Method (pumpkin spice cake)

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C fan and line a 8 inch loose base / push up cake tin with greaseproof paper.
2. In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined. Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and pumpkin spice mix. Mix well to combine.
4. Add the oil into the ‘buttermilk’ along with the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine.
5. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
6. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin. Make sure to tap the tin on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
7. Pop the cake into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 25-30 minutes. You will know it’s done when you put a knife or skewer in to the centre of the cake and it comes out clean and it’s springy to the touch.
8. Place the cake on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully in the tin, as we’ll be layering the mousse in the tin.
9. To store, cover the top of the cake with some grease proof paper then place in a sealed container while in the tin. I like to store the cake overnight so its 100% cool before adding on the cream layers.

Method (pumpkin mousse)

1. Add the whipping cream into a stand mixer fitted with balloon whisk attachment. Whip the cream on high speed for 5-8 minutes or until it holds a stiff peak. The Coconut Collaborative double cream will whip up very thick! Add in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, whip up on high speed until thick and creamy.
2. Spoon and spread the thick pumpkin layer to the cake base. Chill in the fridge before adding on the next layer on top.

Method (cream layer and toppings)

1. In a stand mixer add in the whipping cream and whip until thick and holds a stiff peak.
2. Remove a few tablespoons of the cream and transfer into a small bowl (you’ll want to colour 3/4 of the transferred cream with orange food gel and the small amount of cream with some brown food gel). This is to make the pumpkin cream decorations. 
3. Spoon and spread the plain white whipped cream on top of the pumpkin mousse in an even layer.
4. Dust the entire dessert with some pumpkin spice (optional).
5. Add the orange cream into a piping bag fitted with a medium sized star tip nozzle. Pipe the base of the pumpkins around the top edge of the dessert. Add the brown cream to a piping bag and snip off a small top. Pipe on each pumpkin stalk. 
6. Chill the dessert in the tin overnight in the fridge.
7. Once the dessert looks set, carefully use the loose base of the tin to push the dessert out of the tin and onto a serving plate, carefully peeling away any grease proof paper.
8. Use a knife sharp knife to cut the cake into servings. Perfect served with a drizzle of vegan caramel sauce! 
9. Serve and enjoy. 
10. Any questions, leave in the comments below and I’ll get back to you!