Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Pumpkin Ganache. Easy 1 Bowl Pumpkin Sheet Cake with a thick chocolate frosting. Vegan Soyfree Recipe. Can be nut-free. Glutenfree option Jump to Recipe 
Cakes make for a perfect end to a festive meal or beginning a day :). This simple spiced vegan pumpkin cake is paired with a smooth hearty thick chocolate pumpkin ganache. The cake is made in 1 Bowl, without added refined sugar, and only takes 15 mins to put together. The frosting is just chocolate and pumpkin, no Butter, no cups of sugar! Simple ingredients, quick and festive!
Make it with less sweet for a breakfast cake. Double the recipe for a layered pumpkin spice cake! Add a sugar frosting layer in the middle and chocolate pumpkin all over. Top with candied pecans or serve with whipped coconut cream. More the merrier.
Mix all the wet ingredients, then fold in the dry to make a thick cake batter. Spread in parchment lined pan and bake. Brush with maple + water mixture for additional moisture. Then spread the ganache. Don’t like chocolate, use my vegan cream cheese based frosting.
More Festive Bakes
- Cinnamon Swirl Cake
- Eggnog Pound Cake
- Easy Coffee Cake – Cinnamon Streusel Cake
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Marble Cake
- Lemon blueberry pound cake
Gluten-free
- GF Cashew Butter Chocolate Marble Cake.
- Gluten-free Cinnamon Roll Bread yeast-free.
- GF Carrot Banana Bread – Also grain-free.
- Sweet Potato Crumb Cake. GF
If you make this cake, do let me know by commenting and using the rating option with the comment.
Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Pumpkin Ganache
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (6.48 oz) pumpkin puree , not pumpkin pie mix
- 1/3 cup (107.33 g) maple syrup
- 1/4 cup (56.5 ml) coconut milk , or use almond milk
- 2 tbsp oil , optional or use more non dairy milk
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice , add 1/2 tsp cinnamon for additional spice
- 2 to 3 tbsp sugar for sweeter (coconut, cane or brown)
Dry:
- 1.25 cups (156.25 g) flour (I use a mix of all purpose and whole wheat)
- 3 tbsp almond flour , or use more flour for nutfree
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
Ganache:
- 1/2 cup (4.32 oz) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (90 g) vegan chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp almond or coconut milk
- 1-2 tbsp (1 tbsp) sugar , optional
Instructions
- Line a brownie pan or 8 or 9 inch cake pan with parchment. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F (180 C).
- Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just about combined. The batter will be thick. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 mins. 5 mins less or more depending on the pan used. Taller cake will need longer time. Check with a toothpick inserted in the middle. It should come out clean. For muffins or cupcakes, bake for 20 to 22 mins.
- Cool for 5 mins, then remove from the pan and cool completely before frosting. At this point you can optionally brush the cake with a mix of 1 tbsp maple syrup+ 2 tsp water(mix well in a small bowl). This keeps the cake more soft and moist.
- Make the ganache: Heat pumpkin puree and milk over medium heat until bubbling hot. Add chocolate, whisk for a few seconds, then take off heat. Continue to whisk until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Cool for 5 mins then chill for 15 mins to thicken. Then then spread over the cake. Add other garnishes such as chopped hazelnuts, coconut or candied pecans. Serve. The frosted cake can be refrigerated for upto 4 days. Frozen for upto a month
Notes
Nutrition
Cassie Autumn Tran says
November 13, 2018 at 8:40 amCAKE, YES! My favorite dessert. On top of that, there’s a chocolate frosting recipe too? My heart has been won! I would try this recipe with oat flour, but I am open to trying out gluten free all purpose flour and whole wheat flour as well. That’s the fun of making cake–you can mix all kinds of ingredients and see what happens!
Carolina says
November 14, 2018 at 1:59 pmHello Richa! This looks lovely 🙂
By a mixture of whole wheat, do you mean pastry flour or the regular kind?
Richa says
November 14, 2018 at 2:50 pmeither will work. i use a ix of all purpose and wheat flours (whole or pastry) usually half and and half.
Divya says
November 15, 2018 at 2:33 amHello. I was wondering how you make the pumpkin puree?
Richa says
November 15, 2018 at 11:19 amhttps://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/22935/pumpkin-puree/ bake and puree
Catherine says
November 15, 2018 at 12:22 pmThis looks lovely. BTW do you have a ginger bread recipe, too?
Catherine says
November 15, 2018 at 12:38 pmI found this and will give it a try, too. This time of the year I like ginger bread cake topped with chocolate frosting. So will give this ganash a try on the jar cake recipe…thank you for sharing your creativity here!
https://www.veganricha.com/2013/12/gingerbread-cake-mix-in-jar-for-1.html
Richa says
November 16, 2018 at 4:28 amhttps://www.veganricha.com/2014/11/vegan-gingerbread-cake.html
Brian Watson says
November 16, 2018 at 1:25 pmwould a greased pan work for this instead of parchment you think?
Richa says
November 16, 2018 at 2:57 pmyes.
D. says
November 17, 2018 at 1:59 pmweird. Mine did not rise at all!
Richa says
November 17, 2018 at 9:45 pmthat shouldnt happen. Maybe the baking powder is old? what was the consistency of the cake in the middle?
Janet Casmaer says
November 17, 2018 at 9:07 pmRicha, I made this tonight and this cake was easy and wonderful! So moist and flavorful. Next time I will try the vegan “cream cheese” frosting variation. I can tell this will become a fall and winter regular in my house. Thank you! — Janet
Richa says
November 17, 2018 at 9:45 pmyay!!
Maneesha says
November 19, 2018 at 5:32 amHi Richa! I made this yesterday, and it was a HIT! so flavorful and soft! The ganache adds such a lovely flavor! Thank you for a great recipe!
Richa says
November 19, 2018 at 12:32 pmawesome!
Chris says
November 24, 2018 at 1:50 pmDelicious cake, good flavor and every dense and rich. Thx for the recipe, I will make again!
Bethany says
November 26, 2018 at 4:49 pmWow Richa . . . this is so good! I used home cooked pumpkin puree which probably has a bit more moisture than canned. Definitely watch the cook time, I cooked my cake in an 8″ glass square pan for 25 minutes and it was done. Made the cake as listed but ran out of milk by the time I got to the frosting so I used 2T of maple syrup to get the moisture and the sweetness in one and it worked out well. Yum, I loved it and will make it again.
Richa says
November 26, 2018 at 5:22 pmawesome!
Alison says
December 30, 2018 at 4:50 amCan this recipe be doubled for a 9×13 pan?
Richa says
December 30, 2018 at 11:33 pmyes
Leslie Lamanna says
January 21, 2019 at 1:39 pmHow many slices per cake? I see 217 calories per slice but isthat 1/6 or 1/8 of the cake?
Richa says
January 21, 2019 at 5:44 pm9 . its right above the ingredients.
Cheffeelove says
January 21, 2019 at 6:03 pmK, thanks. We were looking and couldn’t find it….
Richa says
January 21, 2019 at 6:04 pmno probs. i should prob move it closer to nutrition
Cheffeelove says
January 22, 2019 at 3:38 am👍😉
Jen says
March 16, 2019 at 5:55 pmSo I made this amazing Pumpkin cake with a few changes as I did not have the flour recommended. I used arrowhead mills gluten free flour for about 3/4 cup as that was all I had left. I then used about a 1/4 cut almond flour and the rest oat flour. I also added the additional 3 tbl. almond flour called for. For the spices I used 1 tsp all spice and 1 tsp cinnamon. I only used coconut milk for the cake instead of any oil. I did use a hand mixer to beat the liquid part and then again when adding the flours. The mixture was thick and kind of spongy quickly. Baked it in a square 8″ pan for about 35 minutes I think. It came out so perfect. The texture was spongy and kinda sticky but loved that. So I did finish making the ganache chopping up some of the huge 72% trader joes pound and a half chocolate bars. I needed to add some maple syrup as not sweet enough BUT to be honest, I liked the cake WITHOUT the ganache. It was too perfect alone so thats how I’ll keep it. Really the best recipe out there. Thanks so much.
This is the first recipe I have made from veganricha but will definitely be trying more.
Richa says
March 17, 2019 at 12:09 amAwesome! i have different types of pumpkin cakes on the blog. a crumb cake, a loaf cake without any topping. So i chose a chocolate for this.You can mix and match to preference!
Molly Flannery says
October 3, 2019 at 8:37 pmThank you for this recipe! This cake turned out perfect! I doubled it for a 13×9 pan and topped it with vegan cream cheese frosting, mini chocolate chips and orange zest. My husband and I loved it!
Richa says
October 3, 2019 at 10:36 pmawesome!
Megan says
November 7, 2019 at 8:22 pmAnother awesome recipe! Thanks so much. I made this tonight and it’s delicious.
Richa says
November 7, 2019 at 9:30 pmyay
Donna says
November 16, 2019 at 6:57 amIf I want to double it for a layer cake, what size cake pans should I use? Thanks!
Donna says
November 16, 2019 at 6:58 amOops, sorry, I just saw it in the recipe. Thanks!
Elissa says
November 22, 2019 at 8:39 amCan soy milk be used in place of almond milk? My nephew has dairy, egg, and nut allergies but I think he would love this for Thanksgiving.
Richa says
November 22, 2019 at 11:08 amyes
Merv says
February 14, 2020 at 9:51 pmI made this cake about a week ago. It took longer to make and bake than it did to finishing eating it. Delicious, too delicious. I didn’t frost with ganache, I went with a vegan buttercream. This cake is awesome and so much pumpkin smell and flavor. I doubled the recipe and used two 9 inch pans. Next time I plan to use 8 inch pans.
Richa says
February 15, 2020 at 3:42 pmawesome
Shannon says
April 1, 2020 at 9:24 amDelicious. My son loves it too. I will make this again. Thank you!
Christy says
September 19, 2020 at 10:31 amI absolutely LOVE this cake. Do you think it could be done with all almond or an almond/coconut flour combo?
Richa says
September 19, 2020 at 11:47 amUse this recipe with pumpkin purée and the ganache https://www.veganricha.com/2017/10/vegan-gluten-free-coffee-cake-sweet-potato-pecan-crumb-cake.html
Mom Michelle says
October 5, 2020 at 2:34 pmMy 11 year old daughter said she was bored, so I suggested she bake this cake. It was easy for her and really is delicious. It’s not too sweet at all, which the two of us appreciate. We will be making it again.
Richa says
October 5, 2020 at 7:48 pmAwesome
Shiree Barry says
November 12, 2020 at 9:03 amCan you make this in a circle cake pan?
Vegan Richa Support says
November 12, 2020 at 9:21 amAbsolutely – an 8 or 9 inch pan is perfect.
Marivel Linares says
November 26, 2020 at 12:52 amI made this recipe and the consistency of the cake was really good. Second day was perfect. My guests thought it was on the bland side but I really didnt have maple syrup and used sugar instead (2/3 cup). This will be my TO-GO recipe I only will have to tweak the sugar to 1 cup next time. Thank you!
Vegan Richa Support says
November 26, 2020 at 9:52 pmsounds good – thank you for your nice feedback
Tahira says
December 15, 2020 at 9:36 pmHi there! Would I be able to make this with the same amount of oat flour instead? And maple syrup instead of sugar?
Richa says
December 15, 2020 at 11:29 pmNo. Oat flour is gluten-free and it will need a little bit of starch to help Bind