This vegan pumpkin chocolate crumb cake is a lovely Autumnal treat. It features a moist, tender spiced pumpkin cake base and is topped with a substantial layer of rich, decadent dark chocolate crumble. It’s the perfect treat for any occasion and is really easy to make too!
Chocolate works surprisingly well with pumpkin, whether it is chocolate chips in pumpkin bars or sweet bread rolls, or an impressive marbled chocolate pumpkin bread. This vegan pumpkin chocolate crumb cake is a chocolatey twist on a classic pumpkin crumb cake, with a thick layer of crisp dark chocolate streusel instead of the classic cinnamon.
The crunchy crumb topping contrasts beautifully with the soft, tender cake, and the visual contrast between the two layers is quite striking too!
It is inspired by this recipe from King Arthur baking, tweaked to suit me (I upped the chocolate and left off the glaze!) and obviously veganised using my usual pumpkin cake recipe.
Ingredient Details:
Plain (all-purpose) flour: Just regular plain flour is best here. I do not recommend swapping it for wholemeal as that will make the cake too dense. I haven't tested this cake gluten-free.
Sugar: You will need both light brown soft and caster or granulated sugar.
Pumpkin spice: In the UK this is readily available online and you can also make your own - see below for instructions.
Tinned pumpkin puree: You need to use pure pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. It is available from many larger supermarkets in the UK, or online. See instructions below for how to make your own.
Oil: Any neutral flavoured oil that is liquid at room temperature will work. I tend to use olive oil (not extra virgin), but sunflower oil is also good.
Milk: Any variety of unsweetened non-dairy milk will work (except tinned coconut milk) but I like soy milk the best for baking as it has the highest protein content.
Vinegar: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to help the cake rise and give it a fluffy texture.
Vanilla: Optional but recommended.
Vegan butter: You will need a vegan butter for the crumble topping, block rather than spreadable is best, I like Flora plant butter.
Cocoa powder: I used black cocoa powder to give the crumb topping a really dark appearance, regular Dutch processed cocoa is fine as well though.
Chocolate chips: Adding some chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate to the crumb topping adds extra bursts of chocolate flavour.
How To Make Pumpkin Chocolate Crumb Cake:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: To make the crumb topping, stir together the melted butter and the sugar. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix to form a soft dough. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Step 2: To make the cake, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, milk, vinegar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.
- Step 3: Whisk in the pumpkin spice, baking powder and soda and salt, followed by the flour.
- Step 4: Scrape the cake batter into a lined 20 cm square cake tin and spread it level.
- Step 5: Use your hands to break the crumb topping into pieces and scatter them evenly over the cake batter.
- Step 6: Bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Top Tips:
As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for proper measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml and they should be level, not heaped.
Be careful not to over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough, just stir it by hand with a balloon whisk (not an electric mixer) until no dry lumps remain.
The cake is ready when it is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
Use a sharp serrated knife to slice the cake, sawing through the crumb topping to avoid squashing the cake as you slice it.
The crumb topping may look a bit greasy when the cake is warm, this is normal and it will firm up as it cools.
How To Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice:
Pumpkin pie spice blend isn’t readily available outside of the US. In the UK the closest thing we have is mixed spice (though M&S have started selling pumpkin spice and it is available online), but it is a different blend of spices to pumpkin spice so it’s not the best thing to use if you want a true pumpkin spice flavour.
The good news is that it is really easy to make your own using a few common spices – cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.
To make it, just mix together 3 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoon ground ginger, 2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground cloves and 1 teaspoon ground allspice.
You can easily halve the recipe if you only want to make a small jar of it, but the homemade pumpkin pie spice will keep in an airtight container for ages and is perfect for using in all your autumnal and festive bakes.
How To Make Pumpkin Puree:
I used tinned pumpkin puree to make this vegan pumpkin chocolate crumb cake which I get from Sainsbury’s; it can also be found in some Tesco’s, Waitrose and on Ocado and Amazon. In the supermarkets it is often hidden away in a little ‘American section’ in the world foods aisles.
If you can’t find it however it is also really easy to make your own; you just need to halve, de-seed and roast an eating pumpkin (NOT a carving one) or a butternut squash until it is tender, then scoop the flesh out of the skin and puree it until smooth.
Roast it at around 200C/400F/gas mark 6. The time it takes will very much depend on how large the pumpkin/squash is so just cook it until the flesh can easily be pierced with a fork.
I don’t recommend boiling the pumpkin to cook it as that will make the puree too wet.
FAQ's:
The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for around 4 days. It is best eaten on the day it is baked however as the streusel topping will soften a little over time.
Yes, any leftover cake can be frozen in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months. Allow to defrost at room temperature.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Crumb Cake (vegan)
Equipment
- 20 cm/8 in square cake tin
Ingredients
Crumb Topping:
- 140 g (10 Tablespoons) vegan block butter melted
- 100 g (½ cup) light brown soft sugar
- 35 g (3 Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 180 g (1 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 25 g (4 ½ Tablespoons) black cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 85 g (½ cup) chocolate chips
Cake:
- 210 g (¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons) pumpkin puree
- 90 g (½ cup) light brown soft sugar
- 50 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 68 g (5 Tablespoons) neutral oil (I use olive)
- 45 g (3 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- ½ teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 170 g (1 cup + 7 Tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160℃ fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a deep 20 cm (8 in) square cake tin with baking paper, making sure that you leave some overhanging on either side so that you can easily lift the cake out later.
- To make the crumb topping, stir together the melted butter, the light brown soft and caster/graulated sugars and salt in a bowl.140 g (10 Tablespoons) vegan block butter, 100 g (½ cup) light brown soft sugar, 35 g (3 Tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar, ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix to form a soft dough. Stir in the chocolate chips then refrigerate while you make the cake batter.180 g (1 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour, 25 g (4 ½ Tablespoons) black cocoa powder or Dutch processed cocoa powder, 85 g (½ cup) chocolate chips
- To make the cake, use a balloon whisk to whisk together the pumpkin puree, light brown soft and caster/granulated sugars, oil, milk, vinegar and vanilla in a mixing bowl.210 g (¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons) pumpkin puree, 90 g (½ cup) light brown soft sugar, 50 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar, 68 g (5 Tablespoons) neutral oil (I use olive), 45 g (3 Tablespoons) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), ½ teaspoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk in the pumpkin spice, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, followed by the flour. Be careful not to over-beat the batter, just mix it until no dry lumps remain.2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ¼ teaspoon table salt, 170 g (1 cup + 7 Tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Scrape the cake batter into the lined cake tin and spread it level.
- Use your hands to break the crumb topping into small pieces of varying sizes and scatter them evenly over the cake batter.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The crumb topping may still look a little greasy in the middle, it will firm up as it cools.
- Allow to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes then use the overhanging parchment to carefully lift the cake out of the tin and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, store in an airtight container.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details, storage instructions and step-by-step photos.
- All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup coversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for proper measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml and they should be level, not heaped.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and Facebook, and subscribe via email to get all our latest recipes!
Jay
This is such a fantastic cake - great balance of flavours and textures with the crumbly chocolate crumble and the soft pumpkin loaf. I'm not a great baker but I found it really easy to make, too. 10/10!