loaf cake

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

September 25, 2019 by hannahhossack 3 Comments

Vegan pumpkin bread – this spiced pumpkin loaf cake tastes like Autumn in cake form! This one-bowl pumpkin cake is soft, moist, spicy, easy to make, full of Fall flavours and perfect for snacking on. Eggless and dairy-free.

I absolutely adore pumpkin cake; sadly pumpkin based baked goods are not very common here in the UK, and tinned pumpkin puree can be difficult to find, though I have managed to find it in Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s and Waitrose so far!

It’s a shame it’s not more popular here, as pumpkin cake is like the Autumn version of carrot cake; full of warming spices with a soft, moist, incredibly more-ish texture.

This vegan pumpkin bread is super easy to make and just uses one bowl – always a bonus to have less washing up to do! It has a wonderfully soft and moist texture and a beautifully spiced flavour; you would never be able to guess that it is vegan!

It keeps well for up to five days in an airtight container, and is perfect for snacking on or even for breakfast with a cup of something hot.

How To Make Pumpkin Puree:

I used tinned pumpkin puree to make this vegan pumpkin bread 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, and therefore the cake, too wet.

How To Make Vegan Pumpkin Bread:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*

Start by whisking together plain flour, light brown soft sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, pumpkin spice (or you can use your own blend of spices – quantities are given in the recipe card below) and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add pumpkin puree (either tinned or homemade – see instructions above), sunflower oil (or another flavourless oil), non-dairy milk, vinegar and vanilla extract and whisk gently until no dry lumps remain but be careful not to over-mix.

Transfer the batter to a greased and lined approx 11.5 x 21.5 cm / 4.5 x 8.5 in loaf tin and spread it level. Scatter a handful of pumpkin seeds (pepitas) over the top then bake for 60-75 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

Loosely cover the top with tin foil for the last 20 minutes of baking if it starts to get too dark.

Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully lift it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days.

Top Tips:

If you are using tinned/canned pumpkin puree, make sure that it is 100% pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling.
Don’t over-mix the batter as that can make the cake tough, just mix it until no dry lumps remain.
Grease your loaf tin and line it with a strip of baking parchment that comes above the sides of the tin so that it is easy to lift the cake out of the tin.
Depending on your oven the top of the cake might start to get a bit dark before it is cooked in the middle. If this happens you can loosely cover the top with a sheet of tin foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking.
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.
Make sure that the cake has cooled completely before you slice it as otherwise the texture can be a little gummy.

Optional Mix-Ins:

I love this pumpkin bread as it is, topped with pumpkin seeds (pepitas), but if you want to get creative why not try adding:

chocolate chips
dried cranberries
raisins
chopped pecans or walnuts

Can I Freeze This Vegan Pumpkin Bread?:

Yes. This pumpkin loaf cake freezes really well in well-wrapped individual slices (make sure it is completely cold before you slice and wrap it!). Allow to defrost at room temperature.

More Vegan Pumpkin Recipes:

Vegan pumpkin cake with maple pecans and cinnamon buttercream
Vegan pumpkin muffins
Pumpkin spice granola
Pumpkin bread rolls
Vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
Vegan sweet potato bread with pecan streusel (ok, so not technically pumpkin but pretty close!)
Vegan pumpkin pancakes
Pumpkin chocolate chip cake bars
Vegan pumpkin mac and cheese
Stuffed mini pumpkins with cranberry and pecan rice

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5 from 1 vote

Vegan Pumpkin Bread

Vegan pumpkin bread - this spiced pumpkin loaf cake tastes like Autumn in cake form! This one-bowl pumpkin cake is soft, moist, spicy, easy to make, full of Fall flavours and perfect for snacking on. Eggless and dairy-free.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, baking, vegan

Keyword cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 8 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

280 g (2 1/4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
135 g (3/4 cup) light brown soft sugar
100 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice/mixed spice (or use 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp allspice and 1/8 tsp cloves)
1/2 tsp salt
320 g (1 1/3 cups) tinned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) (see instructions above to make your own)
120 ml (1/2 cup) sunflower oil (or another flavourless oil)
100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used oat)
1 tsp cider vinegar/white wine vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
a handful of pumpkin seeds (pepitas) to decorate (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease an approx 11.5 x 21.5 cm / 4.5 x 8.5 in loaf tin and line it with a strip of baking parchment that comes a little way above the sides so that you can easily lift the cake out once it is baked.
Whisk together the plain flour, light brown soft sugar, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, pumpkin spice and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the pumpkin puree, sunflower oil, non-dairy milk, vinegar and vanilla extract and whisk gently until no dry lumps remain but be careful not to over-mix.
Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin and spread it level. Scatter a handful of pumpkin seeds over the top then bake for 60-75 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. Loosely cover the top with tin foil for the last 20 minutes of baking if it starts to get too dark.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully lift it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days.

Ultimate Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake

September 16, 2019 by hannahhossack 5 Comments

Vegan lemon drizzle cake – this is the ultimate eggless and dairy free lemon drizzle cake recipe! A soft, moist, easy to make and intensely lemony loaf cake soaked in tangy lemon syrup and topped with lemon glaze. This vegan lemon cake is sure to become a favourite!

If you could only pick one type of cake to eat for the rest of your life what kind would it be? (A harsh sentence I know). Mine would have to be a good old fashioned lemon drizzle.

I’m a sucker for any kind of intensely lemony dessert; and a simple, classic lemon loaf cake, drenched in a sharp lemon syrup, is just about as perfect as cake gets for me.

This vegan lemon drizzle cake is the ultimate vegan version of a classic lemon drizzle cake – intensely lemony, moist, soft and very, very moreish.

In my opinion, when it comes to lemon drizzle, the more lemon the better. If it doesn’t pack a punch then it just isn’t up to standard. The problem is that lemon flavour is often lost a little while baking.

To conquer this, I use lots of lemon juice and zest (of three whole lemons!) in the batter; drizzle the cake with a generous amount of lemon syrup once it is baked, AND top it with a lemon icing and sugared lemon zest once it has cooled. There is no missing the lemon flavour here!

How To Make Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Sift plain flour, cornflour (cornstarch), baking powder and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) into a large bowl then whisk in ground almonds, caster sugar and salt.

Add grated lemon zest, non-dairy milk, non-dairy yoghurt, lemon juice, vanilla extract and melted vegan block butter.

Whisk gently until no dry lumps remain but be careful not to over-beat the batter as that can make the cake tough.

Pour into a greased and lined approx 11.5 x 21.5 cm / 4.5 x 8.5 in loaf tin and bake for 50-55 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. If the top starts to colour too much before the cake is ready then you can loosely cover it with a sheet of tin foil.

Because there is so much acid in this cake batter, it reacts with the raising agents extremely quickly so you need to get it in the oven right away. Don’t leave the batter sitting around at all before getting it into the tin and the oven.

While the cake is baking prepare the drenching syrup – place freshly squeezed lemon juice and caster or granulated sugar in a small pan and heat gently while stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Once the cake is baked, set it aside to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then poke holes all over the top with a cocktail stick.

Drizzle over the syrup, making sure that you pour it evenly around the edges as well, not just in the middle otherwise you will end up with a soggy centre.

Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin. Once the cake is cool, carefully lift it out of the tin using the strip of baking parchment.

To make the glaze, place sifted icing sugar in a bowl and gradually stir in enough lemon juice to form a thick but pourable icing.

Drizzle the icing over the top of the cake and serve (top with sugared lemon zest first if you like; see below for instructions on how to make it). Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

How To Make Sugared Lemon Zest:

If you want to decorate your vegan lemon drizzle cake with some sugared lemon zest as pictured (which also adds an extra burst of lemonyness!), then it is really easy to make.

Simply use a lemon zester – the kind with the little holes for making strips of zest (like this one), to zest two lemons. Mix the zest in a small bowl with 3 tsp granulated sugar so that it is well coated then spread it out on a sheet of baking parchment and set it aside to dry.

Do this while the cake is in the oven then sprinkle it over the top of the cake once it is glazed. It is best to add it shortly before serving as the sugar will melt after a few hours.

How Long Will Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake Keep?

This vegan lemon drizzle cake is really moist so it keeps well in an airtight container for around four to five days.

If you make the sugared lemon zest to decorate the cake with it will only stay crunchy for about a day; but it will still be delicious and good to eat once it has softened.