Vegan Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting
A moist delicious vegan pumpkin cake topped with salted caramel frosting and extra vegan salted caramel on top.
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Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
Vegan Salted Caramel:
- 13.5 ounces can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 cup turbinado sugar coconut or brown sugar also works
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
Vegan Pumpkin Cake:
- 1 ⅓ cups oat milk or soy/almond milk
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Vegan Salted Caramel Frosting:
- 1 cup vegan butter
- ¼ cup coconut cream
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar *add more if needed
- ½ cup vegan salted caramel ¼ cup for frosting, ¼ cup to drizzle on top of cake
Instructions
Make the Vegan Salted Caramel
- Add the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bean paste to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring consistently until the caramel is amber in color and thicker.
- Remove the caramel from the heat, stir in the salt, and let cool at room temperature. Once cooled, place in a closed container in the fridge to "set" for at least one hour. I prefer to make the caramel the day before baking the cake so it can set in the fridge overnight.
Make the pumpkin cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9*13 inch pan with parchment paper or lightly grease the pan.
- Add the oat milk and apple cider vinegar to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together and let sit to curdle for 2-3 minutes to create the "vegan buttermilk".
- Next, add the pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, olive oil, and vanilla to the bowl of vegan buttermilk and mix all the wet ingredients together.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Once sifted, gradually add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl of wet ingredients and whisk together until a smooth batter forms. I like to start with a whisk and switch to a spatula so I do not overmix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the 9*13 inch pan and bake for 28-32 minutes or until the cake is cooked through.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. If you used parchment paper you can transfer it to a wire rack to cool or let it cool in the baking dish. Once the cake has cooled, make the frosting.
Make the salted caramel frosting
- Add the vegan butter g to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Then, add in the coconut cream and cream with the vegan butter for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup of the salted caramel and whip it into the butter and coconut cream. Once the caramel is incorporated, slowly add the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and whip it into the frosting until smooth. Once all the powdered sugar has been mixed in, I recommend whipping the frosting for a few minutes longer to make it extra fluffy!
- Once the cake has completed cooled, top with the vegan salted caramel frosting. As a final step, drizzle the remaining ¼ cup of salted caramel on top of the cake. Serve & enjoy!
Notes
- Oat milk can be subbed with any non-dairy milk like almond, soy, or rice.
- I prefer to make the vegan salted caramel the day before I cook the cake and make the frosting, but all of it can be made on the same day if you make the caramel in the morning.
- You can also bake the pumpkin cake the day before making the frosting to save prep time.
- Frosted cake can be stored in a closed container in the freezer for up to 1 month or in the fridge for 3-4 days. Storing in the fridge may dry out the cake, so I recommend storing it in the freezer. Unfrosted and completely cooled cake can also be stored at room temperature for 24-48 hours if covered with tinfoil/plastic wrap or stored in a closed container.
- *This cake recipe was adapted in October 2022 to lead to a more moist and fluffy cake!
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice with frosting and caramel drizzle | Calories: 499kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 3g | Sodium: 521mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 3241IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @shortgirltallorder or tag #sgtoeats!