Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Chips

With pumpkin purée and maple syrup replacing refined sugar, and coconut oil swapped for vegetable oil, this gluten-free pumpkin cake with chocolate chips is the perfect fall dessert or afternoon snack. Moist, full of warm spices, and with a tender crumb, it’s so delicious that no frosting is needed (though you can add some if you like). The best part? No one will ever guess it’s gluten-free!

It was hard to know what to call this recipe; pumpkin brownies, pumpkin snack cake, or pumpkin cake. Whatever you call it, just make a batch and enjoy. It's an easy and delicious recipe when fall rolls around. Simply, mix, pour, and bake. No frosting needed.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Like This Recipe
• Recipe Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• How to Make Pumpkin Cake
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage
• More Terrific Fall Recipes
• ⭐️Did You Make This?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why You'll Like This Recipe

• Versatile: use it for dessert as a cake, or afternoon snacking, or with coffee.
• Simple ingredients.
• Great fall flavors.

For another easy, terrific pumpkin dessert, make this pumpkin mousse.

Recipe Ingredients

• Flour: Use an all-purpose, gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob’s Red Mill blue bag 1:1 gluten-free flour blend) but other should work.
• Baking powder: Buy aluminum free, you don't need aluminum in your diet, and check the date before baking to be sure it's not expired.
• Spices The fall classic flavors of cinnamon, allspice, and clove.
• 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: Use your favorite chocolate chips. See notes below.

Please see the recipe card for measurements.

Here's another way to use chocolate chips, in these Forgotten Cookies (aka chocolate chip meringues).

Substitutions and Variations

• To reduce sugar, go with a no-sugar chocolate chip. They are really good. I've tried different brands. These sugar free chocolate chips (sweetened with stevia) work, or these new date-sweetened chocolate chips (no refined sugar added). I'm shying away from brands with erythritol due to a recent study.
• Leave out the chocolate chips if desired (but they add a nice twist).
• If you're not gluten-free, use regular all purpose white flour.
• If you can't do coconut oil, use this terrific, healthy neutral oil. It works for all your cooking needs way better than industrially produced "vegetable" oil.

Here's another recipe with pumpkin, this time a fantastic, super easy soup; pumpkin black bean soup, one of my most shared recipes.

How to Make Pumpkin Cake

Mix the batter by hand or with an electric hand mixer.

Step 2: Add the dry ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add wet ingredients to large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.,

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

Step 1: Gather all of your ingredients and tools. 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

Step 3: Stir in the chocolate chips by hand with a flexible spatula.

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. Another way I do it is to stir and aerate the flour bag (or canister), then scoop.

Step 4: Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake at 325F. Baking time is about 45 minutes. The brownies 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.

Serving Suggestions

Slice into 9-12 pieces and serve warm or cool. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream on the side or use cream cheese frosting recipe. Another option is serve with a simple dusting of powdered sugar.

Pumpkin's not just for dessert! Try this delicious pumpkin pie smoothie for breakfast!

Storage

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

More Terrific Fall Recipes

Try this 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.

⭐️Did You Make This?

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

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