Butternut squash cake – because pumpkin is sooooo mainstream maaaaaan.
Of course, you could use pumpkin in this cake too if you wanted but I prefer butternut squash as it’s a little different and the flavour is so wonderful. Plus, I love to use the leftover squash for risottos and soups.
Anyway, I am so excited to share this cake with you as it is just so delicious and comforting! My new go-to vegan cake…
I’ve used spelt flour which means it isn’t gluten-free but it is wheat-free and a much more wholesome and healthy flour than ordinary flour.
If you want to make this gluten-free, you can substitute the spelt for a gluten-free wholemeal plain flour mix.
The filling is a cream cheese inspired almond cream that has the consistency of buttercream and tastes amazing! I think I’m going to use this on every cake I make from now on…
Vegan Butternut Squash & Orange Cake
Perfect for autumn, this cake is a wholesome treat that's vegan-friendly and wheat-free.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 180 ml 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 400 g (2 1/4 cup) plain or spelt flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice mix
- A pinch of salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 110 g 1/2 cup butternut squash purée*
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 180 ml 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 60 ml 1/4 cup olive oil
For the filling:
- 100 g 1 cup ground almonds
- 80 ml 1/3 cup almond milk - or more if needed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 to 2 tbsp maple syrup
- Marmalade, I used a 100% fruit variety
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c. and grease two sandwich tins. Add the cider vinegar to the almond milk and set aside.
- Sift the spelt flour into a mixing bowl and discard any large granules left in the sieve. Mix in the spices, salt, baking powder and bicarb.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the almond milk from earlier, squash purée, orange zest, vanilla, maple syrup and olive oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined and a smooth soup-y texture is formed.
- Evenly pour the mixture into the two sandwich tins and bake on the middle shelf for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake layers to cool at room temperature and then place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (this makes them easier to handle and decorate.)
- Meanwhile, make the almond cream "cheese" filling by mixing the ground almonds, almond milk, vanilla, coconut oil, lemon juice and maple syrup together in a blender until a thick, smooth icing has formed.
- Remove the cake layers from the freezer and coat one side with the marmalade and the other with the almond cream. Be as generous as you like! Sandwich together and serve.
- Optional: Arrange some (clean) leaves on top of the cake and dust with icing sugar for a stenciled leaf design!
Notes
*To make butternut squash purée, simply peel and dice approx 1/3 of a butternut squash. Steam for 10-12 minutes until soft and then blitz in a blender until pureed.
Can I use regular flour instead of the spelt flour , using the same quantity?
Absolutely, just swap 1-1. Hope you enjoy it!
Hello! I would love to try this for my daughter with wheat allergy, can i substitute with gluten free flour and xantham gum?
Hi I’m really looking forward to trying this! If I don’t have spelt flour, can I subtitute wheat flower instead?
Yes, absolutely! I should update the recipe to make a note of that which I will do now.
Quick question about the icing… you say too use a tbsp of coconut oil, but is that going in solid, or melted first? If its melted how do you stop it instantly solidifying the moment it hits the other ingredients, which are at room temperature?
Lovely and very tasty desert.
The only things I changed were the following:
• Substituded the pumpkin by dates
• Substituted the maple syrup by coconut syrup
• Added a bit of cardamom in powder
Congratulations for the récipe! Suggestion to everybody: A Must Do It if you’re going to a dinner or tea party with diabetic people.
I just wondered if you used whole spelt flour or white spelt? Also, do you think it would detract too much from the cake if you left out the orange marmalade? Thank you. This looks so good; I’m anxious to bake it.
The best cake I have ever made! ”10/10 ” those are my mum’s words when she tried it literally straight after she returned home from work tonight. The house was smelling great and that reminded me of those winter evenings spent watching Christmas movies. I’ll have to remember to make it once again in the Christmas time. For now I am saving the recipe. So delicious!
Your comment gave me a big smile, thanks Julia! I especially love that it reminded you over those winter evenings, watching Christmas films because that’s the exact kind of memory I think of when I eat this cake! So happy you enjoyed it.
Hello!
I baked this cake today (almond cream included, of course) and it was AH-mazing! The batter rose beautifully, the texture was prefect, and it tastes nice and light without the use of refined sugar. Plus it was so easy to whip up! All of the non-vegans in my household love it as well. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Elisena! So happy to hear you enjoyed it :-) This was one of my favourite vegan cakes and now you’re really making me want to bake it again soon!
This is such a beautiful cake, Aimee! I love that you used butternut squash, love that idea!
When I saw squashes at Trader Joes, I squeaked and went for delicata, butternut and kabocha squashes, haha. Thank you for the inspiration, sometimes savory dishes using squashes can get tiring, so now I have an idea to use them! Gosh, girl, this vegan cake looks beyond extraordinary, I love how you added butternut squash for color! Thank you for sharing such stunning photos!
Oh wow, that cake looks incredible! Will be making this soon. I have only just come across your blog and it is really stunning. The photos are amazing and your recipes are right up my street! Also nice to have found another blogger from the UK too!
Such a great recipe, definitely going to try this very soon!:) xx
Thanks Jess :-) Let me know how it turns out! x
Hi, Aimee! I just realised I’ve been missing a LOT of your amazing recipes. This cake is gorgeous! I just love the maple leaf on the top. The filling sounds wonderful, too – I’d really love to try that as it comes so highly recommended!
Thanks Helen! I’ve been missing a lot of yours too, looking forward to having a good look through them :-)
Love everything about this, love the flavours, love the top, love the plates, love the decor. Yep. This is awesome.
Thanks Emma!
What a beautiful Autumn sponge Aimee. Looks so moist and the filling sounds divine. Lovely decoration and pics too!
Thanks Kate :-)
Yummy! This is definitely my kind of cake (P.S. I’d love to have tea and cake with you some time!)
I made butternut pancakes recently which were so good. I don’t understand why pumpkin gets all the attention- squash and sweet potatoes are much better in my opinion ;)
Always up for some cake and tea! And I totally agree, squash and sweet potatoes trump pumpkin in my book :-)