Spiced vegan pumpkin coffee cake with a cinnamon swirl and generously topped with pecan crumble! Tender, moist and utterly delicious!
This cake is fluffy, moist, easy to make and is perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea or dessert! If you're in North America or Canada, this cake is great for September/October, Fall and Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving!
What to expect from this pumpkin coffee cake
This cake has 3 components:
- Fluffy vegan pumpkin cake. Moist, eggless and all the good things! The recipe is based on my fluffy pumpkin donut recipe and easy sweet potato snack cake.
- 2 ingredient cinnamon sugar layer.
- Simple pecan crumb or streusel topping (it can be made nut free if you're allergic or avoiding).
Ingredients for the vegan pumpkin cake
This cake uses common pantry ingredients including:
Notes about the ingredients
All-purpose / plain flour. For a gluten free cake, I've included an option for you in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Light brown sugar, cane sugar or coconut. Light brown sugar is the best for flavor and it's adequately light in color so you can still see/taste the cinnamon swirl.
Pumpkin puree, either canned or homemade.
Pumpkin spice or a homemade blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
Baking powder AND soda to make sure the pumpkin cake is fluffy!
A complete list of ingredients, quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Preparing the crumb topping and cinnamon layer
First, we need to prepare the additional layers!
To prepare the crumble, add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until it is crumbly. There shouldn't be any pockets of butter or flour but the mixture should be 'chunky' like a typical crumble mixture.
To make the cinnamon sugar layer, simply mix some coconut or dark brown sugar with cinnamon.
Preparing the cake batter
Like all of my cake recipes, these steps are SUPER easy.
Simply add all the liquid ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add all your dry ingredients and mix through! The batter is thick but will bake beautifully!
Assembling the vegan pumpkin coffee cake
Pour half of the cake batter in the tin and smooth the surface (the batter is quite thick).
Liberally sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top then top with the remaining cake batter. You may need to smooth the surface again.
The last step is to scatter the crumb topping/streusel mixture. It may look like A LOT of crumble but it will all stick when the cake bakes.
I used an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake tin but an 8 inch square cake tin or loaf tin will also work! You will just have to adjust the baking time :).
Top tip: baking the vegan pumpkin cake
My top tip for baking the cake is to keep an eye on the crumb topping. It's high in nuts and sugar so may brown quickly.
If your crumb topping is already golden brown but your cake is still uncooked, cover your cake tin with a baking tray or aluminum foil (as long as they don't touch the cake).
This traps in the heat and forces the middle of the cake to cook, rather than the outside. Alternatively, you can reduce the oven heat by 50-60°F (10-15°C).
More easy vegan pumpkin recipes
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Vegan Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Pecan Crumble
- ½ cup (50g) pecans, chopped or ½ cup (65g) more flour
- ½ cup (65g) all-purpose plain flour, or gluten free all-purpose flour for gluten free
- ¼ cup (55g) vegan butter
- 3 tablespoons (40g) granulated, brown or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon sugar layer (optional)
- 3 tablespoons (35g) dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Pumpkin Cake ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) pumpkin puree, canned or homemade (not pumpkin pie puree)
- ¾ cup (190g) dairy-free milk,
- ¾ cup (140g) light brown sugar, cane sugar or coconut sugar (note 1)
- ⅓ cup (85g) light-tasting vegetable oil
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 2 for gluten free option)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin spice, (note 3 for homemade blend)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease or line an 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pan.
Crumb topping:
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until there are no more pockets of flour and butter and everything is roughly combined.
Cinnamon sugar layer (optional):
- In a small mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix until well combined.
To prepare the cake:
- Add the pumpkin puree, milk, sugar and oil to a large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until there are no big lumps. Set aside.
To assemble the cake:
- Spread half the cake batter into your cake tin and smooth the surface with a spatula or spoon. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. Dollop the remaining cake batter on top and smooth the surface. Sprinkle the crumble on top (there'll be a lot of crumble).
- Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted into the middle and there is no wet batter on it. If the cake is browning too quickly at any point, cover the cake tin with an oven-safe tray or aluminium foil.
- Allow the cake to rest in the cake tin for at least 5 minutes. Remove the cake from the tin, dust with powdered sugar (if desired) and serve!
- The cake can be kept at room temperature for 1 day or in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
Notes
- Light brown sugar produces the best results as it provides a subtle caramel flavour and ensures the cinnamon layer is still obvious. However, the other sugar types may be used.
- For a gluten free vegan pumpkin cake, substitute the plain flour for a high quality 1:1 gluten free flour OR 1 cup (100g) almond flour and 1 cup (160g) gluten free all-purpose flour.
- For a homemade pumpkin spice blend, use 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger and ½ teaspoon ground cloves.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2020 and updated in 2021.
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Hi,
I really want to try this cake but I am going sugar less these days. Please can you let me know how I can make this a healthy sugar free cake, please?
thank!
Hi! It depends what you mean by sugarless. This cake will work with unrefined coconut sugar and maybe granulated monk fruit sweetener or a granulated stevia blend, though the texture and colour of the final cake will be different. I hope that helps!
Can I use a 9” spring form pan for this cake?
Yes that's fine! The cake will just bake in less time (check it at maybe 40 minutes).
How can I replace the vegan butter ? It’s possible With coconut oil ( solid or liquid ?) thanks for the answer
Yes, you can replace it with softened coconut oil (the solid form but soft enough that you can poke a finger in it). However, I'd recommend adding a pinch of salt to mimic that buttery flavour.
Would brown rice flour work instead of white rice flour?
Thanks 🙂
Yes absolutely! The texture is very slightly different but if you're used to brown rice flour, that's fine 🙂