Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread is a must make every fall — this fall bundt cake is moist and tender with just the right amount of spice, and the chocolate chips take it from delicious to dynamite!
When my oldest went off to college a few years ago, I went care package crazy. I was not only sending the standard cookies and brownies, I was creating themed boxes for holidays and looking for any excuse to send off a package. It was fun for both of us for a while, but the day came when she timidly asked me to slow down the pace. She already had all the nail polish, Halloween face paint, Valentine confetti and bags of mini candy she needed. And the packaging was starting to pile up in the dorm room.
I had pretty much forgotten about care packages altogether when my youngest, just a few weeks into the college year, put in a request for some of my chocolate chip pumpkin bread. This is a wonderful recipe that’s been a family fall staple forever. It’s fool proof, and really really delicious. It’s one of those recipes that you’ll get asked for again and again.
Normally I used canned pumpkin for this, but because I’m in New England, and they had small pumpkins at the farmer’s market, I decided to do it all from scratch. I set out the directions after the recipe, below.
I’ve found this recipe to be just about foolproof as long as you follow the amounts carefully, and don’t over mix it before putting it in the oven. It’s always moist with wonderful pumpkin flavor, and you’d be surprised at how delicious the pumpkin and chocolate combination is.
This cake keeps well and is sturdy, so it’s perfect for shipping. I slice it up and wrap the individual pieces.
Of course I saved a piece for me :)
Save the recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree*
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice (I was out of allspice so I substituted ginger)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Set oven to 350F
- Spray a non-stick bundt pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together with the spices and set aside.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Mix the dry into the wet until JUST combined. Fold in the nuts and chocolate chips.
- Spoon into the bundt pan and even out slightly, if necessary.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it, wet crumbs are fine, about 40-50 minutes. The range of baking time depends on your pan and your oven. Check early.
- Cool briefly and turn out onto a plate or rack. It’s delicious hot, warm, or cold!
notes:
- If you’re like me and think that more is more when it comes to chocolate, don’t be tempted to add more than 1 cup of chocolate chips to the batter. Too much chocolate overwhelms the pumpkin and upsets the fabulous balance of flavors in this cake.
Don’t forget to pin this chocolate chip pumpkin bread!
Want to make your own fresh pumpkin puree?
Take a small eating pumpkin and cut it in half. Scoop out the seeds and set face down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 until it’s tender when pierced.
Scoop out the pulp and puree in a blender or processor till smooth.
Having gone through all this, I can tell you that it just wasn’t worth the extra trouble. There was no difference in taste. And I have read that canned pumpkin is actually higher in nutrients than fresh. Go figure.
37 Comments
Maya
November 12, 2016 at 6:56 amHi! Can these be made as muffins?
Thanks!
Sue
November 13, 2016 at 8:33 amI’m sure they can, Maya. But I have a really great pumpkin chocolate chip muffin on the blog, too, here: http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/7-grain-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins/
Katharine
January 28, 2017 at 8:30 amI use this recipe for muffins all the time! Just bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Sue
November 20, 2017 at 8:44 amThanks for the tip Katherine!
Michele @BaconFatte
August 26, 2016 at 5:43 pmI’ve been fighting my pumpkin cravings because I’m not willing to let go of summer yet, but the moment I saw *this* on your Facebook feed, I knew all bets were off. I absolutely can’t wait to make this, Susan! (And I don’t really think there’s a reason to wait until October… Do you?) ;-)
Sue
August 26, 2016 at 6:03 pmNo reason at all, Michele ;) And as a matter of fact as I’m answering this I’ve got a pen and paper out and I’m making a list of all the pumpkin recipes I want to make!
Jane
September 13, 2015 at 1:31 pmCan’t wait to make this! Want to ship it off to my grandsons. But since one has a nut allergy can I just skip the walnuts? And make no further adjustments? Thanks!
Channing
October 16, 2014 at 7:50 pmIncredible recipe! I used coconut oil and GF flour and a little more pumpkin puree. The bundt pan was a MUST!
Sue
October 16, 2014 at 7:52 pmGood to know, Channing — this has always been one of my most beloved recipes!
Maya
September 17, 2014 at 7:56 amHi Sue,
This looks amazing! Is it possible to make it in a loaf pan instead of a bundt pan?
Thank you!
Sue
September 17, 2014 at 8:22 amI’ve done that Maya, and the thing is that you have to watch the baking time, and make sure it gets cooked all the way through. You can divide the batter into smaller loaf pans, too. I’ve experimented over the years, but there is something about the bundt that cooks this bread perfectly.
Lisa
November 26, 2013 at 10:22 amMade this today. DELICIOUS!!!
Sue
November 26, 2013 at 12:00 pmI’m so glad you liked it, Lisa — it’s probably one of my favorite foods ever.
Kelly
November 21, 2013 at 1:24 pmHaha, that’s a great post. I finally got tired of the work and bought some commercial pumpkin too. I tend to add the skins to my homemade pumpkin puree though for added nutrients and flavor because I think the skins are in the canned stuff too. Good either way. :)
Amy L
September 28, 2013 at 3:13 pmThe company my husband used to work for had a large community garden and they planted a large patch of pumpkins for a couple of years. My husband brought home so many pumpkins that first year which I cooked, pureed, and froze. After baking with the fresh and frozen pumpkin I found that I preferred canned. The following year I told my husband to just bring home a few pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns and roasted seeds. I’ll stick with the cans :)
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I Love your blog!
Sue
September 28, 2013 at 6:05 pmThanks, Amy! It’s so funny about the canned pumpkin, it has to be one of the only cases where canned trumps fresh :)
Magnolia Verandah
June 5, 2013 at 11:47 pmAfter your comment recently about my Pumpkin, Pineapple and Prune cake I had to source your Pumpkin Bread. We can’t buy canned pumpkin here so fresh is the only alternative. But I found grating it raw into the cake worked perfectly without all the working of roasting etc. Making your bread this weekend!