Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
What? You forgot about pumpkin after Thanksgiving?
I love pumpkin. Mostly, I love all the spices that are associated with it: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice… Tonight after a Moroccan-inspired dinner, a spiced cake with dark chocolate chips was just what we needed. And who says pumpkin isn’t February food?
This recipe is a variation of the New York Times’ chocolate-pumpkin layer cake. We needed dessert fast, so layers weren’t an option and neither was making frosting. I basically cut the recipe in half, skipped the nuts, added my own touches (cardamom and orange zest) and 30 minutes later, we were enjoying spicy, pumpkinny, dark chocolatey goodness. This is really dense and moist, and that’s what makes it good.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
Idea from Florence Fabricant of the New York Times
- 10 tablespoons of butter (1 1/4 sticks)
- 1 cup flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg and 1 egg white (The original recipe called for 3 large eggs.)
- 3/4 cup pureed pumpkin (canned, fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli 60% cocoa is the best that’s readily available and still in my budget)
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- allspice
- ground ginger
- ground cardamom
- teaspoon of orange zest
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add the egg and egg white. (Baking isn’t my strong suit so I’m not sure what it’d be like with just one or two whole eggs.) Mix in the 3/4 cup of pumpkin.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture. Now start shaking in the spices. This is an inexact science and depends on your taste. There should be a higher proportion of cinnamon and ginger to nutmeg and allspice. I’ve been adding cardamom to just about everything these days, so in went two pinches of that. Add the orange zest. Taste the batter to see if you’ve added enough cinnamon and spice.
Pour into a greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.
Category: Recipes | Tags: cake, chocolate, dessert, pumpkin 8 comments »
February 20th, 2009 at 5:49 am
The combination of al of those warm and fragrant spices along with the chocolate, pumpkin, and hint of orange sounds amazing. I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, and I am totally craving this!
February 20th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Amazing flavour combination. I will have to give this one a try!
February 20th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I just had a leftover piece for breakfast. Orange goes great with the spices.
The idea came from a carrot cake I had a few weeks ago that included one whole pureed orange, rind and all. I distrusted the recipe a bit at first, but once I tried it, I realized what all carrot cakes had been missing. Then I put some orange zest in a similarly-spiced granola, and I liked that too.
Last night I had put the cake in the oven for a minute, then took it out and put the zest in. I’m glad I did.
February 20th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Now that is what I call food porn! It looks delicious
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Look at this one! Great flavors!
February 23rd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
i’m with christa… food porn! i think these sound and look amazing.
October 6th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
[...] but I’ve never been able to keep my own secrets. I put ground cardamom in most things I bake. Pumpkin chocolate chip cake, oatmeal cookies, carrot cake, [...]
May 7th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
[...] cake pan. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.Also available on my blog:http://hecooksshecooks.net/2009/…This answer .Please specify the necessary improvements. Edit Link Text Show answer summary [...]