It's a seasonal twist on my vegan tres leches cake, combining the rich, milk-soaked texture of tres leches with the cozy flavors of my vegan pumpkin cake.
If pumpkin is firmly on the menu this fall, you can find all of my vegan pumpkin desserts together in one place, including cakes, cheesecakes, cookies, pies, and no-bake favorites.
This recipe is sponsored by Nature's Charm. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands who sponsor my work!
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Why this recipe works
- Incredibly moist, without being soggy: The pumpkin sponge is sturdy enough to absorb the three-milk soak while still keeping its structure.
- Pumpkin in both layers: Pumpkin purée flavors the sponge as well as the milk mixture, so you get pumpkin flavor throughout the cake rather than just in the batter.
- Completely eggless and dairy-free: There's no egg replacer needed, and the classic dairy-based milk soak is replaced with creamy oat-based alternatives.
- Made for preparing ahead: The cake gets even better after soaking overnight, making it ideal for Thanksgiving or fall entertaining.
Key ingredients
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Pumpkin purée: Use 100% canned pumpkin purée rather than pumpkin pie filling, which already contains sugar and spices. The pumpkin adds flavor, moisture, and color to both the sponge and the tres leches soak.
Sweetened condensed oat milk: This gives the milk soak its sweetness and rich consistency. Sweetened condensed coconut milk also works if that's easier to find.
Evaporated oat milk: Adds richness without making the soak overly heavy. You can substitute evaporated coconut milk - I use a coconut-based combination in several of my other tres leches recipes.
Barista oat milk: I prefer barista-style oat milk because its creamier texture works particularly well in the soak, although regular unsweetened oat milk is fine.
Granulated sugar: I specifically recommend white sugar here. I tested the sponge with brown sugar, but the extra moisture from the molasses meant it didn't absorb the tres leches mixture as well.
Pumpkin pie spice: A warming combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. You can use a store-bought blend or make your own using the quantities in the recipe notes.
Vegan whipping cream: This balances the sweet, soaked sponge with a light creamy topping. Use a dairy-free cream designed for whipping, and chill it well beforehand.
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How to make vegan pumpkin tres leches
Here are step-by-step images showing how to make this eggless pumpkin tres leches cake. Please refer to the detailed printable recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions:
Start by mixing the oat milk and apple cider vinegar and letting it sit for a few minutes to make a quick vegan buttermilk. Whisk in the pumpkin purée, sugar, olive oil, and vanilla until smooth.
Sift the dry ingredients separately, then gently fold them into the pumpkin mixture in two additions. Stop as soon as the batter comes together - there's no need to keep mixing once the flour has disappeared.
Spread the batter into your prepared baking dish and bake until the sponge is risen and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. While the cake is still warm, poke plenty of holes across the surface. I found the warm sponge absorbs the milk much better this way.
Here's the important part: let the cake cool completely before adding the soak. Whisk the three dairy-free milks with the pumpkin purée and vanilla, then slowly pour the mixture over the cooled sponge, giving it time to work its way into all those holes.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. By the next day, the milk should have soaked right through the cake, leaving it incredibly soft and moist without becoming soggy.
When you're ready to serve, whip the chilled vegan cream until fluffy, spread it over the cake, and finish with a generous dusting of cinnamon.
Christina's recipe tips
Use granulated sugar rather than brown sugar. I tested both, but the brown-sugar version didn't absorb the milk mixture as well because the molasses added extra moisture to the sponge.
Poke the cake while it's warm. I found that this pumpkin sponge absorbs considerably more of the tres leches mixture when the holes are made before it cools. Interestingly, I do the opposite with my vegan chocolate tres leches, where the sponge works better when cooled first.
But don't pour the milk over a warm cake. Poke it while warm, then let it cool completely before soaking. Adding the milk while the cake is still warm can leave the texture soggy rather than evenly soaked.
Let it soak overnight. This isn't a step I'd rush. The overnight rest gives the sponge enough time to absorb the three-milk mixture evenly and creates that soft, melt-in-your-mouth tres leches texture.
Use pure pumpkin purée. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugar and spices and will change the balance of both the cake and the soak.
Frequently asked questions
Yes - it's actually better made ahead. I recommend preparing and soaking the cake the day before serving, then leaving it covered in the refrigerator overnight.
You can add the whipped cream before serving or a few hours ahead. Keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Yes. The recipe is made in a 10.5 x 7.5-inch baking dish, but an 8 x 8-inch square pan also works. Because the depth of the batter may be slightly different, keep an eye on the cake toward the end of baking and use a skewer to check for doneness.
More vegan pumpkin recipes
If you love the texture of this cake, try my classic vegan tres leches cake next.
You can also switch up the flavors with vegan coconut tres leches, vegan lemon tres leches, or vegan pistachio tres leches.
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 Tres Leches Cake (Eggless & Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
Cake
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice *see note 1
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 240 ml (1 cup) unsweetened oat milk barista-style if possible
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 250 g (1 cup) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) olive oil *see note 2
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Tres Leches Soak
- 150 g (½ cup) sweetened condensed oat milk *see note 3
- 200 ml (⅔ cup + 4 teaspoons) evaporated oat milk *see note 4
- 240 ml (1 cup) unsweetened oat milk barista-style if possible
- 30 g (2 tablespoons) canned pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 400 ml (1x can) coconut whipping cream chilled overnight
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to fan-forced 160°C/320°F or conventional 180°C/356°F.Lightly grease a 10.5 x 7.5-inch baking dish with some oil.
- Combine dry ingredients: To a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spices, and salt, and whisk to combine.
- Combine wet ingredients: To a separate large bowl, add the oat milk and apple cider vinegar. Stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, olive oil, and vanilla extract.
- Make the batter: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 increments. Do not be tempted to overmix!
- Bake: Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a skewer into the center of the cake to check for doneness - if there is batter sticking to the skewer bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Poke cake: While warm, poke the cake with a skewer all over. Let it cool to room temperature.
- Three milk mixture: In a large jug, mix the condensed oat milk, evaporated oat milk, oat milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.
- Soak cake: Once cooled, pour the triple milk mixture over the cake. Place in the fridge to chill overnight.
- Serving: Whip the chilled coconut cream and spread it on top of the cake. Dust with cinnamon before serving.
Notes
- Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice: Combine 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, and ¼ tsp ground cloves.
- Olive Oil: Replace with a neutral oil such as sunflower or rapeseed if preferred.
- Sweetened Condensed Oat Milk: Sub with sweetened condensed coconut milk. I use Nature's Charm.
- Evaporated Oat Milk: Sub with evaporated coconut milk. I use Nature's Charm.
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Amazing!!! Amazing!!!! Amazing!!!! Made this for Thanksgiving this year and it was a real crowd pleaser!
Hi Mia,
Thank you so much, I’m thrilled it went down so well for Thanksgiving!
Delicious!
Hi Caroline,
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious. I found it a bit too cold straight out of the fridge so I heated each piece for 1 min. On 360 watt to make it a bit warm. So good. Will make it again.
Hi Tessa,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Warming it up a little sounds like a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing!
With all the love in the world for your work and recipes and only the intention of making you aware of this: the ads on your recipe page are currently very… fungal toe themed. I’m not sure if you have any control over this but it’s uh. Quite off-putting. If you don’t have control over what’s shown then it can’t be helped, but if you do and just weren’t aware of the current fungal foot closeups being placed between photos of lovely cake, I hope this is a helpful heads up.
Most annoying recipe ever scrolling up and down all over the place, hope it tastes good
Hi Doris,
There is a printable recipe card at the end of the page, at the very top of the page click the large "jump to recipe" button, this is what you need to follow when making the recipe.
Made it for Thanksgiving. Will make it again for sure. Btw, I used gluten free 1 for 1 flour. It is one of if not the best cake I've had since I stopped eating wheat.
Hi Sara,
This is wonderful news, thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. I'm sure it will help others looking to do the same!
Yum!! I’ve made this twice so far and it was delicious. I will make the holes a little bigger next time because my milk mixture didn’t fully soak into the cake. Nonetheless it was delicious and a big hit. Thanks.
So happy you loved it, thanks for your feedback Danielle!
Can this recipe be made with a gluten free all purpose flour? I love the non dairy but still need to be GF for us.
Thanks!
Hi Paulina,
I haven't tested with GF flour I'm afraid. It was a tricky recipe to get right with ratios so I can't say if it would work. If you do decie to give it a try, I would suggest an all-purpose cup for cup replacement such as King Arthur
YES! I used King Arthur gluten free and it turned out wonderful.
Is it ok to replace the sugar for a healthier alternative ?
I think xilitol, dàtil, banana are good
Hi Mandy,
I have only tried white and brown sugar so I can't say for sure. Just bear in mind that different sugars and substitutes will change the moisture levels and consistency of the sponge. For tres leches in particular, the texture is important as if it's too moist to start with the milk mixture won't soak in properly. I hope this helps!