Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snack Cake
You’ll love the sweet, spicy flavor of this vegan, gluten-free pumpkin snack cake. Plus, you mix it right in its baking dish!
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the autumnal equinox occurred at 4:21 a.m. ET this morning. Fall has officially begun! Time to break out the pumpkin recipes—and this snack cake is one of my favorites!
Easy Prep
One of the things I love about this and my other snack cake recipes is how easy they are to prepare. You simply mix the ingredients with a fork in the baking dish. You don’t even have to grease the dish! No muss, no fuss.
Mix ‘em up and pop them into the oven!
Moist and Tasty
Many gluten-free baked goods, especially the store-bought variety, tend to be dry and gritty. Our family jokes, “If it doesn’t say ‘moist and tasty’ on the package, it probably isn’t.”
The other thing I love about these quick little cakes is they are indeed “moist and tasty.” They also go well with a dollop of whipped coconut cream!
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snack Cake
You will love this Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snack Cake’s pumpkiny, sweet, spicy goodness. The chopped walnuts sprinkled on top create a nice presentation, and their nutty flavor is a tasty addition. If you are looking to be a little more decadent, you could also add some chocolate chips. Chocolate makes almost everything better.
What’s Needed
You’ll need an 8×8 baking dish for this recipe. I always use a glass pan for snack cakes. If you use metal, you may need to adjust the time or temperature. Keep an eye on the bake to see what’s required. And if you can, use a pan that comes with a lid. It makes storing the cake a snap. (Pun intended. 😉)
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups gluten-free all purpose flour I use Bob’s Red Mill
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. ground all spice
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil plus enough mashed banana to equal 1/3 cup
- ½-⅔ cup maple syrup to taste
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup miniature dairy free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat toaster oven or conventional oven to 350 degrees.
- Add dry ingredients (except walnuts and chocolate chips) to an ungreased 8×8 baking dish and mix with a fork until well blended.
- Add wet ingredients and continue to mix with a fork – making sure to scrape along bottom and edges of the baking dish – until well combined.
- Sprinkle walnuts (and chocolate chips, if using) on top.
- Bake approximately 30 minutes (if using convection setting on toaster oven) or 35-40 minutes (if using conventional oven) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on wire rack for at least one hour prior to cutting.
- Serve with a dollop of whipped coconut cream if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Is there no pumpkin in this recipe?
Oh my gosh!!! Yes there is! I can’t believe I forgot to add it to the ingredients list. Thank you so much for asking. I’ve corrected my mistake and will now hide my face in my hands in embarrassment for the rest of the day! 😉 Thanks again!
This looks so delicious, Margaret! 🙂 I just can’t get enough of pumpkin these days. I love how easy this cake is!
Thank you Sina. I’ve been enjoying my share of pumpkin too! 🙂 And yes, this cake is super easy – which works nicely for me ’cause I’m a lazy cook!
This is a great cake! Although I didn’t make it gluten free this time it was vegan. Wonderful flavor and was received very well at church today! Thanks for such a good recipe. Looking forward to what you create next.
Thanks Linda! Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, the recipe also works well with regular all purpose flour!
PS I had no walnuts just the dairy free chips was still great!
I LOVE combining chocolate with pumpkin!
Love pumpkin and have all the ingredients except grape seed oil. Do you think either applesauce or another type of oil would work?
Thanks
Hi Christine – any kind of vegetable oil would do the trick. I like to use grape seed oil because it endures high temps better than some other oils. Eliminating the oil completely would likely make the cake a little drier…