This Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Loaf Cake is moist, fluffy and covered in a rich “cream cheese” frosting. It comes together in one bowl and is refined sugar free too. Perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
How to make this Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Loaf Cake
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Mix together all the ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
Tip: Make sure to use a measuring jug to measure out the exact amount of plant-based milk!
- Transfer the batter to a one-pound loaf tin.
Tip: Make sure to line the loaf tin with greased baking paper – this will make removing the bread from the tin so much easier!
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the loaf tin and leave to cool on a cooling rack before frosting.
- Use a knife (or palette knife for frosting) to spread the frosting over the top of the loaf.
- Decorate with chopped dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, if desired.
Substitutions you can make to this recipe:
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, olive oil or vegetable oil.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup, date syrup etc.
- You can replace the ground almonds with ground walnuts.
- For a nut-free version: replace the ground almonds with ground sunflower seeds, use a nut-free plant-based milk and use a coconut cream-based cream cheese frosting instead.
- You can use plain flour, wholemeal (whole wheat) flour or spelt flour instead of the gluten-free flour if you’re not gluten-free.
- You can use either shop-bought pumpkin purée or make our own.
- The pumpkin purée can be replaced with sweet potato or butternut squash purée.
- The mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice) and ginger can be omitted.
Ingredients you can add to the cake batter:
- Chocolate chips.
- Dried cranberries.
- Chopped pecan nuts.
How long does this Pumpkin Loaf Cake keep for?
This Pumpkin Loaf Cake tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
More gluten-free vegan loaf cakes:
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe:
Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Loaf Cake
This Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Loaf Cake is moist, fluffy and covered in a rich "cream cheese" frosting. It comes together in one bowl and is refined sugar free too.
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Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 327kcal
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 60 g (¼ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 225 g (1 cup) pumpkin purée
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar * (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) **
- 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 2 teaspoons mixed spice to taste (pumpkin pie spice, or a mixture of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon)
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
For the frosting***:
- 100 g (⅔ cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
To decorate (optional):
- Dried cranberries , roughly chopped
- Pumpkin seeds
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if not using any other oil)
- Once melted, add the milk to the same bowl along with the pumpkin purée, vinegar, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and ground almonds
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and ground ginger
- Mix well, adding a splash more milk if looking too dry
- Transfer the mixture into a loaf tin lined with greased baking paper (I used a one-pound loaf tin)
- Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes until risen and golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean
- Once out the oven, leave to cool on a wire rack before applying the frosting
For the frosting:
- Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender with the maple syrup and lemon juice
- Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary
To frost and decorate the cake:
- Use a knife (or palette knife) to spread frosting over the top of the loaf
- Decorate with chopped dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, if desired
- Tastes best when fresh, but keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days
Video
Notes
*The acidity of the vinegar reacts with the alkali bicarbonate of soda to make the bread fluffy. If you can’t get hold of vinegar, substitute it with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
**You can alternatively use almond flour.
***You can alternatively use this coconut cream-based cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition Facts
Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Loaf Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 327
Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 7g35%
Sodium 53mg2%
Potassium 342mg10%
Carbohydrates 38g13%
Fiber 4g16%
Sugar 19g21%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin A 3502IU70%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 170mg17%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Joanne
Delicious!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!