Moist and delicious Vegan Pumpkin Cake made grain-free, egg-free, and dairy-free. This paleo and vegan pumpkin cake is healthy enough to eat for breakfast!
This post is sponsored by Thrive® Culinary Algae Oil.
Made with almond flour, tapioca flour, coconut sugar, and algae oil, this grain-free vegan pumpkin cake is marvelously delicious while being a healthier dessert option.
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, it would be a shame to not eat this for breakfast. 😉
This paleo Vegan Pumpkin Cake arguably my favorite holiday-inspired dessert recipe I’ve made to date. It’s just simple, unpretentious, and beautifully flavored.
I used Thrive Algae Oil in the cake to keep it nice and moist while providing quality monounsaturated fats. Unlike olive oil, algae oil is virtually flavorless, so it doesn’t impact the flavor of the cake – all of the pumpkin spice flavor shines!
You have probably read this in my Roasted Winter Vegetable Quinoa Salad and Instant Pot Turmeric Chicken and Root Vegetables posts recently, but algae oil is generally what I use when I’m cooking at high temperatures. I also love it for baking due to how deliciously subtle the flavor is as well as its nutrition benefits.
Let’s discuss the dairy-free (and vegan) “cream cheese” frosting I used for the cake.
I simply whipped up a batch of my Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, which is made with raw cashews that have been soaked, pure maple syrup, lemon juice, and a little almond milk.
I absolutely thoroughly enjoy the thick, creamy tangy frosting on top of the cake, but you can easily save yourself some time by skipping it altogether – the cake itself is nice and flavorful and doesn’t necessarily need additional pizzazz, but hey, if you’re going to get wet, you might as well swim, right?
Do note that the frosting recipe yields more than you need for the vegan pumpkin cake.
To me, this just means you get to brainstorm on how you’re going to use the rest – for frosting paleo cupcakes? Don’t mind if I do!
A sassy topping for a nice banana bread? Consuming as is, one spoonful at a time? You’ve got options and I trust you’ll make the right decisions.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Replace the ground flax seed and water (flax “egg”) with 1 regular large egg.
- Substitute hazelnut flour for the almond flour.
- Swap arrowroot flour for the tapioca flour.
- Use raw cane sugar instead of coconut sugar.
- Omit the pecans from the topping or replace them with walnuts.
- Make the vegan cream cheese frosting up to 5 days ahead of time in order to prepare this recipe in parts. You can also omit or replace the frosting with your topping of choice.
More Healthy Pumpkin Recipes:
- Spiced Apple Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping
- Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal
- Flourless Protein Pumpkin Pancakes
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping
- Healthy Pumpkin Cake
For you and yours…
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @TheRoastedRoot on Instagram!
Paleo Vegan Pumpkin Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp ground flax seed
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup algae oil*
- 1.5 cups finely ground almond flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
For Topping
- 1/2 batch Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/4 cup raw pecans chopped
Instructions
- If preparing the Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, do so ahead of time (up to 5 days).
- Stir together the ground flax seed and water in a small bowl. Allow the mixture to sit, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until it thickens and is the consistency of an egg.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8” x 8” baking pan with parchment paper.
- Once the flax egg is ready, transfer it to a bigger mixing bowl and add in the pureed pumpkin and algae oil. Stir this mixture until well-combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (almond flour through ground cinnamon) and stir well. Pour the wet pumpkin mixture into the bowl with the dry flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the cake has set up in the center and edges are beginning to turn golden-brown.
- Remove from oven and allow cake to cool completely before topping it with the cream cheese frosting.
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I want to eat this cake right now! I have had a pumpkin craving for a month, but stay away from all the sugary stuff.
My mouth is actually watering as I am looking at the pictures!
My husband and I are mid Whole30. Frosting sounds off limits for now, but is there a possible sub for coconut sugar? Any rec omendations to make this Whole30 approved ingredients, would be much appreciated!
Hi Coll,
Theoretically, baking a cake, even if using Whole30 ingredients is what the folks in the Whole30 world caution against. The purpose of Whole30 is to avoid using food for comfort, so alas, there isn’t a way of making a cake Whole30 approved, unfortunately 😀 Hope you guys try the cake after the Whole30 is complete!
Thank you! I know the SWPO theory drove us crazy but well worth it! We plan on making it this weekend! Thanks so much
Can coconut oil , avocado oil or butter be used inplace of algae oil?
Yes, absolutely!! All three will work 😀 xo
Can Flax Seed Meal be used for flax seed?
Thanks
Hi Caryl, Yes absolutely! You’re going to want the flax seeds to be ground, so flax meal is actually what you want 😀 Enjoy the cake!
I have had a pumpkin craving for a month but stay away from all the sugary stuff. You’re going to want the flax seeds to be ground. so flax meal is actually what you want, Enjoy the cake. We plan on making it this weekend. My mouth is actually watering as I am looking at the pictures.
So happy you like the cake, Sedna! xoxo
Algae Oil…. seems a rather obscure ingredient. I appreciate being cutting edge but …doesn’t seem like an oil that most kitchens (or grocers) would stock. Thank you for the modification of other possible oils as a replacement.
Hi Cindy!
As I mention in the post, you can replace it with avocado oil or coconut oil 🙂 Hope you enjoy! xoxoxo
I am cracking up. I had never even heard of algae oil u til today. Thank you for expanding my repertoire. With that said… I searched for this elusive oil on The Amazon. This 4 oz bottle should be enough for the recipe…. but (the least expensive I could find) at $27 I think perhaps I will stick with coconut or perhaps one of my favorites, the flavorless grapeseed oil.
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