Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Chips & Pecans
What’s better than spiced pumpkin cake with chocolate chips and pecans? Decadent, super moist and perfect for fall entertaining. A must-make fall dessert!
It was Thanksgiving in Canada this past weekend, which meant most of my free time was spent preparing to host dinner for our extended family members who live nearby. Needless to say, I didn’t get as much accomplished on my office makeover as I would’ve liked, so I’m pushing that update a little later in the week.
Instead, I thought I’d share a recipe for spiced pumpkin cake (that’s super moist and perfect for fall entertaining). It was a big hit with everyone, so I hope you enjoy it too!
Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Chips & Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (room temperature)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree
- 1½ cups dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cup pecans, roughly chopped
The full list of ingredient measurements and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until smooth. Gradually beat in applesauce, egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix until combined. (For best results, make sure ingredients are at room temperature to prevent butter from splitting).
- Mix in the dry ingredients a bit at a time, stirring just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan a bit and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, around 30 to 35 minutes (do not over bake).
Allow the cake to cool a bit and serve warm (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or an ice cold glass of milk).
Have leftover pumpkin puree to use up? Make this easy pumpkin butter or pumpkin spice waffles.
Pumpkin Cake With Chocolate Chips and Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 15 ounces pure pumpkin puree
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cup pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until smooth. Gradually beat in applesauce, egg and vanilla until combined. Add pumpkin puree and mix until combined. (For best results, make sure ingredients are at room temperature to prevent butter from splitting).
- Mix in the dry ingredients a bit at a time, stirring just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake until the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan a bit and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, around 30 to 35 minutes (do not over bake).
- Allow the cake to cool a bit and serve warm (with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or an ice cold glass of milk).
Notes
- Be sure to use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
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Happy baking!
Oh, Shauna! This looks beautiful! I am definitely going to pin this. I love all things pumpkin!
Thanks Tara. Just be careful not to be home alone with a pan. You could be in trouble- just saying!
Happy belated Thanksgiving to you, Shauna!!! This recipe looks amazing – I’m adding it to my of list of ones to try. :-) We experimented this year with a few new recipes mixed in with ongoing traditional dishes, too – we did up a roasted veggie mix, and also a poached pear in a hazel nut & chocolate crumble mix – both recipes were Pinterest inspired! Loved the veggie one and would do it again in a heartbeat, but need to tweak the crumble a bit for the pear one! xo Sheila
Happy belated to you as well. Those roasted veges sound yummy (I can never get enough veges)! I also tried a new stuffing recipe out of November’s issue of Style at Home and it was good, but needs to be tweaked a bit for our liking. Thanks for stopping by!
Yumm, i love anything pumpkin
I am a pumpkin-aholic! This looks so good.
Hmmm looks good Shauna! I do love pecans and pie too – Pinned!!
Believe it or not, I have never baked with pumpkin! Time to change that up, I think – delicious looking recipe!
That’s crazy! It keeps everything super moist and delicious, including this cake. You must give pumpkin a try!
Ok, minus the nuts (deathly allergy) this is an awesome recipe. Pinned it! Can’t wait to wow my next family dinner!
Yum, looks delicious! I featured this on my blog today! I’m just stopping by to pin it and say thanks again for sharing!
Thanks Jessi!