Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake

This gluten free pumpkin cake is the ultimate Fall recipe. It’s moist, tender, easy to make and finished with a cream cheese frosting. This gluten free cake can easily be made dairy free!

This is my favorite time of year for baked goods. Call me basic but I love pumpkin recipes. My pumpkin spice latte is already on repeat and I can’t stop making my gluten free pumpkin cookies.

This gluten free pumpkin cake is incredibly moist, full of delicious Fall spices, and topped with a simple cream cheese frosting. It can easily be made dairy free and if you need a vegan version, try my vegan pumpkin cake.

Pumpkin will naturally keep a gluten free cake really moist, plus the eggs, oil, butter and brown sugar all add a lot of moisture. This cake is no different than a regular cake other than that it uses gluten free flour, but I promise you won’t be able to tell the difference!

It makes for the perfect Fall dessert (especially if you have a Fall birthday like I do!), Thanksgiving dessert etc. If you love this recipe try my gluten free pumpkin muffins, gluten free chocolate peppermint cake or pumpkin bread next!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to make (one bowl!)
• Dairy free friendly
• Full of pumpkin spice
• Perfect Fall dessert

How to make gluten free pumpkin cake

Line two 8 inch cake pans with parchment paper and set aside. I like these parchment rounds. (Note: I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 to make a 3 layer 8 inch cake for the photos). You can also use three 6 inch cake pans without modifying the measurements.

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, add all wet ingredients. Beat with an electric mixer until combined, about 30 seconds.

Add in the dry ingredients, making sure to spoon and level the flour. Beat until combined. The batter will be thick.

Divide among your prepared pans and spread the top out smooth.

Bake for 28-34 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine is usually perfect at 30 minutes but all ovens are different.

Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes, then flip onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Once cool, add the butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the powdered sugar in about 2 batches and mix until well combined. Add in the salt and vanilla. If the frosting is too thick, add in 1-2 tablespoons of milk.

Once the cake is completely cool, frost and enjoy! You can also top with my homemade caramel and crushed pecans if desired. Try my sweet potato cake next!

Ingredient swaps

SUGAR. I used a mix of white granulated sugar and brown sugar to get the best texture and flavor. You can swap for coconut sugar if you prefer a refined sugar free option, but the texture may be a bit less fluffy. I do not recommend any liquid sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup.

FLOUR. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour. I recommend sticking to a GF all purpose flour that has xanthan gum.

BUTTER. You need butter for the frosting and cake, but you can definitely swap for a vegan butter like Earth Balance for a dairy free option. Same goes for the cream cheese!

EGGS. You need four whole eggs for this cake, so I do not recommend any substitutions. Instead, try my vegan pumpkin cake.

PUMPKIN SPICE. Pumpkin pie spice is naturally gluten free, so don’t worry about any contamination here. We’ll use a generous 3 teaspoons of this plus extra cinnamon to really enhance the flavor.

How to store

Once prepared, this gluten free pumpkin cake will keep for about 3-5 days at room temperature or 5-7 in the fridge.

Because of the cream cheese frosting, I generally advise to store in the fridge once it’s fully prepared. It will firm up a bit, but the texture will still remain very moist.

You can also freeze this pumpkin cake before frosting! Just allow it to cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic wrap (in multiple layers so it won’t dry out) and freeze for up to 1 month. You can frost right from frozen, just let it come to room temperature before serving!

Expert tips

Be sure to use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling already has added spices and sugar whereas pumpkin puree is just pure pumpkin!

The batter will be thick, but don’t add any extra liquids or anything. Pumpkin is thick but adds so much moisture to cakes, so the texture of the batter will be a bit different than traditional cake batter.

I made two 8 inch cakes, but you can definitely do two 9 inch, just shorten the bake time a bit, or three 6 inch cakes, just add 5-10 minutes of bake time. A 9×13 sheet cake also works, but again, add about 5-10 minutes of bake time.

Try these Fall recipes next!

• Vegan Pumpkin Pie
• Gluten Free Apple Cake
• Healthy Apple Crisp
• Sweet Potato Muffins
• Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
• Oat Flour Pumpkin Bread
• Apple Cider Sangria

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