This gluten free pumpkin chocolate cake is also dairy-free! A fluffy coconut cream ganache frosting is the perfect finishing touch. Save this one for a Thanksgiving show-stopper of a dessert.
Why You'll Love This Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake Recipe
O, delicious chocolate cake, I will never have enough of you! This beautiful gluten free pumpkin chocolate cake relies on coconut cream and non-dairy margarine to stand in for more traditional dairy components. In this cake, the pumpkin is not the star but it plays a strong supporting role playing nicely against deep dark chocolate notes and giving the cake wonderful moisture. The coconut cream ganache is understated yet luxurious, a worthy complement to the sturdy cake with its surprisingly tender crumb. You'll want to cut thin slices as it's quite rich. This makes for a lovely end-of-Thanksgiving treat.
What You'll Need
I’ve outlined what you’ll need to make a gluten free pumpkin chocolate cake below. The full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the recipe card lower down – this is just an overview.
Cake
- Pumpkin puree - Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- Coconut milk - Use full-fat coconut milk
- Vinegar - Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar will work
- Vanilla - Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor
- Sorghum flour - A whole grain gluten-free flour, sorghum flour performs similarly to oat flour in baking
- Arrowroot flour - To help bind and lighten the cake
- Cocoa powder - Use unsweetened cocoa powder
- Leavening agents - Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt - I use fine sea salt in all of my recipes!
- Margarine - Use unsalted butter if you don't need to keep dairy-free
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar - Light or dark brown sugar is fine
- Eggs - Always use large eggs
Chocolate Ganache
- Coconut cream - From 1 can of coconut cream.
- Bittersweet chocolate - I used 70% dark chocolate
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
- Prepare: Heat oven to 350° F. Grease 2 8-inch cake pans.
- Make the batter: Whisk together the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
- Cream: Cream the margarine and sugars. Add the eggs.
- Combine: Add the flour and milk mixtures.
- Bake: Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-45 minutes.
- Make frosting: Heat the coconut cream, add the chocolate, let sit, then whisk together.
- Assemble: Fill and frost the cake with the ganache.
Substitution Suggestions
- Sorghum flour substitute - Oat flour or teff flour by weight for the sorghum flour will work nicely.
- Arrowroot substitute - Use tapioca flour or cornstarch, which are starchy gluten-free flours.
- Make it refined sugar-free - Substitute coconut sugar for the granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Use dairy - It's so easy to use regular dairy in this cake! Sub butter for the margarine and heavy cream for the coconut cream.
Storage Options
Here’s how to store this gluten free pumpkin chocolate cake:
- Fridge – Cover the cake with foil or place it in an airtight container and and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer – Wrap the whole cake or individual slices in plastic wrap, then foil, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the fridge before serving it.
More Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Recipes
- Gluten Free Buttermilk Chocolate Cake
- Oat Flour Chocolate Cake
- Gluten-Free Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
A nice Thanksgiving dessert option, pumpkin and chocolate complement each other in this gluten and dairy-free layer cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree use pure pumpkin
- ½ cup coconut mik
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups sorghum flour , 140 grams
- ½ cup arrowroot flour , 70 grams
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup margarine , or unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs
Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups coconut cream
- 7 ounces bittersweet chocolate , (I used 70%) chopped
Instructions
Make Cake
- Heat oven to 350° F. Grease 2 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl whisk together the pumpkin, coconut milk, and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Place the margarine and sugars in a large bowl and, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs one at a time and beat until fully incorporated.
- Add the flour mixture and coconut milk mixture to the sugar mixture, alternating, and beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Continue beating on medium until incorporated.
- Pour batter into the prepared pans, place in the oven, and bake for 35-45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven, place on a rack, and cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out to cool completely. Let rest in fridge at least 30 minutes or overnight, covered in foil, in the fridge.
Make Frosting
- In a saucepan, heat the coconut cream until almost boiling. Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate, let sit a few minutes, then whisk to combine. Let mixture cool; you can place in the fridge to speed things up.
- When cool, whip with an electric mixer as you would whip whipped cream. When the chocolate ganache is whipped, and cake is cooled, fill and frost the cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
- Cake will last 5 days, covered, in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 344kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 5gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 285mgPotassium: 360mgFiber: 5gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 3265IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 3mg
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is an estimate (I'm not a nutritionist and can't guarantee accuracy!). Even when not specified, be sure to check that all the ingredients you use are gluten free if you need them to be by reading labels on all packaging and/or confirming with the manufacturer.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know in the comments how it went!
April says
This was an amazing recipe. I had originally planned to halve it but went ahead and just divided the cake, one to freeze for later. My eggs are XL so I only used 3. I had to use 1/4C olive oil in place of butter, and coconut sugar for brown. Moist, delicious and I didn't even use the ganache, yet. I would definitely make this recipe again. Very impressed and thankful I found it!