This vegan pumpkin spice sheet cake is absolutely delicious. It’s so soft, airy and incredibly moist, easy to make and it’s topped with a smooth and creamy cream cheese frosting, with mini pumpkins. It’s vegan, gluten-free, egg-free and soy-free.
This recipe has been made in collaboration with Planet Organic – the Uk’s first fully organic supermarket. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. (For more information along with affiliated links, check out my disclosure policy.)
Vegan Pumpkin Sheet Cake
When you thought the perfect pumpkin sheet cake didn’t exist, let me introduce you to THE BEST EVER Vegan Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake. It’s the perfect pumpkin cake for a hungry crowd or simply for the family. Not only does this pumpkin cake taste absolutely delicious on it’s own, it’s topped with a light and creamy cream cheese frosting which is utterly divine! It’s easy to make, decorate and will be devoured in minutes!
Why you’ll LOVE this sheet cake
- Fully vegan
- Easy to make
- Filled with fresh pumpkin
- Cake is super moist
- Perfect for a crowd
- Fun to frost
- Great for storing
- Can be made in advance
The BEST pumpkin sheet cake
It is one of those cakes where one slice isn’t enough, trust me! The cakes are ridiculously light and moist. I am so excited to have partnered with Planet Organic to bring you this SCRUMPTIOUS recipe! I used their Pumpkin Spice Latte blend along with some vanilla paste to flavour the cake. WOW! The pumpkin spice latte blend is truly divine! It really flavours the cake with its warm and cozy tones! I also used some fresh pumpkin puree just to give the batter and cake a light orange colour, and to enhance the pumpkin flavour! This cake is bloomin’ delish, and I cant hype about it enough!
Vegan cream cheese frosting
When you thought the cake couldn’t get tastier, cue the frosting! Oh my goodness, cream cheese frosting should be illegal. It’s one of the most addictive things on earth! I used a mixture of dairy-free butter, dairy-free cream cheese, icing sugar and more of the pumpkin spice latte blend from Planet Organic. It’s light, rich, airy and pairs beautifully with the cake. To make it look even more autumnal, I coloured some frosting with food gel and piped on some mini pumpkins. It’s fair to say, this cake is SUPER cute! Anyone you serve this to will smile! Planet Organic is my go-to shop of all things ‘organic’ obviously, but they have an OUTSTANDING vegan range! I am so impressed by the vast majority of products which they sell both in store and online. From baking ingredients to vegan frozen food, its all there in one place!
Check out Planet Organic here, make sure to check out the products I used for this recipe which I have listed in the ingredients list on the recipe card below.
How to make a pumpkin spice sheet cake
- Batter
Make the pumpkin spice cake batter. Mix the dairy-free milk and apple cider vinegar together, set aside to curdle. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add in the buttermilk, oil, vanilla and pumpkin ingredient into the dry and mix until smooth. Pour into the lined tin.
- Bake
Bake the cake in the middle of the preheated oven for the allocated time. Make sure to check the cake is ready and fully baked by inserting a skewer down the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean its ready, if there is batter left on the skewer, the cake will need more time to bake. Just keep an eye on it, and make sure the top doesn’t burn.
- Cool
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for around 10-15 minutes. Lift the cake out of the tin using the overhanging greaseproof paper and place on a wire rack and allow to cool fully. Once cool store the cake in a sealed container to keep it moist, and fresh before frosting.
- Frosting
Cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Whip in the icing sugar and vanilla. Smooth some frosting over the entire cake to cover.
- Pumpkin design
Transfer left over frosting into two separate bowl. Colour one with orange and the other with green food gel for the pumpkin and stalk. Transfer into separate piping bags, fitted with small round tip nozzles or snip off the tip of the piping bag.
- Serve
Slice the cake into small squares using a large, sharp knife. Serve and enjoy!
Looking for more pumpkin bakes, check these out:
Mini No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Print
Vegan Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
The BEST Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake. Perfectly spice pumpkin sheet cake topped with cream cheese frosting and mini pumpkins. Vegan, easy to make and delicious!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cake
- 230ml of dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
- 100g of caster sugar
- 250g of self raising flour
- 2 tablespoons of Pumpkin Spice Latte Blend
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract / vanilla paste
- 2 tablespoons of pumpkin purée
- 70ml of sunflower oil
Ingredients for the frosting and the decoration.
- 80g of dairy-free butter
- 20g of dairy-free cream cheese
- 230g of icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract / vanilla paste
- Splash of dairy-free milk if needed
- Green food gel
- Orange food gel
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
Optional Decoration
Instructions
Method (Cake)
- Preheat your oven to 180ºC fan and line an 8 x 8 inch square cake tin with greaseproof paper. Allow the paper to hang over the tin slightly, this makes it easier to remove the cake when baked.
- 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’.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, pumpkin spice blend, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well to combine. Add the vanilla, pumpkin purée and oil into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the lined tin. Level it out with the back of a spoon or offset spatula.
- Place the cake into the middle of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know it is done when you put a knife or skewer down the middle of the cake and it comes out clean and it’s springy to the touch. If batter comes off on the skewer, it needs more time to bake. To prevent burning, top the cake with some greaseproof paper then return back into the oven.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully transfer onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool fully before frosting. You can even place the cake in a sealed container once cool then frost the day after. It’s a very light sponge so be careful with it when removing from the tin.
Method (frosting)
- 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.
- Sift in the icing sugar and vanilla. Whip on high speed for a couple of minutes to incorporate it. Add a splash of dairy-free milk to get it to a smooth consistency.
- Remove 4 heaped tablespoons of the buttercream and separate into three bowls. Leave the majority of the buttercream white, colour one bowl with orange food colour, the 2nd with green and the third with some cocoa. You don’t need much coloured frosting for this, only for the pumpkins on top, so only use what you need. The rest of the frosting can be swirled to the top of the cake.
- Transfer the orange buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a small round-tip nozzle. Add the green and brown into separate piping bags with a tiny bit of the tip snipped off.
- Using a pallet knife, carefully spread and swirl the white frosting over the entire cake.
- Pipe mini pumpkins with the coloured buttercream (watch the video tutorial here).
- Decorate with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts (optional).
- Slice and serve.
Notes
To store: Keep this cake stored in a sealed container in the fridge. Leave at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving. Best eaten within 3 days of making. Un-iced cake can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 days.
What food colour to use? Gels are highly pigmented which means you won’t need as much. I like to use THIS brand of food gels.
What dairy-free butter to use? My favourites are Naturli Vegan Block, Naturli Spread and Flora Plant Based Block Butter. All work amazingly in vegan buttercream!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Cakes and layer cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Hi, I’ve not made this recipe yet but can you explain the pumpkin puree. Do I need to boil/roast some pumpkin and then blitz it or should I be using pumpkin from a tin? Thank you 🙂