Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake

A slice of Vegan Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake on a small white plate on a white cloth.

5 from 5 votes

This Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake recipe is soft, well-spiced and delicious all while being eggless and dairy-free! It's the perfect cake for any Autumn celebration.

Prep Time40

Cook Time20

Cooling Time2

Total Time3

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 553kcal

Author: Megan Calipari

Cost: $7

Equipment

1 Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment Or a handmixer
1 Large Bowl
1 Medium Bowl
1 Whisk
1 Spatula
3 6" Round Cake Pans or 2 8" Cake Pans
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
½ tsp Kosher Salt half this amount if using table salt
4 ¾ teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, tightly packed
½ Cup Canned Pumpkin Purée Not pumpkin pie filling
½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
⅓ Cup Canola Oil
1 ½ teaspoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For the Frosting

16 tablespoon Vegan Butter see note
4 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk

Instructions

To Make the Cake

Prepare three 6" round cake pans by greasing the pans with shortening and inserting a parchment circle into the bottom of each pan. This recipe can also make two 8" cake rounds.
Preheat oven to 350* F.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk to combine.
1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, 4 ¾ teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin purée, non-dairy milk, canola oil, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk well to combine.
1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, tightly packed, ½ Cup Canned Pumpkin Purée, ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk, ⅓ Cup Canola Oil, 1 ½ teaspoon White Vinegar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Add the dry ingredients into to wet ingredients and whisk to form the batter. See note.
Divide the batter evenly between the pans and gently spread it out with a spatula or knife.
Bake in a 350* oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove from the pans onto a parchment-lined sheet tray to cool completely, about 2 hours.

Make the Frosting

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, cream the vegan butter until its completely smooth. Then, add the powdered sugar and mix on low until it comes together.
16 tablespoon Vegan Butter, 4 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
Add the vanilla and non-dairy milk and mix on low until combined, then turn the speed to medium and mix until its light and fluffy, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk

Stack the Cake

Place a cake upside-down onto a cake board or cake stand. Top the layer with about ½ cup of frosting and use a butter knife or an offset spatula to spread it out. Top with another upside-down cake layer and repeat.
Use the same butterknife or offset spatula to frost the outside of the cake. Serve!

Notes

If you don't have pre-made pumpkin pie spice use this blend:

2 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoon Ginger
¼ teaspoon Allspice
⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon Cloves

Whisk only until the batter is formed, then stop. Over-mixing can result in a tough cake.

Choose a vegan butter that comes in stick form. My favorite is Soy-Free Earth Balance Buttery Sticks.

To make the cake even easier to stack, place the cake layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes before stacking.

Nutrition