This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake is the perfect quick fall weekend baking project! The cake base has the best pumpkin spice flavor and is then studded with chocolate chips and topped perfectly balanced cream cheese frosting to finish it off. A delicious (and easy!) treat for fall that’s great for sharing!
The BEST Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake: A.K.A. Your New Favorite Fall Recipe
Do you jump on the pumpkin bandwagon in the fall? because, I definitely do! I have a list of favorite pumpkin recipes like my pumpkin cinnamon rolls, healthy pumpkin pie bars, and this newer recipe: pumpkin chocolate chip cake!
This cake is the perfect little weekend baking project and the best part is that I specifically developed the recipe to use a whole can of pumpkin! 🙌🏾
While I love a nourishing meal packed with protein and veggies, I also believe that enjoying your favorite treats is part of taking care of yourself, too! There’s something special about spending a cozy afternoon baking a homemade cake and enjoying a slice with the people you love. To me, that’s what All the Healthy Things is all about!
Key Ingredient Notes for this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
- Butter: for a deliciously rich cake we’re using melted unsalted butter. I love the flavor it gives the cake. I also use a bit of butter for the cream cheese frosting as well. I prefer to use a really high quality butter, like this one, for this recipe for the best results.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: my one tip here is to make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh for the best results! Stale leavening agents means your cake won’t rise properly and we don’t want that.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: store bought pumpkin spice will definitely work fine but if you have a minute I highly recommend making a batch of my homemade pumpkin pie spice! I find that it has even more flavor and you can make a big batch to use all fall!
- Applesauce: after testing lots of different sheet cakes this is my secret for keeping them super moist. Be sure to grab unsweetened plain applesauce for this particular recipe.
- Pumpkin Puree: like I mentioned, I specifically designed this recipe to use a whole can of pumpkin puree which is something I personally love, haha! You can also make your own homemade pumpkin puree which is always delicious.
- Cream Cheese: biggest tip here is to be sure to use brick-style cream cheese, not cream cheese spread from the tub!
📝Pro Tip on Flour: The base of this cake is flour and if you have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend using it to measure your dry ingredients! It’s the best way to get accurate measurements and helps ensure your cake turns out perfectly moist and tender every time. I include a gram measurement for the flour in the recipe card!
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
📝Ashlea’s Pro-Tip: Be careful not to over mix, or your cake is likely to turn out dense!
Bake until the cake is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and then let the cake cool completely. While you’re baking the cake you can make your cream cheese frosting! It’s so important to let the cake cool before adding the frosting or it will melt which we don’t want.
📝Ashlea’s Pro-Tip: I like to place my frosted cake in the fridge to help the cream cheese frosting set up a bit. But I know it’s difficult to wait, so feel free to dig right in if you can’t wait!
I hope you give this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake a try! If you do make this recipe I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews and ratings help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you trust and love.
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake is the perfect quick fall weekend baking project! The cake base has the best pumpkin spice flavor and is then studded with chocolate chips and topped perfectly balanced cream cheese frosting to finish it off. A delicious (and easy!) treat for fall that’s great for sharing!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups all purpose flour (240 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 – 15oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- mini chocolate chips, for serving
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 sheet cake pan with avocado oil or non-stick spray and then line with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice to a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until well combined and set aside.
- To another large mixing bowl add the melted butter, apple sauce, pumpkin puree, dark brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until well combined.
- Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just mixed. Then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Next, pour the batter into the prepared pan, using an offset spatula to spread the batter into an even layer in the pan.
- Bake the cake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Add the cream cheese and butter to a large mixing bowl. Cream the butter and cream cheese together on high until smooth and creamy. Next, add the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Beat the frosting on low speed for around 30 seconds to incorporate and then increase to high speed. Beat the frosting on high for around 2 minutes until fluffy.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, cover with the cream cheese frosting and top with mini chocolate chips. You can place it in the fridge to help the cream cheese frosting set up a bit. Top the cake with mini chocolate chips. Slice and serve.
Photography by: Sasha Hooper
