White and Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
Pumpkin and chocolate go together so deliciously, but why choose between white and dark chocolate when you can have them both! This White and Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake is moist, easy to make, and it’s good down to the last crumb!
This cake was inspired by my love of pumpkin and by a cake a dear friend made. She used both white and dark chocolate in her cake, and the richness of the dark chocolate and the sweetness of the white chocolate made her cake special.
White and Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
This cake is just as fabulous, but I’ve made it a little bit easier to make. With easy-to-find ingredients and convenient canned pumpkin, this cake comes together easily, and it cooks quickly when you bake it in a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Why I love this recipe
-
- It’s an easy and delicious pumpkin cake recipe!
- The sugary, crunchy topping is so good!
- This pumpkin cake is great for parties and sharing – it cuts easily into squares!
- It has plenty of pumpkin flavor, enhanced by the duo of white and dark chocolate chips.
Pumpkin Cake is perfect for sharing
This is a great cake to take to family events, parties, potlucks, and more. Plus, if you bake it in a 9 x 13-inch Pyrex dish with a lid, you don’t need to worry about transporting it! Simply bake, cool, and take it with you in the baking dish!
Everyone loves this cake – adults love the savory pumpkin flavor, and kids love the chocolate chips. And with a hint of cinnamon, it’s the perfect cake for Thanksgiving feasts, fall parties, BBQs, and more.
Gather these ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Ground cinnamon – Fresh spices make all the difference! You’ll save a bit for the topping.
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Eggs
- Sugar – White granulated sugar. You’ll save some for the topping.
- Canned pumpkin
- Canola oil – Or another neutral-flavored cooking oil.
- Chocolate chips – You’ll need both dark and white chocolate chips.
Canned pumpkin VS. pumpkin pie filling
What’s the difference between canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie filling? There’s a big difference, so make sure you’re buying pure canned pumpkin for this recipe. Canned pumpkin is 100% pumpkin – it’s cooked, pureed, and canned. Pumpkin pie filling, on the other hand, is already sweetened and flavored with spices. You cannot control the sweetness or spices if you buy pumpkin pie filling.
How to make White and Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
- Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray or greasing it with butter.
- Preheat your oven to 350-F.
- Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
- Beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, and oil in a second bowl.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl, mixing until just moistened.
- Add the white and dark chocolate chips, reserving some for the topping.
- Combine the reserved sugar and reserved cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle this evenly over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top of the cake.
- Bake the pumpkin cake at 350-F for about 45 minutes.
- Cool for 15 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Tips & substitutions
- Don’t overmix the cake batter, and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- An electric hand mixer or stand mixer will work for this recipe.
- Mix and match the chocolate – milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, and even chocolate chunks will work in this pumpkin cake recipe.
- Cut the cake into squares for easy serving.
How do you know when pumpkin cake is done?
This easy pumpkin cake recipe is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If there’s still batter on the toothpick, it’ll need a few more minutes. If there’s just a crumb or two on the toothpick, pull it out of the oven, and the residual heat will continue to cook the cake until it is perfect.
Serving Suggestions
This pumpkin cake is so good that it doesn’t need anything else, but if you want to jazz it up, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Cool Whip is also a good choice if you want an open-and-go garnish for your cake.
Storage
Leftover White and Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake can be kept tightly covered on the counter for 2-3 days or freeze it! Cut it into squares, tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, and then pop them into a resealable plastic bag. That way, you can defrost a piece of cake at a time to go with your coffee or for dessert.
Check out these delicious pumpkin recipes while you’re here
- Pumpkin Butter Cake
- Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting
- Pumpkin Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake
- Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
- Cinnamon Cookies with Pumpkin
This post is reposted from July 2014 with new photos and tips!
Get the Recipe:
White and Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups canned pumpkin
- 1 ½ cups canola oil
- 1 ½ cups semisweet semisweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, divided
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (reserve the other ¼ cup for the topping).
- Pour the cake into a greased 9×13 pan.
- Mix together ¼ cup sugar and ½ tsp. cinnamon and lightly sprinkle over the cake. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
This recipe looks delicious! Would this work in loaf pans??
Yes, I do believe it would, Marlene. You’d have to adjust the baking time though.
Hi, I am going to bring your White & Dark Choc. Pumpkin Cake to my book club 9/17; my question is have you ever used applesauce in place of all or at lest half of the canola oil? I have done with brownies and was just wondering ….
No, I have not Charlene, but I would think it would work! Please come back and tell me if it does!
This looks fabulous, and I love the dark and white chocolates in there.
Looks so yummy! I like to add chocolate chips too! I also add golden raisins. Never added white chocolate…will give that a try. Lovely post about friendships. Well said!
What a fun weekend! And you did such a great job of making this traditionally fall food so summery! Love it!
That sounds like SUCH a fun weekend! I love chocolate and pumpkin; it’s a combo I never thought of before I started blogging, but I love it now!
Pumpkin cake in July?? I am so down with that! :)
This looks amazing and your trip sounds pretty awesome!