and the recipe card says the bake time depending on what size cake pans you’re using! Enjoy 🙂
I’m awful at baking but I am determined to make this cake!!
Yes!! You got this!
Hi! Planning on making this soon!
What kind of pumpkin would you use if you’re making the pumpkin puree from scratch? We don’t have canned pumpkin puree in our stores.
Hi Kristel!! Absolutely! I recommend sugar pumpkins (sometimes called pie pumpkins)- I know they’re really popular in CT (where I’m located) but I think they can be found nationwide at grocery stores!
I’m going to make this recipe as cupcakes. How long should I bake the cupcakes for?
Hi Ashlee! I do have a pumpkin cupcake recipe if you’d like to try that- https://thebananadiaries.com/healthy-pumpkin-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/ this is what this cake is based off of! But if you’d like to use this recipe in particular, they will bake a bit longer, because of the denseness of pumpkin. I’d check the cupcakes after 28 minutes and see where they are!
So good! I used 2 c Tigernut flour, 1 c Arrowroot starch and 1/2 c coconut flour as a replacement for the all-purpose flour to make it grain/gluten free.
★★★★★
Any other frosting that would pair well? My niece is not a fan of cream cheese
Absolutely! You can use my vegan buttercream frosting, and add some cinnamon to it so that it’s a bit more exciting! 🙂