After I've grated the squash, measured the flour, the baking powder, and the baking soda. After I've finished mixing the oil and the maple syrup and the vanilla into an unholy-looking mess. After I've shoveled spoonfuls of the batter into my mouth because it's so tasty and nearly finished baking the goddamn cake, I start to agonize. Should I be baking this cake at all? Is there any way on earth I will be able to exercise moderation with this one?
The answer, even in my heart, is a pretty cocky "no." But then who could be convinced that a cake with a vegetable baked inside it, and a fruit on top of it, a cake made of whole-wheat flour, could be anything but good?
And it is, oh, it is.
I had a whole mess of yellow squash left over from our Pennsylvania adventure, and instead of making more vegan zucchini bread (which is delicious, by the way), I thought I'd try instead to make a vegan squash cake. A rectangular one, with a goeey, glaze-like icing of pineapple buttercream.
The squash cake itself is moist, dense, and tender. The squash flecks it with pale, yellow tendrils, and the icing has these tasty little bits of pineapple in it that will make your tastebuds dance. The coconut oil gives the whole thing a certain je ne sais quoi without being even slightly obvious.
I know you have a ton of squash (zucchini's good here too) sitting in your refrigerator, so there's really nothing standing between you and this cake. I'll get out of the way right now and leave you with the recipe.
Related recipes
- Peach Upside-Down Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Vegan Strawberry Bread
- Vegan Zucchini Cake with Orange Marmalade Glaze
- Zucchini Halwa
- Savory Vegan Squash and Rice Pudding
- Easy Pan Roasted Zucchini
Vegan Squash Cake with Pineapple Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups yellow squash (or zucchini, grated)
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 ½ cups maple syrup (or sugar)
- ¾ cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the icing:
- 8 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar (or maple syrup)
- ½ cup crushed pineapple (I like a few chunky bits in the frosting)
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a ;arge bowl.
- In another bowl, mix the oil, maple syrup and vanilla and whisk to mix well.
- Add the applesauce and the vanilla extract, whisk in, then add the squash and mix well.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix with a spatula until well combined, but do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into a 10 by 6 inch cake tin or baking dish and bake in a 350-degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool on a rack.
Make the icing
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined. This frosting is fairly runny, so your icing will be halfway between a glaze and a buttercream.
- Refrigerate the frosting for about 30 minutes, and then frost the cooled cake.
ChrissyBozz
yum!yum!yum!
I added some cardamom to the mix...this is awesome even without the frosting!! great recipe!!
Maddie B
I just made this recipe and I loved it. I made a little mistake with the frosting and the Pineapple was a little wet so it went on more liquified. I made half the cake with the frosting and the other half with no frosting. It came out delicious both ways. Just some people don't like frosting.
Lou
Hello, I would like to try this recipe but don't have apple sauce. Do you think I can just skip it? If not what can I use instead? Thank you!
Vaishali
Do you have any yogurt? Or use another fruit puree like banana.
Cyndie
I made this into muffins... Went over very well with all who tried them with or without the frosting
Diane
I made this yesterday. It’s amazing!! I added the tiniest bit of ginger spice. Also, I had already roasted a squash so I used cooked and mashed squash for the recipe. Still, perfect! One more thing, I suggest blending the icing in a mixer for a smooth consistency because I tried only whisking and it did not cut the vegan buter well enough. Thanks for reading! I look forward to making this recipe again.
Sarah
The cake turned out delicious! Loved it!
But making the icing using the maple syrup instead of powdered sugar (I didn't have any powdered sugar on hand) did not work out at all. I tried it twice; the second time I added the pineapple after mixing the butter and syrup. I even tried adding some cornstarch to make up for not having the powdered sugar. Both times I ended up with a mess of butter bits and pineapple chunks. I think the powdered sugar is a necessity.
I'm giving 4 stars because the cake was so good.
Uj
Sounds great. There is a typos in first line of instruction. instead of l you typed ;
Niki
Hi
Sounds great! Wondering if a gf blend flour will be a good sub or any other flours you'd recommend?
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Niki, yes, a gf all-purpose would work fine here.
Lynne Mclain
I used mostly millet flour with just a little whole wheat and the cake was great. I
Noodlehead
Whoa, a fruit, veggie and whole wheat. Perfect!! I know you recommend lauki but I have some red pumpkin sitting around. Can I sub that for the squash? Silly question alert -----> if I made this in a mini muffin pan, how long do you reckon I'd need to bake it? My toddler loves to eat stuff herself and mini muffins are her go-to size so she can eat while monkeying around! Thanks 🙂
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Noodlehead, you can use the pumpkin, but it would change the taste up a bit and taste more like a pumpkin cake/bread. Pumpkin has a stronger flavor that yellow squash and lauki do, and it's very pleasant, but different.
Veganopoulous
aaaawesome looking cake, thank you! I have a birthday party coming up and need to cook some cakes. I love the idea of serving kids some veggies 😉
narf77
This cake looks perfect. An amazing balance of moist yellow texture with the promise of a great flavour from the squash. I use a lot of squash and this cake is going to slip into my repertoire like an old friend. Thank you for sharing this excellent recipe. I always have success with your cakes. The one time I failed, I had run out of margarine and was baking for non-vegan friends and attempted one of your cakes with butter and it failed TERRIBLY. Go figure eh? ;). Again, thank you for being so generous in sharing your excellent recipes 🙂
anuradhatadimety
Hi Vaishali,
I would like to try this cake really badly,can I sub squash with either Lauki or red pumpkin.No earth balance available in India, what can I sub it with for the frosting?Thank you for your wonderful vegan recipes.Have tried quite a few of them with great success.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Anuradha, You can try this with lauki (bottle gourd). I think it should turn out quite well, and lauki is great in sweets. For the frosting, can you find any vegan butter where you are? If not, you can try making a plain sugar-pineapple glaze with about 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar mixed with about 1/4- 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple. Add the pineapple a little at a time, whisking together until you have a fairly pourable glaze. Then pour on top of the cake.
Thanks for your kind words-- and for trying the recipes. Cheers. 🙂
anuradhatadimety
Thanks for your quick reply.will try it this weekend and go for your sugar pineapple glaze idea.
Troy Soriano
I usually hate commentary (it's often so boring! "my life is perfect and my thoughts are perfect and my recipe-pics are so perfect blah blah blah) and just want the recipe but I love yours: unique!
Vaishali Honawar
Thanks Troy! You are too kind.
RAMECA
Hello should the squash be pre cooked I want to use buttercup squash..??
Vaishali
No, use grated raw squash.
amarthya
I want this so bad!