Vegan pumpkin cake with a fluffy frosting
Everyone is going crazy over pumpkins. I see hundreds of pumpkin pics in my Instagram feed and on Pinterest and I couldn’t resist baking something with pumpkin either. Maybe you are still looking for a fall recipe or a recipe for Halloween? Well, this gluten-free vegan pumpkin cake will probably be your new favorite fall recipe.
Pumpkin is just perfect for baking, it’s low in calories, contains lots of beta-carotene which is a powerful antioxidant and so healthy. Furthermore, it makes all baked goods moist and yummy. Definitely try it out as long as the pumpkin season lasts.
Healthy gluten free vegan pumpkin cake recipe
This delicious vegan pumpkin cake contains only whole foods, no gluten, no eggs, no dairy, no butter and no refined sugar. It is super moist but not gummy, the texture actually turned out pretty amazing.
I used fresh pumpkin for this cake but I guess you could also use canned pumpkin puree. You can enjoy the cake without the cashew frosting if you have to avoid nuts, it will still taste amazing.
This vegan pumpkin cake is:
- Dairy-free
- Egg-free
- Refined sugar-free
- Plant-based
- Gluten free
- Can be made nut-free
- Healthy
- Moist
- Fluffy
- Delicious
- Easy to make
Top this vegan pumpkin cake with a fluffy frosting
Well, this step is optional, but I really like to enjoy this vegan pumpkin cake with a creamy and fluffy cashew frosting. You only need to blend a few ingredients for this frosting and in my opinion, it tastes even better than heavy whipped cream.
If you can’t eat cashews I would recommend to whip up a chilled can of coconut milk (the thick white part) and use it as frosting. Whipped coconut milk is equally delicious and so much healthier than heavy whipped cream.
If you want a low-fat/low-calorie frosting then definitely check out this recipe from me: VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE CARROT CAKE
Easy to make healthy recipe
This gluten-free vegan pumpkin cake is easy to make in 7 simple steps and it took me less than one hour (from start to finish) to make this recipe. Keep the cake covered in the fridge, so that it doesn’t dry out. As always I will also include the nutrition facts in the recipe notes.
Please leave a comment below if you make this vegan pumpkin cake. You can also make a photo of it and post it on Instagram (or send me a DM). If you tag me in the caption + photo with @elavegan and use the hashtag #elavegan I will gladly check out your post and leave a comment. Happy fall baking!
Vegan Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup (160 g) rice flour white or brown (see notes)
- 1 cup (90 g) oat flour gluten-free if needed
- 1/2 cup (45 g) dried shredded coconut unsweetened or ground almonds
- 1/2 cup (80 g) coconut sugar or granulated sugar of choice
- 2 tbsp flax seeds ground or chia seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- Cinnamon, allspice to taste
Wet ingredients
- 240 g fresh pumpkin grated (or 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin puree)
- 1 cup (240 ml) plant-based milk
- 1/4 cup (60 g) nut butter of choice e.g. almond butter (see notes)
- 2 tbsp (40 g) maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cashew cream (optional)
- 2/3 cup (100 g) cashews
- 1/4 cup (60 g) plant-based milk
- 2 tbsp (40 g) maple syrup or agave syrup
- 1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Cover the cashews in a jar or small bowl with hot water and allow them to soak for 30-50 minutes (then discard the water).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius and line an 8x4 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and stir with a whisk or spoon until there are no lumps.
- Process all wet ingredients in a blender or food processor until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula or whisk.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick, inserted into the center of the loaf, comes out clean. Let it cool.
- Blend all ingredients for the cashew cream in your blender until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Spread about half of the cream on the cake (you can save the remaining cream for another dessert). Enjoy! Store leftovers covered in the fridge.
Notes
- Rice flour: You can use a gluten-free flour blend (e.g. Bob's Red Mill 1:1 all-purpose flour). Use regular wheat flour or spelt flour if you aren't gluten-free.
- Nut butter: You can use any nut butter of choice or sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version.
- The recipe makes an 8x4 inch loaf which I cut into 11 slices. The nutrition facts are for one slice (without the frosting).
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
such a lovely recipe my girl! love the frosting!
Thank you sweetheart 🙂
This looks sooo yummy!! Im looking for a recipe to make at Christmas and I think I just found it! ????
So happy to hear that, Britt! I hope you will like it 🙂
Incredible cake! Lots of ingredients but once you have them you can make it again easily. So worth it even non vegans love it. My 1 year old adores it too! Highly recommend giving this one a go. Thank you Ela xx
Thank you very much for your great feedback, Maudie. 🙂
Hi Ela, First and foremost thank you for such a healthy and delicious recipe! I added some turmeric to spices and loved it. I also replaced coconut sugar for golden monkfruit sweetener. I used brown rice flour rather than white rice flour. So in the end, taste was great but texture a little too moist for me. When eating it stuck to the roof of my mouth. I wonder if I under-baked? I baked at same settings and for 40 minutes total. Next time would like to try using almond meal rather than oats for a little more dryness. Thoughts? Looking forward to trying your other recipes! Thanks for sharing my post on IG stories! xo
Hi Violet, thanks for your comment. I am glad you liked the taste of my pumpkin cake. Did you use fresh (grated) pumpkin or canned pumpkin puree? I used fresh pumpkin and my cake came out perfect with a wonderful texture (which you can see in the photos). Since all ovens are different (I have a gas oven), maybe 40 minutes was not enough (did you make the toothpick test)? I noticed that cakes with brown rice flour often turn out a little bit moister than cakes with white rice flour, so that could have been another reason. Looking forward here back from you 🙂
Oh! I used canned pumpkin purée. I did test with toothpick but it came out clean. It may be it didn’t penetrate the very middle of the cake tho. Yes have gas oven too. But you know, I am willing to give it another try with white rice & fresh pumpkin. Thanks again Ela! 🙂
That’s amazing! Please keep me updated. Thank you 🙂
Hi Ela,
This looks delicious! Do you know a substitute for the rice flour? Would spelt flour be okay or would the cake be too moist because of the gluten in spelt?
Xx
Hello Dionne, I don’t use spelt flour because it contains gluten, so I cannot tell you how the result will be. But normally it should turn out good because it’s much easier to bake with AP or spelt flour. Please, try it out and report back. 😉 However, you could also make your own rice flour if you have a good high-speed blender. 🙂
Sehr lecker! Vorallem dieses Frosting! Hab ein wenig mit dem Mehl experimentiert und hat wunderbar funktioniert! Nur weiter zu empfehlen! Danke für das Rezept 🙂
Ein Bild von meinem Backversuch findet ihr auf Instagram unter @allforvegfood !
Dankeschön für dein super Feedback liebe Antonia. 🙂 Dein Bild ist spitze!
Meine „To bake“ Liste wird immer länger 😀 deine rezepte sehen einfach alle unheimlich gut aus 🙂
Wie lieb, dankeschön! Ich backe einfach unheimlich gerne, wie man sieht. 😀
Optional…HA. That frosting is so lush there is no real choice, I need it and every fluffy crumb of this beautiful orange cake underneath in my life/mouth/tummy! You are so talented with vegan/gf baking, the inside texture of your cakes and loaves is always flawless, I am so impressed. It’s funny, I forget about cashew frostings and usually go for coconut instead, but those cans of coconut milk can be so finicky I need to rethink and stock up on cashews instead. Absolutely beautiful cake Ela, what I wouldn’t give for a slice right now????
Awww your comments are always so kind and thoughtful, Natalie. And hahaha, normally I would make coconut cream frostings more often but the coconut cans here are super weird (they often don’t separate at all!) and most of the time end up with a liquid mess, and therefore it’s “safer” to choose the cashew option lol. 😀 Thanks for your lovely comment 🙂
Mmm I love moist, dense sweet loaves! This looks stunning Ela and that frosting sounds amazing 😀
Thank you very much, Nadia. 🙂
This looks AWESOME! I sooooo wish I was a baker! lol
Aww, thank you so much, Jennifer! I hope you will give my recipe a try 🙂
Going to make it today Looks so delicious Just wondering are the cashew raw or roasted Thank you Ela
Sorry I missed your comment, Paula. It’s better to use raw cashews but you can also use roasted ones which are darker in color though and will result in a more yellowish frosting.
This looks SO delicious Ela! Perfect Fall recipe!
Thank you Jess! I wish I could share it with you 🙂
Ohhh, I’m obsessed with anything pumpkin at the moment, and this cake looks delicious Ela! That frosting looks so good and so smooth! I can almost taste it 🙂 Great work!
Thank you so much dear Anna! Yes pumpkin season is amazing and I am glad you like my cake. 🙂
I love pumpkin cake too Ela and this looks so delicious! It looks really dense and hearty like one slice would be so filling! I love that you topped it with cashew frosting too, a nice creamy contrast to the spice cake. Love it Ela!
Thank you very much, Brandi. I wish I could send you a slice or two to try. 🙂
Wow, Ela! The crumb on this beautiful pumpkin cake looks absolutely perfect. You are an incredible baker, you have a way with gluten free like no other! I am definitely trying this, I have a house full of squash and mini pumpkins right now. Love the cashew icing. And these shots are so tempting! Love it xo
Aww, thank you so much for your sweet comment, Bo. I am really flattered my dear. 🙂
Liebe Ela, danke für dieses tolle & einfache Rezept. Habe den Kuchen heute gebacken, mit Schokoladenüberzug, und er ist wirklich super geworden. Genauso wie der Kartottenkuchen, ist dieser Kürbiskuchen wunderbar saftig – richtig lecker! 🙂 Ganz liebe Grüße, Hanna
*Karottenkuchen 😀
Das freut mich sehr, liebe Hanna! Danke für dein super Feedback. Dein Foto bei Instagram ist der Wahnsinn 🙂
I like that the recipe is simple and the ingredients are healthy. The cake turned out a little too moist, but my husband loved it. He said it was better than pastry at Starbucks 🙂 Maybe my cake was too moist because I used peanut butter instead of almond butter. Also, I didn’t add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to the dough.
Thanks for your great feedback, Victoria. So happy your husband loved it 🙂
What an amazing seasonal treat! Your cake is so beautifully styled and presented and I especially love that it’s just a few steps and done in less than an hour. I would love to sink my teeth into this healthy yet decadent cake.
Haha “sink my teeth into it” so funny, Nisha! Thanks for your lovely comment, you always make me smile 🙂
Ela! I love love the way you make this recipe so dense. It could be a super healthy breakfast! I am going to pin to my Dessert for Breakfast board! haha, thank you so much for sharing! Dee xx
That’s awesome, Dee! Thanks for pinning it to your “Dessert for Breakfast board”. Lots of love 🙂
sieht fantastisch aus, Ela! und das cashew frosting ist eine super Idee für ein frosting ohne Puderzucker. Liebe Grüße, Pat
Dankeschön meine liebe Pat! Ich freue mich sehr, dass dir mein Kuchen gefällt 🙂