Vegan pumpkin bread with maple frosting

Step 1

PLEASE NOTE that this recipe yields 1½ cups of frosting, enough to ice two cakes, but I do not recommend halving it as this is the smallest amount the blender can handle.

Step 2

Put all the liquid ingredients: coconut cream, maple syrup, lemon juice and vanilla extract at the bottom of the blender.

Step 3

Rinse the cashews and chop them roughly. If you own a very powerful blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec) this step may be completely redundant, but with my average blender, this is the only way I can achieve a smooth consistency without adding too much liquid.

Step 4

Add about a quarter of the chopped cashews. Process until smooth then add another quarter and process until smooth. Continue until you've added all the cashews.

Step 5

Towards the end, the mixture will become very thick and heavy and your blender may struggle to turn. To remedy this, start making circles on the surface of your mixture (in the direction of the turning blades) with a spatula to prevent air pockets forming under the mixture’s surface. Be careful not to dip the spatula in too deep as you don’t want to accidentally touch the turning blades. If you follow the technique I've described above, there should be enough moisture in this recipe to turn the cashews into a smooth and creamy frosting.

Step 6

Place the mixture in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm up, or if you are pressed for time, place it in the freezer for 45 minutes.

Step 7

Warm up the oven to 180° C / 355° F and grease a 900 g / 2 lb cake tin with a few drops of oil.

Step 8

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree with the oil, almond milk, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix very well.

Step 9

Sift the flour and the remaining dry ingredients into a smaller bowl and mix well. Alternatively, you could sift them straight into the wet ingredients, but make sure you combine everything thoroughly.

Step 10

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in three batches, mixing well each time.

Step 11

Mix until there is no dry flour left, but do not overmix (that's only important if you are using a flour containing gluten)!

Step 12

Fold half the pecans into the cake batter gently.

Step 13

Transfer the batter into the prepared baking tin. It should be fairy thick.

Step 14

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out fairy clean (this cake should be moist). Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool down completely before removing from the tin and applying the frosting.

Step 15

Use a serrated knife to slice the cake - it produces neater looking slices.