This recipe was born out of laziness and my original pumpkin carrot cake recipe. My husband requests the pumpkin carrot cake every year for his birthday, and this year I didn’t want to get out my food processor (haha), so began wondering what would happen with more pumpkin and no carrots. Well, it worked! It was deliciously moist and decadent with those warming spices reminiscent of autumn. My husband is sensitive to gluten, so I make it gluten free (but it’s so yummy know one knows unless I tell them). If you try out this recipe, let me know how it went! If you have a moment, consider rating the recipe.
I’m not a big fan of having to scroll through a bunch of writing (and ads) to try to find a recipe, so, without further ado, here’s some yummy pictures and the recipe. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake
Equipment
- three 9-inch cake pans
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (I like using raw cane sugar or coconut sugar)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil (avocado is my choice, canola works well, too)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree
- 2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour (or all purpose flour)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips (dairy free if desired)
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Add sugars, oil, eggs, and pumpkin puree into mixing bowl and beat with a mixer just until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, & ginger) and mix until all ingredients are well blended.
- Distribute batter evenly into three 9-inch cake pans, generously greased.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool layers in pans for 1 hour. You can store the layers upside-down in the pans (this helps the moisture stay in the cakes) for a day or so in the fridge.
- Prepare your favorite dairy-free frosting, or try our favorite cream cheese frosting below.
Cream Cheese Frosting (dairy):
- Ingredients: Two 8 oz. pkg cream cheese softened; 1/2 cup butter (one stick = 1/2 cup) softened; 1 tsp vanilla; 5 cups powdered sugar
- Using whisk attachment, whip cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and two cups of the powdered sugar together. Add in another cup of sugar and whip. Slowly add in remaining sugar until you reach desired taste and texture. (Ours generally ends up with about 5 cups total of powdered sugar).
- When you are ready to frost (remember, cakes MUST be completely cool before frosting), remove first layer from pan and place bottom side down onto cake stand. Spread frosting evenly on top of the layer. Place next cake layer topside down on first layer and top with frosting. Place last cake layer topside down and press firmly onto other cake layers. Frost the top and sides with remaining frosting.
- Optional: Garnish with toasted coconut flakes or roasted nuts. (To roast, pour flakes or nuts in frying pan on low heat, stirring constantly until slightly toasted. Just a heads up, they can quickly go from toasted to black.)
- Refrigerate until cake is served.
For Cupcakes:
- Prepare liners with baking spray. Fill to about 3/4th full and bake 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
