Method (Cake)

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c fan and line three, 8 inch loose base / push up cake tins with greaseproof paper. If you don’t have 3 cake tins you will have to bake the cakes separately. Just cover the unused batter until you’re ready to use it.
2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.
4. Mix well to combine.
5. Add the oil and pumpkin puree into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
6. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
7. Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins. Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
8. Pop the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.
9. Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool slightly before removing them from the tins. Leave the cakes to cool fully on the cooling rack.  Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.

Method (frosting)

1. In a large mixing bowl, add in the dairy-free butter and cream cheese, whip until creamy. I use a stand mixer with a balloon whisk attachment, a hand mixer will work great too.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and cinnamon. Whip on high speed for around 5 minutes to incorporate it.
3. Place one of the cakes on a serving plate or cake stand. Dollop or pipe some of the buttercream on top and spread out until even using an off-set spatula or pallet knife.
4. Optional filling: Make a well in the middle of the buttercream and fill with 1-2 tablespoons of caramel sauce.
5. Place the second cake layer on top. Press it down gently so it sticks, repeat for the third cake. Coat the whole cake with a thin layer of buttercream. This creates a crumb coat.
6. Place the cake into the the fridge to set for 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove the cake from the fridge and apply a second/final coat, this time making it thicker, then using a cake scraper to make the edges of cake smooth.
8. Add some of the white frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip nozzle and pope a swirl around the top edge of the cake.
9. Separate the left over frosting into two separate bowls. Colour one with with a dab of orange food gel and a dash of cocoa powder to create a deep orange colour. Add some cocoa powder to the second bowl to create a chocolate coloured frosting. Transfer the orange frosting into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip nozzle, and transfer the brown frosting into a piping bag and snip off the tip.
10. Use the orange frosting to pipe little pumpkins around the cake in a scattered pattern. Then use the brown frosting to create a stalk at the top of the pumpkin. If you have left over frosting, you can pipe some mini pumpkins to the top edge of the cake.
11. Slice and enjoy!