• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Gretchen's Vegan Bakery
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Cake Recipes
    • Cupcakes
    • Icings and Fillings
    • Cookies
    • Cheesecake
    • Layer Cakes
    • Brownies and Bars
    • Pies and Tarts
    • No Bake Desserts
    • Holiday Baking
  • Cheesecake
  • Layer Cakes
  • Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Easy Vegan Halloween Cake

September 2, 2026 By Gretchen Leave a Comment

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

Of course pumpkin cake is the star of this Easy Vegan Halloween Cake

a simple one bowl mix for the cake batter
and two ingredient ganache for the icing

Easy Vegan Halloween Cake

Pumpkin Spice Buttercream filling is so simple it practically makes itself!

all three recipes come together in about an hour
The hardest part is waiting for the cake layers to cool so you can ice them!

Easy Vegan Halloween Cake

Not sponsored by any product or company below

Notes for Success

3-7″ Pans is what I use for all my layer cakes but you can also divide the batter between 2-8″ cakes instead. The oven temperature will stay the same no matter what size pans you are baking and I like to start it off at 350°F for the initial 15 minutes of baking then turn the oven temperature down to 300°F to bake the rest of the way

For those who cannot get canned pumpkin you can make your own pumpkin puree Just be wary that homemade version are always going to be very liquid compared to the tinned varieties. Compensate for that extra moisture by straining the homemade puree through cheesecloth to as dry as much as possible.. Another helpful trick when using homemade puree is to switch the flours listed below in the recipe~ meaning instead of 1 cup AP & 2 cups Cake Flour, you will use 1 cup cake flour & 2 cups AP

All the spices in this Pumpkin Cake recipe are equal to pre made pumpkin pie spice for a total of 2 teaspoons

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS PUMPKIN CAKE RECIPE 

The Best Pumpkin Cake Recipe

Easy Vegan Halloween Cake

Easy Vegan Halloween Cake

Be sure to read the Notes for Success section above the recipe!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 55 minutes mins
Servings 15

Ingredients
  

For the Cake Batter

  • 12 Tbs Vegetable Oil (180ml)
  • 1 cup Light Brown Sugar (205g)
  • 1½ cup Plant Milk (354ml)
  • 2 teaspoon Vinegar (10ml)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (5ml)
  • 1 cup Canned Pumpkin *see notes (250g)
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour (125g)
  • 2 cup Cake Flour *see notes (240g)
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • ½ teaspoon Ground Cardamom
  • pinch Ground Cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

For the Icings

  • 1 Recipe American Buttercream
  • 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 1 Recipe Vegan Ganache

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F & grease your 9" x 13" cake pan *see notes for other pan sizes
  • Combine the vinegar with the plant milk (soy milk is the only milk that will thicken with vinegar, but you can use another plant milk of your choice)
  • In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, brown sugar, salt, pumpkin, and then the thickened vinegar/plant milk and with the vanilla & whisk to combine well
  • Sift the flour with all the spices & the baking soda then add it all at once to the wet mixture in the bowl ~Whisk smooth
  • Pour batter into your prepares pans & bake immediately in the preheated 350°F oven for 15 minutes
  • Then turn the oven temperature down to 300°F and bake for the remaining time *see notes above for exact baking times or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
  • Cool in the pan(s) until you can touch it without burning your fingers, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool all the way
  • Prepare the pumpkin spice buttercream by creaming the vegan butter on high speed with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or a hand blender is totally fine!) add the sifted confectioners sugar & pumpkin pie spice 1 cup at a time while blending on low speed until it is all incorporated.
  • Whip on high speed for 30 seconds to blend well, scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl & continue to mix on low for 3 minutes to smooth
  • Prepare the ganache icing according to the instructions on that recipe post then let it cool to room temperature to a pourable consistency
  • Fill & ice the cake with the buttercream then coat with ganache. Orange sugar glaze drizzle is optional
  • For the Orange Sugar Glaze combine 1 cup of confectioners sugar with 1 tbs plant mil & orange food color whisk smooth then drizzle over the ganache

Video

Notes

Be sure to read the Notes for Success section above the recipe!
Storage: This cake can be stored at room temperature covered loosely to prevent drying for up to 3 days, for longer storage keep refrigerated for up to 1 week Freeze wrapped well for up to 2 months
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Filed Under: All Recipes, Cake Decorating, Cake Recipes, Holiday Baking, Layer Cakes, One Bowl Mixes

Previous Post: « Apple Filling Recipe

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Click here for my EBooks!

See What's New! Subscribe to my email list!

loader

Email Address*

Name

Yep, it's me Gretchen~ Owner of Gretchen's Bakery. Well, I no longer own a physical bakery since I sold mine in late 2014 & since 2016 I make nothing but the best vegan recipes! Read More…

Recipe Categories

Copyright © 2026 Gretchen's Vegan Bakery on the Foodie Pro Theme