This vegan pumpkin coffee cake is soft, moist, and warmly spiced, with a thick layer of homemade pumpkin butter running through the center and crunchy pumpkin spice streusel on top. Finished with a simple pumpkin butter glaze, it's an easy fall cake that's completely eggless and dairy-free.
It's my autumn twist on classic vegan coffee cake, but the pumpkin butter is what really sets this one apart. Rather than just adding pumpkin to the cake batter, you get a concentrated layer of pumpkin and warm spices right through the middle.
If you're in the mood to keep the pumpkin baking going, I've gathered all of my vegan pumpkin desserts in one place, from cozy cakes and muffins to pies, cookies, and no-bake treats.
Why this recipe works
- Pumpkin butter in the center: A generous layer of homemade pumpkin butter gives the cake a rich, concentrated pumpkin flavor without adding too much moisture to the batter.
- Soft, moist crumb: Pumpkin purée, vegan Greek-style yogurt, buttermilk, and olive oil keep the cake incredibly tender.Crunchy streusel: The buttery pumpkin spice topping adds plenty of texture, giving this pumpkin streusel coffee cake that lovely contrast between soft cake and crisp crumbs.
- Eggless and dairy-free: This eggless pumpkin coffee cake doesn't need flax eggs or another egg replacer, and all of the ingredients are dairy-free too.
Key ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this pumpkin coffee cake recipe. Find the complete list of ingredient quantities and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Pumpkin purée: Use 100% pure pumpkin purée rather than pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sugar and spices. If you can't find pumpkin, my vegan sweet potato coffee cake is a great alternative.
Homemade pumpkin butter: This is the ingredient that makes the recipe a little different from a standard pumpkin coffee cake. Cooking the pumpkin down with apple juice, maple syrup, brown sugar, and spices concentrates the flavor and removes excess water, so you can add a generous layer without making the cake soggy. You can make the pumpkin butter up to 2 days ahead.
Vegan buttermilk: Non-dairy milk mixed with apple cider vinegar helps tenderize the crumb. I use a simple vegan buttermilk made with soy milk.
Vegan Greek-style yogurt: Adds richness and moisture without thinning the batter too much. Vegan sour cream, skyr, or a thick coconut yogurt are good alternatives, but avoid runny yogurt.
Olive oil: Keeps this dairy-free pumpkin coffee cake soft for days. Use a mild olive oil, or swap it for a neutral oil such as canola, rapeseed, or sunflower if you prefer.
Pumpkin spice: This flavors the cake, streusel, and pumpkin butter, so you get those warm cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove notes throughout.
How to make vegan pumpkin coffee cake
Here's a visual overview of the recipe to help guide you through each step. Please refer to the detailed card at the end of this page for full written instructions.
Start with the streusel. Rub the flour, brown sugar, pumpkin spice, and softened vegan butter together with your fingertips until you have a dry, crumbly mixture, then set it aside while you make the cake.
Whisk the pumpkin purée with the sugars, olive oil, vegan buttermilk, yogurt, and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients in two additions, mixing only until everything comes together. Don't keep working the batter once the flour has disappeared, as this can make the cake less tender.
Spread half of the batter into your prepared pan, then spoon the pumpkin butter over the top. Smooth it out gently rather than pressing it into the batter - you want to keep that distinct layer running through the center. Cover with the remaining batter and finish with plenty of pumpkin spice streusel.
Bake until the cake is well risen and a skewer comes out with just a few crumbs. Just remember that if your skewer hits the pumpkin butter layer it will naturally look a little gooey, so make sure you're checking for raw cake batter rather than the filling.
Let the cake cool in the pan for around 15 minutes before transferring it to a rack. Once completely cool, mix a spoonful of pumpkin butter into the glaze and drizzle it generously over the crumb topping.
Christina's Recipe Tips
Make the pumpkin butter ahead. It needs at least a couple of hours to cool, so I usually prepare it earlier or up to 2 days before making the cake.
Don't overmix the batter. Fold the dry ingredients in gently and stop as soon as they're incorporated. This helps keep the crumb light and tender.
Keep the pumpkin butter as a distinct layer. Smooth it gently over the first layer of cake batter rather than pressing or swirling it in. This gives you that thick ribbon of pumpkin through every slice.
Be careful when checking for doneness. The pumpkin butter stays soft and gooey, so a skewer that passes through the filling won't come out completely clean. You're looking for wet cake batter rather than pumpkin filling.
Use the smaller pan for a taller cake. I use a 7.5-inch springform pan for the tallest result, but an 8-inch pan works well too.
Cool completely before glazing. Otherwise, the pumpkin butter glaze will melt into the streusel rather than sitting nicely on top.
Variations
Add pecans or walnuts: Mix some roughly chopped nuts into the streusel for extra crunch.
Skip the glaze: The cake is flavorful enough to serve without it if you prefer a less sweet finish.
More crumb topping: If you're firmly on team streusel, you can increase the topping for more of a pumpkin crumb cake feel.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. In fact, you can split the work over two days by making the pumpkin butter in advance and keeping it refrigerated until you're ready to bake.
Once baked, keep the cake tightly wrapped or in an airtight container. It stays soft at room temperature for up to 2 days or can be refrigerated for up to a week. If chilled, let it come closer to room temperature before serving for the softest texture.
Yes. Once completely cool, slice the cake into individual portions and store them in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to one month.
Let the slices thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
More vegan pumpkin recipes
If you like the combination of pumpkin and streusel, try my vegan pumpkin muffins next. They're soft, moist, and topped with a crunchy crumb and maple glaze.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment as well, thanks!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Pumpkin Coffee Cake With Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients
Prep Ahead
- ⅔ batch (270g /1 cup) vegan pumpkin butter *note 1
Crumb Topping
- 60 g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
- 40 g (3 tablespoons) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix *note 2
- 40 g (3 tablespoons) vegan butter softened
Cake
- 300 g (2 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin spice mix *note 2
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 300 g (1 ¼ cups) canned pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 75 g (⅓ cup) light brown sugar
- 120 ml (½ cup) olive oil *note 3
- Half batch (120ml /½ cup) vegan buttermilk
- 80 g (⅓ cup) vegan Greek-style yogurt *note 4
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Icing (optional)
- 1 tablespoon vegan pumpkin butter
- 90 g (⅔ cup) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vegan Greek-style yogurt
Instructions
- Preparation: Make the pumpkin butter at least 2 hours in advance, or up to 2 days ahead. Line the base and sides of a 7.5 or 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. I use a 7.5-inch pan which bakes up slightly taller. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F) fan-forced, or 180°C (356°F) conventional.
- Crumb topping: Add all the crumble ingredients to a mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the mixture together until it forms a sandy, crumb-like texture. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients: Sift the flour, pumpkin spice mix, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt into a bowl and stir until combined. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, olive oil, vegan buttermilk (soy milk + vinegar), yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- Make the batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two additions, gently folding after each one until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
- Assemble: Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Gently layer the pumpkin butter on top (reserving 1 tablespoon for the icing) and smooth it evenly without pressing it into the batter. Add the remaining batter, smooth the surface, and finish with an even layer of crumble.
- Bake: Bake for 60-70 minutes. Test doneness with a skewer inserted into the center - it should come out mostly clean with just a few crumbs. If there's wet batter (not pumpkin filling) on the skewer, bake for 5 minutes more and recheck as needed.
- Cool: Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then carefully remove the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool further. Wait for the cake to cool completely before adding the glaze.
- Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Cover and set aside until ready to use. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze all over the top.
Notes
- Vegan pumpkin butter: Prep up to 2 days in advance and store in the fridge. The full recipe and instructions are linked in the pink text.
- Pumpkin spice mix: You need 4 tsp for this recipe; make your own with 2 ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, ½ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp allspice, and ¼ tsp cloves.
- Olive Oil: Replace with a neutral oil such as sunflower or rapeseed/canola if preferred.
- Greek-Style Yogurt: Sub with vegan sour cream, vegan skyr, or very thick coconut yogurt.
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