Dairy-Free Pumpkin Tea Cake Recipe

This pumpkin tea cake is the absolute celebration of the autumn season, moist and tasty, pumpkin- and spices-infused, just ready to be eaten with a hot cup of tea on a chilly autumn day. Adapted from the absolutely fantastic Tartine Cookbook, it is one of the staples of the famous San Francisco bakery and I know why. It’s simply delicious and super easy to make. Since my youngest daughter is lactose intolerant, I made a dairy-free version and used my favorite vegetable oil in the ingredients–olive oil.

After the tea cake is baked, wait until it’s at room temperature and either eat it right away or wrap in foil and keep in the fridge to enjoy on the trail, when you’re out to jump in piles of autumn leaves with the kids.

For the perfect tea party touch, enjoy with a cup of hot tea with milk and a side of marmelade or dark berry jam. You could also go all natural by replacing the sugar with natural honey or maple syrup and enjoy their fantastic taste and nutritional benefits.

Pumpkin Tea Cake | Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (optional: use gluten-free flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg – even better, freshly grated
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree – see note
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs

Note: I prefer my pumpkin puree fresh but to make things easy, I simply bake a whole scooped pumpkin in the oven whenever I buy a pumpkin. When a fork pierces through the skin, it’s baked. I take it out, scoop out the flesh and freeze the pumpkin puree in cup-portions in small bags. They’re ready to be used for baking all winter long.

Pumpkin Tea Cake | Steps

• Preheat the oven at 325F/160C. Line a cake pan with wax paper or butter/flour it.
• In a medium bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Then add the eggs, the oil and the pumpkin puree. Fold to combine.
• Pour in cake pan and transfer to the oven.
• Bake for a little less than an hour. You’ll know it’s ready when your kitchen smells like pumpkin spices and when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool during 20 minutes, then transfer to a plate.
• Eat for tea time, breakfast and any autumn hike in the woods!

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