Easy Gluten Free Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cake

 

I love this cake for so many reasons.  The original recipe I started with belonged to my friend Cheryl.  I've since played with it to remove steps - the faster you get this into the oven, the sooner you will be eating - and dishes.  The top 5 reasons why it is frequently made in our house are:

1.  You don't need eggs (or milk).  This makes it perfect for if you are serving dinner to people with allergies (or vegans) and want something more exciting than fruit salad.

2.  No mixer required.  Two bowls (one for the vacation version!), a few measuring cups, a can opener and a spoon, and you're done.

3.  By the time the oven beeps that it's ready, the batter is done.  Yes, a whole cake takes 45 minutes to bake, but that, friends, is why they make muffin tins.

4.  This batter works as a whole cake, muffins, or even baked into donuts.  It's delicious plain, but can only be improved upon if you frost it with cream cheese frosting. (Keep reading for a recipe.)

5.  It is a super-flexible cake.  Not only can you make it with regular all-purpose flour, but it is still awesome using gluten-free flours. And if you only have a large can of pumpkin and are too lazy to measure, just double the ingredients and make two layers or one 9x13 pan or  2 dozen muffins.  You can freeze the extra...if they last that long.

It's a great holiday recipe, and alternative to pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving or Christmas dessert table.  But honestly -- we eat it all year because it's so easy.

All recipes make 12 muffins or 1 8" layer.

Vegan Pumpkin Cake (Wheat Flour)

1 1/2  cups  sugar
1/2  cup  canola oil
1 - 15 oz can  pumpkin puree
1 1/2  cups  flour
1  tsp  kosher salt
1 1/2  tsp  baking soda
1 1/2  tsp  baking powder
2 1/2  tsp  pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8" square or round pan, or line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers.

Combine sugar, oil, and pumpkin puree.

Combine flour, salt, leavenings and spice.

Add the flour mix to the pumpkinand stir gently until just combined.  Pour into pan and bake 45 min for cake layer, 25-30 min for muffins or until toothpick tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto baking rack or platter.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cool fully if topping with cream cheese frosting (see below).

Vegan Pumpkin Cake - Gluten Free

1 1/2  cups  sugar
1/2  cup  canola oil
1 15oz can  pumpkin puree
1 1/2  cups  gluten free flour mix
1 tsp xanthan gum
1  tsp  kosher salt
1 1/2  tsp  baking soda
1 1/2  tsp  baking powder
2 1/2  tsp  pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8" square or round pan, or line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake papers.

Combine sugar, oil, and pumpkin puree.

Combine flour, salt, leavenings and spice.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mix and stir gently until just combined.  Pour into pan and bake 45 min for cake layer, 25-30 min for muffins or until toothpick tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto baking rack or platter.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cool fully if topping with cream cheese frosting (see below).

Vegan Pumpkin Cake - Vacation Version (Gluten Free)

When we go away, this is my favorite version to make.  The leavening and xanthan are already mixed into the Bisquick, so I don't have to pack extra canisters of things.  I just grab a box of Bisquick off the shelf and toss it in the "Kitchen Box" - the rest of the ingredients I can get at any supermarket near our destination.

1 1/2  cups  sugar
1/2  cup  canola oil
1 1/2  cups  pumpkin puree
1 1/2  cups gluten free Bisquick baking mix
2 1/2  tsp  pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a square baking pan with no-stick foil.

Combine sugar,  Bisquick, and spices.

Add pumpkin and oil and mix until incorporated.

Turn into pan and bake 45 min (or until paring knife used to test it comes out clean)

Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, then lift out of pan.  Pull foil away from sides to allow air to circulate around cake.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cool fully if topping with cream cheese frosting (see below).

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

 Fills and frosts 2 - 8" layers with a little leftover, or 2 dozen cupcakes generously.

approx 7 oz (half tub) Earth Balance margarine
1 8 oz tub Daiya cream cheese (plain)
1 lb powdered sugar
about 1/8 c. water or milk substitute (we use So Delicious Coconut Milk)

Using your knife, score the margarine on a diagonal.  Use one triangle of the margarine, or half the container, for the frosting.  This is equal to about 7/8 cup, or a rounded 3/4 cup measurement.  It doesn't need to be exact, so don't go crazy trying to get exactly half (or if you've started using that tub, measure out 3/4 cup without leveling and call it good).

Mix margarine and cream cheese until fluffy.  Combine with powdered sugar and stir to combine.  Add water or milk substitute 1 tbsp at a time until frosting is a spreadable consistency.

 

Store frosted cake/extra frosting in refrigerator.

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