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    Home » Recipes » Gluten-Free

    Pumpkin Snack Cake with Chocolate Chips (gluten free)

    Published: Oct 2, 2013 · Modified: Aug 25, 2022 by Sally Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

    201 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    With pumpkin puree and maple syrup instead of refined white sugar, coconut oil swapped for vegetable oil, and gluten-free flour, this pumpkin snack cake with chocolate chips doubles as a fall dessert. It's moist with warm spices and a tender crumb. No frosting needed, and one will ever guess this is gluten-free.

    pumpkin snack cake

    As weather cools and fall arrives, we naturally think of pumpkins and warm spices as favorite seasonal flavors. This is an easy recipe for a snack cake; simply mix, pour and bake. Serve with a cup of coffee or spiced tea. It makes a perfect fall dessert too.

    Jump to:
    • Snack Cake Versus Cake
    • Recipe Ingredients
    • Recipe Instructions
    • Gluten-free Flour Notes
    • To Serve
    • To Store
    • More Recipes
    • ⭐️Did you Make This?
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Snack Cake Versus Cake

    What's the difference between a snack cake and a cake? A snack cake is not usually frosted, it is baked in a rectangular sheet pan or square baking pan, and is a single-layer cake. This snack cake tastes great without frosting.

    Recipe Ingredients

    pumpkin snack cake ingredients.

    Please see recipe card for measurements.

    • Flour: use an all-purpose, gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill blue bag 1:1 GF blend)
    • Baking powder: buy aluminum free, you don't need aluminum in your diet
    • Spices For the ground cinnamon, I prefer Ceylon cinnamon (true cinnamon) which is a little sweeter and lighter than Cassia cinnamon. You'll also need allspice and ground clove. Allspice
    • Eggs: eggs are binders, add structure, richness, and moisture to baked goods.
    • Pumpkin: use canned pumpkin puree (pure pumpkin) not pumpkin pie mix.
    • Maple syrup: use the real deal, not the cheap, fake, colored corn syrup stuff, and go with dark maple for a more robust flavor.
    • Oil: extra virgin coconut oil works great here and there is no coconut flavor.
    • Vanilla: use either extract or paste, here is my favorite brand of vanilla. Great vanilla!
    • Chocolate chips: two options I recommend. Either these sugar free chocolate chips (sweetened with stevia), or these new date-sweetened chocolate chips (no refined sugar added).
    Pumpkin chocolate chip snack cake

    Recipe Instructions

    First gather all of your ingredients and tools. For mixing by hand, add dry ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients to large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the dry bowl to the wet and whisk until smooth, then stir in the chocolate chips by hand with a flexible spatula.

    For using a hand mixer, do the above and mix the wet and dry together with the hand mixer. Start slow or you will be wearing the flour.

    Chef's tip: For the best results, weigh flours for baking with a digital scale. It's why I add weight measures to my baking recipes and specify the flour I developed with so you will be successful and not waste your time or money. Baking is about accuracy and weighing ingredients such as flour, and is critical for successful baking

    Gluten-free Flour Notes

    I developed this recipe with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 blue bag gluten-free flour blend. I weighed the flour over and over, and 2 ½ cups weighs 13 ounces.

    By comparison, a bag of King Arthur's Measure for Measure GF flour blend, 2/12 cups, weighed only 11 ounces. Very different. To get to 13 ounces, I had to use ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons more of the King Arthur flour. If you read the labels, the blends look similar but they weight differently. If you buy King Arthur's, use this measurement. 

    mixing bowl with pumpkin cake batter.

    Chef's tip: When you measure flour, don't scoop from the bag. Reach into the bag or canister with a large spoon and fill the measuring cup, then level it off. Seems silly but there is a difference and it might effect your results.

    Bowl with pumpkin snack cake batter.
    Batter with maple syrup

    For a standing mixer, add the wet ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and blend on low speed until creamy and combined. Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add to the workbowl and blend on medium until incorporated. Add the chips and blend on low.

    Batter mixed with chocolate chips

    Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake at 325F. Baking time is about 45 minutes. The cake will be done when it is golden and firm to the touch, and a toothpick or cake tester comes out almost clean when inserted into the center of the cake. If you use a metal cake tester or skewer, it will feel warm to the touch on your wrist.

    Cake batter in pan ready to bake.

    To Serve

    Slice into 9-12 pieces and serve warm or cool. If you'd rather make this a pumpkin dessert cake, serve with a dollop of whipped cream on the side or use a cream cheese frosting recipe. Another option is serve with a simple dusting of powdered sugar.

    pumpkin cake on cooling rack.

    To Store

    Pumpkin snack cake will keep on the kitchen counter at room temperature in an airtight container for a few days...but it won't last long!

    A piece of pumpkin snack cake.

    More Recipes

    Try this pumpkin pie smoothie, or savory pumpkin polenta with chicken sausage for a hearty dinner. If dessert sounds better, try this pumpkin tart with a press-in cookie type crust.

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      German Chocolate Brownies (gluten free, dairy-free)
    • pumpkin pie smoothie
      Healthy Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
    • Pumpkin mousse
      The Best Creamy Pumpkin Mousse (low carb)
    • apple pecan coffee cake on cake stand
      Cinnamon Apple Cake Recipe (gluten-free)

    ⭐️Did you Make This?

    If you make this recipe, please comment and let me know, and if you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating! They really help other readers.

    📖 Recipe

    Pumpkin Pecan Cake|AFoodCentricLife.com

    Pumpkin Snack Cake with Chocolate Chips (gluten free)

    Sally Cameron
    This easy to bake cake makes a nice fall snack or dessert. Parchment in the bottom of the pan makes the cake easy to remove after baking for cooling. For a dessert garnish, serve with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream on the side. If you want big pieces, slice into 9 squares.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    cooling 10 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 10 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12
    Calories 264 kcal

    Equipment

    • 9″ square metal non-stick baking pan
    • Parchment paper
    • digital kitchen scale optional

    Ingredients
      

    Dry Ingredients

    • 2 ½ cups  gluten-free flour blend 13 ounces, Bob’s Red Mill blue bag 1:1 GF blend
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder aluminum free
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon allspice
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground clove

    Wet Ingredients

    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
    • ¾ cup real maple syrup
    • ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil melted
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    At the End

    • ½ cup + 2 tablespoons chocolate chips 4.3 ounces, see notes below

    Instructions
     

    Get Ready to Bake

    • Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Gather all ingredients and a 9″ square metal non-stick baking pan. Spray the pan and line bottom with piece of parchment paper that is long enough to go above the sides of the pans like wings. This make the cake easy to remove from the pan after baking.

    Mix Ingredients

    • Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine well. In a large bowl, add eggs, pumpkin, syrup, oil and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

    Combine and Pour into Pan

    • Add wet ingredients into dry and whisk or stir until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour cake batter into baking pan and smooth the top with a flexible spatula. Bake approximately 45 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
    • Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake to a wire cooling rack using the parchment "wings". Enjoy warm or cool.

    Notes

    I use Lily's Dark Chocolate Baking Chips. They are no-sugar-added and gluten-free. They are delicious and a great way to reduce overall sugar in the recipe and taste terrific. Compared to using regular chocolate chips such as Tollhouse, using Lily's reduces the overall sugar by 68 grams, about 8 grams per piece. Do what ever works best for your family. 
    GF FLOUR NOTE
    If using King Arthur's Measure for Measure GF flour blend, you need 2 ¾ cups + 2 tablespoon of their flour as it weighs differently than Bob's Red Mill.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1pieceCalories: 264kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 250mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 3gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 59IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 86mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. DJS says

      November 09, 2013 at 2:29 pm

      I'M GOING TO TRY THIS CAKE, BUT WITH SOME CHANGES. 5 YEARS AGO I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CELIAC DISEASE. OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS I'VE HAD ISSUES WITH OTHER FOODS (PEANUTS, DAIRY, CORN, SOY, ETC.). I'M TRYING TO REMOVE MOST SUGARS FROM MY DIET BECAUSE MY SO IS A DIABETIC, AND WE STILL LIKE TO ENJOY OUR BAKED GOODS. I'VE TRIED USING STEVIA IN THE RAW TO BAKE WITH BUT WE'VE HAD ISSUES WITH IT. WILL LET YOU KNOW THE RESULTS.

      Reply
      • Sally says

        November 12, 2013 at 2:14 pm

        Wow, you poor thing. Lots of dietary challenges to deal with. Please comment back and let us know what you do to make it successful for your needs. Thanks!

        Reply
    2. Alexa says

      October 07, 2013 at 10:49 am

      This looks SO good! Could you substitute flax eggs for this (mixing flaxseed together) so it is egg free?

      Reply
      • Sally says

        October 07, 2013 at 3:53 pm

        Hi Alexa. I did think of that but have not tried it. I think it would work. Please try it and comment back to benefit others who want to be egg-free. Thanks!

        Reply
    3. Sophia @ NY Foodgasm says

      October 03, 2013 at 12:06 pm

      Ohhhhh yeah this is right up my alley! I am OBSESSED with pumpkin this time of year and I love the spice and addition of maple syrup!

      Reply

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