Vegan pumpkin marble cake with swirls of pumpkin cake, fudgy chocolate cake and a touch of pumpkin spice. This recipe uses one main cake batter, so you don’t need to prepare two completely different recipes!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Pumpkin puree. I used Libby’s canned pumpkin puree for this recipe and it provides wonderful consistent results. This recipe also works with homemade pumpkin puree.
Light brown sugar for moisture and depth of flavor. The molasses in the sugar perfectly complements the pumpkin purée! This cake contains slightly more sugar than pumpkin bread to give it a cakier texture and balance out the cocoa powder’s bitterness.
Unsweetened cocoa powder for the chocolate layer. Dutch-process cocoa powder provides the richest chocolate flavor, though natural cocoa powder will still work in this cake.
Pumpkin pie spice or a homemade blend of common warm spices. This recipe contains slightly fewer spices than classic pumpkin bread so it doesn’t clash with the chocolate.
Dairy-free yogurt provides moisture and structure to the loaf.
Prepare the batter
This recipe is easy to prepare as you make just one pumpkin cake batter in a large bowl, and then divide it into two bowls.
I recommend mixing the main batter until just before it is combined – there may be some spots of dry flour or wet ingredients. This minimizes any overmixing in the final stages.
Divide the batter into two bowls, then add the cocoa powder and milk to one of the bowls. I don’t recommend mixing the cocoa powder and milk before mixing it into the batter, as it will turn lumpy. Finally, gently mix the batter in the separate bowls until just combined.
There should be around 620g or just over 2 cups of batter in each bowl.
Assembling the marble cake
There are no rules to creating the marbled effect in your pumpkin cake!
One method is to randomly dollop scoops of each batter in your loaf pan. Then, insert a butter knife into the top and gently create a swirl effect.
Or, if you’d like to make a zebra pattern like my cake, I recommend using 2 x ½ cup measures or similar-sized ice cream scoops. I have 2 ice cream scoops with a ¼ cup capacity. So, to layer the cake, I dropped 2 ice cream scoops of the pumpkin batter, 2 ice cream scoops of the chocolate batter and so on.
Unlike my zebra bundt cake, the batter for this pumpkin loaf is quite thick. When layering the cake, I suggest gently shaking the loaf pan to help flatten out the batter.
Decorating the cake
This pumpkin marble cake is delicious and sweet enough by itself! However, if you’re feeling a little extra or are serving a crowd, you can top your loaf with:
Or, before baking your loaf, you can top it with mini chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
Customizing this recipe
This pumpkin marble cake works well with 1 cup (190g) of brown sugar however, the texture will be more like pumpkin bread rather than cake. Coconut sugar is also a good 1:1 replacement for brown sugar.
I haven’t tested this recipe with any other sweetener. However, I think the cake will work well with a granulated sugar replacer with slightly different results. I don’t recommend using a liquid sweetener as it’ll weigh down the cake. Alternatively, you may like my maple banana bread recipe.
This recipe is very similar to my pumpkin bread recipe, and a few readers have successfully made that with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour.
This recipe will produce a very short cake if divided into 2 x 8-inch cake pans or a bundt pan. I recommend scaling the recipe to 15 servings or multiplying the ingredients by 150% for a taller cake.
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Pumpkin Marble Cake (vegan)
Vegan pumpkin marble cake with swirls of pumpkin cake, fudgy chocolate cake and a touch of pumpkin spice. This recipe uses one main cake batter, so you don’t need to prepare two completely different recipes!
Servings: 10
Ingredients
Chocolate ganache, optional
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Instructions
Make the batter:
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Add the wet ingredients including the sugar to a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just before it is combined (some small pockets of dry/wet ingredients are fine).
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Pour half of the pumpkin batter in a separate bowl. Add the cocoa powder, milk and optional espresso powder to one of the bowls. Stir the batter in the separate bowls until just combined.
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To assemble the cake, use 2 x ½ cup measures or 2 large spoons of the same size. Dollop ½ cup of the pumpkin batter into your prepared cake pan. Top with ½ cup of the chocolate batter. As the batter will be thick, gently shake the pan to flatten the layers. Repeat until all of the batter has been used up. Don’t worry if your layers mix a little.
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Bake the cake for around 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes. At the 30-40 minute mark, if the top of the cake is browning too quickly, carefully tent the loaf pan with aluminum foil. The cake is ready if you insert a toothpick in the center and there’s no wet batter on the toothpick (a few moist crumbs are fine).
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Let the cake cool in the pan for around 10 minutes then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the chocolate ganache:
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Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the chocolate and mix until combined. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to let the chocolate melt.
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When the chocolate has melted, stir to combine. Let the ganache cool for at least 10 minutes, then drizzle on the cooled cake. Place the cake in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to set the ganache.
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Slice the cake and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 4 days. Or store individual slices in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Light brown sugar provides the best flavor. However, you can use granulated sugar (for a fluffier cake) or coconut sugar (for a refined-sugar free cake).
- Please ensure you measure the flour accurately otherwise, your cake will be dry and dense. If you’re using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method where you fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. I don’t recommend using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as this usually packs in too much flour. Alternatively, use the grams measurements.
Gluten-free version: This recipe is very similar my pumpkin bread, and readers have successfully made that recipe with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour. I imagine this recipe will also work well with King Arthur’s flour. - To make your own pumpkin spice, use 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger and a pinch of ground cloves. If you don’t have any nutmeg, ginger or cloves, add more cinnamon.
- Alternatively, use ⅓ cup (75g) of dairy-free heavy cream. Add a dash more for a thinner ganache.
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