Pumpkin Marble Cake (vegan)
Vegan pumpkin marble cake with swirls of pumpkin and chocolate cake and a touch of pumpkin spice. This recipe uses one main cake batter, so you don't need to prepare two completely different recipes! The cake is slightly fudgy, perfectly cozy and wonderful for dessert.
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 15 ounces (425g) pumpkin puree canned or homemade (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 ¼ cup (240g) packed light brown sugar or granulated cane sugar (note 1)
- ½ cup (110g) neutral flavored oil
- ⅓ cup (85g) dairy-free milk room temperature
- ⅓ cup (60g) dairy-free yogurt room temperature
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
Dry ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (280g) all-purpose plain flour spooned and leveled (note 2), sifted if needed
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (note 3 for homemade blend)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Chocolate layer
- ¼ cup (25g) dutch-process cocoa powder sifted if needed
- 2 tablespoons (30g) dairy-free milk
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder optional (for a deeper chocolate flavor)
Chocolate ganache, optional
- ½ cup (85g or 3 oz) dairy-free chocolate finely chopped
- ½ cup (120g) thick scoopable canned coconut cream note 4 for other dairy-free cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) loaf pan (ensure it's at least 2.75-inch tall) or 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper.
Make the batter:
- Add the wet ingredients including the sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just before it is combined. Do not overmix the cake batter and some pockets of dry/wet ingredients are fine. You'll be mixing the batter more later.
- Pour half of the pumpkin batter in a separate bowl. Add the cocoa powder, milk and optional espresso powder to one of the bowls. Stir the batter in their separate bowls until just combined.
- To assemble the cake, use 2 x 1/2 cup measures or 2 large spoons of the same size. Dollop 1/2 cup of the pumpkin batter into your prepared cake pan. Top with 1/2 cup of the chocolate batter. As the batter will be thick, gently shake the pan to flatten the layers. Repeat until all of the batter has been used up. Don't worry if your layers mix a little.
- Bake the cake for around 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes. At the 30-40 minute mark, if the top of the cake is browning too quickly, carefully tent the loaf pan with aluminum foil. The cake is ready if you insert a toothpick in the center and there's no wet batter on the toothpick (a few moist crumbs are fine).
- Let the cake cool in the pan for around 10 minutes then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the chocolate ganache:
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the chocolate and mix until combined. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to let the chocolate melt.
- When the chocolate has melted, stir to combine. Let the ganache cool for at least 10 minutes, then drizzle on the cooled cake. Place the cake in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to set the ganache.
- Slice the cake and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 4 days. Or store individual slices in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Light brown sugar provides the best flavor. However, you can use granulated sugar (for a lighter and fluffier cake) or coconut sugar (for a refined-sugar free cake).
- Please ensure you measure the flour accurately otherwise, your cake will be dry and dense. If you're using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method where you fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. I don't recommend using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as this usually packs in too much flour. Alternatively, use the grams measurements.
Gluten-free version: This recipe works well with King Arthur's measure for measure flour (and we've tested it)! However, I recommend baking the loaf for an extra few minutes as gluten-free flour absorbs moisture differently. - To make your own pumpkin spice, use 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and a pinch of ground cloves. If you don't have any nutmeg, ginger or cloves, add more cinnamon.
- Alternatively, use 1/3 cup (75g) of dairy-free heavy cream. Add a dash more for a thinner ganache.