This pumpkin olive oil cake is a moist almond flour pumpkin cake that is made with olive oil and pumpkin spice. It is frosted with a delicious cream cheese frosting. It’s the perfect Autumn or Thanksgiving pumpkin snacking cake.

Piece of pumpkin olive oil cake cut by fork.

If you are looking for a healthy pumpkin cake that is full of flavor, then look no further! This cake has a wonderful pumpkin and pumpkin spice taste.

It is made with healthier ingredients like almond flour and olive oil (instead of white flour and butter). And it is made with less sugar than many other pumpkin cakes. The tangy delicious cream cheese frosting pairs so well with the cinnamon pumpkin flavor of the cake. This cake is naturally gluten-free and grain-free and can easily be made dairy-free!

If you love pumpkin recipes, try my pumpkin banana bread, pumpkin protein smoothie, or my pumpkin stuffed dates.

Front view of gluten-free pumpkin cake.

What makes this recipe great

  • Olive oil is used to replace butter in this recipe. Baking with olive oil has amazing results, try my olive oil brownie recipe or my olive oil sugar cookie recipe if you want to try for yourself.
  • The olive oil in this cake results in a moist rich cake that is naturally dairy-free. Olive oil cake is a classic Italian or Mediterranean dessert where olive oil is used as the fat content in a cake.
  • Don’t worry, you can’t taste the olive oil.
  • This recipe is gluten-free and grain-free. If you use dairy-free cream cheese, it can easily becomes dairy-free as well.

Recipe ingredients

  • Almond flour– blanched almond flour is best in baking so that the cake can be light and spongy.
  • Coconut flour– a good quality coconut flour works best.
  • Baking powder and baking soda– these help make the cake rise.
  • Ground cinnamon– I like the flavor of Ceylon cinnamon best.
  • Pumpkin pie spice– I buy mine from Trader Joes, but you can also use a mixture of ground ginger, cloves, all spice and nutmeg to make your own pumpkin spice.
  • Olive oil– I like to use extra virgin olive oil.
  • Eggs– these help bind everything together.
  • Brown sugar– you can also use coconut sugar if you prefer.
  • Pumpkin puree– I used canned pumpkin puree here but you can use fresh.
  • Vanilla extract– one with or without alcohol works.
  • Cream cheese– I used regular cream cheese here, but you can use a non-dairy cream cheese like Kite Hill, if you want this recipe to be completely dairy-free.
  • Powdered sugar– this is for the frosting.
  • Lemon juice– this is for the frosting as well.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Step by Step Instructions:

Dry ingredients for pumpkin olive oil cake.
Step 1

Step 1: Mix the the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl.

Wet ingredients for pumpkin olive oil cake.
Step 2

Step 2: In another bowl, mix the olive oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract together.

Wet and dry ingredients mixed together.
Step 3

Step 3: Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.

Pumpkin olive oil cake before baking.
Step 4

Step 4: Pour the pumpkin cake batter into a lined cake tin.

Gluten-free pumpkin cake after baking.
Step 5

Step 5: Bake! Then let the cake cool.

Cream cheese frosting in food processor.
Step 6

Step 6: Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth.

Almond flour pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting on top.
Step 7

Step 7: Frost the cake with the cream cheese frosting.

A slice of almond flour pumpkin cake being served.
Step 8

Step 8: Serve!

Garnish ideas

  • I used natural decorating sugar, but you can use any kind of sugar or sprinkles.
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • Cinnamon
  • Pumpkin spice
  • Roasted pepitas

Expert tips

  • Let the batter of this cake sit: let the batter sit for a few minutes so that the coconut flour can absorb the way that it needs to.
  • To make a double layer cake: double the recipe!
  • To keep the cake from sticking to the pan: grease it with olive oil and then line it with parchment paper.
  • To make the cake dairy-free: you can easily use dairy-free cream cheese to make a dairy-free frosting. I like Kite Hill. The rest of the pumpkin cake is naturally dairy-free.

How to store it

You can store this cake in the fridge for up to 5 days.

A bite taken out of a slice of healthy pumpkin cake on a plate.

Recipe FAQs:

Do you have to use almond flour here?

Yes, it is an almond flour pumpkin cake. But you could try sunflower seed flour or other nut flours.

How can you make this cake dairy-free?

The pumpkin olive oil cake itself is dairy-free but the cream cheese frosting has dairy in it. You can easily use dairy-free cream cheese to make a dairy-free frosting. I like Kite Hill.

Is this cake Paleo?

No because baking powder, brown sugar, and powdered sugar are not Paleo.

Is this cake gluten-free?

Yes! This is a gluten-free pumpkin cake. Using almond flour and coconut flour instead of a flour containing wheat makes it naturally gluten-free.

What if I don’t have pumpkin pie spice?

You can make your own pumpkin spice using ground nutmeg, cloves, ginger and all spice.

What does olive oil cake taste like?

It doesn’t taste like olive oil if that is what you are wondering! This olive oil pumpkin cake just tastes like a yummy pumpkin cake with Fall spices.

Fork in a piece of pumpkin olive oil cake.

❤️ Don’t forget to check out my favorite Thanksgiving recipes here! ❤️

Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!

Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake

Dominique
This Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake is a moist almond flour pumpkin cake that is made with olive oil and pumpkin spice.
5 from 7 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people
Calories 334 kcal

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin olive oil cake ingredients:

Cream cheese frosting ingredients:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature (dairy-free cream cheese can also be used)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Grease a 9 inch round pan, and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together. Set aside.
  • In another bowl, whisk the olive oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract together until combined
  • Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix until completely combined. Let the batter sit for a few minutes.
  • Pour the batter into the round pan and bake for 25 minutes. The cake should be golden and a toothpick should come out clean.
  • While the cake cools, make the cream cheese frosting. Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice to a food processor and mix until smooth.
  • Once the cake has cooled, frost with the cream cheese frosting and serve.

Notes

  • Let the batter of this cake sit: let the batter sit for a few minutes so that the coconut flour can absorb the way that it needs to.
  • To make a double layer cake: double the recipe!
  • To keep the cake from sticking to the pan: grease it with olive oil and then line it with parchment paper.
  • To make the cake dairy-free: you can easily use dairy-free cream cheese to make a dairy-free frosting.  The rest of the pumpkin cake is naturally dairy-free.

Nutrition

Calories: 334kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 6gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 336mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 3gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 3429IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 100mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!