Banana pumpkin chocolate chip cake is slightly healthier but with rich chocolate flavor, a hint of cinnamon and tall thick slices for a delicious fall dessert!

Today, we eat cake.
Pumpkin chocolate chip cake. Banana pumpkin chocolate chip cake.
Warm, rich pumpkin-infused chocolate flavor with hints of cinnamon spice in every bite. It’s sweet, it’s moist and the slices are OH so tall!
This cake is your fall baking project homework. You just gotta make it!
Now, you know me, I healthified this cake a bit.
Healthy Swaps:
It uses whole wheat flour. I always opt for white whole wheat flour - all the healthy and whole grain benefits of whole wheat flour but it’s lighter and not that big of a taste difference from all-purpose flour.
It’s naturally sweetened, with banana and honey.
There’s just ¼ cup of butter for the entire cake. Not bad.
Check out my other healthy fall baking recipes for more inspiration!
Recipe Notes:
You don’t really taste the banana in the cake. It just adds sweetness and texture and helps keep this lightened up a bit.
Don’t sub applesauce for the butter. I tried this — cause I do that often in baking -- and the texture came out a little funny. I think the triple combo of banana, pumpkin and applesauce was just too much.
This cake should be stored in the refrigerator after the first day. (I tend to do this with all baked goods containing banana; they can get a funky taste if they sit out too long.)
I hope fall is treating you well. And I hope your weekend is full of some fun baking projects. Like this one.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Banana Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 heaping cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup honey
- ¼ cup milk (any kind)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Add the eggs and whisk together. Then add pumpkin puree, honey, milk, butter and vanilla and stir well to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into a well-greased 9-inch springform pan.
- Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the outer ring of the springform pan and let the cake cool before slicing and serving.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I'll take a slice for breakfast!
Ahh! My iPhone 7 came in today and I have to pick it up...I'm scared though...I'm not good with change after having the same android for 7 years! But my case is black...always black 😛
Kathryn
A woman after my own heart -- it's totally breakfast food 😉 You will LOVE the iPhone! May take a little getting used to, but it's so great!!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Yay for your new phone!! And purple? Nice!! I love both pink and purple....kinda hard to choose between the two. Your hubby's office was lucky to get some of this cake and good for you for not having it all in the house so you'd be eating it all. I know the feeling. I typically give away a lot of baked goods too. There's only so much hubby and I can eat...or allow ourselves to eat 😉 Pinning this one, of course! Love that it's 'healthified'<---that's cute. Have a great weekend! xoxo
Kathryn
Definitely have to cut myself off sometimes and send the food away cause I have ZERO self-control 😉 Have a wonderful weekend, Dawn! XO
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen
This is the kind of homework I LOVE doing 🙂
Kathryn
Haha, right?! Have a great weekend Tara!
julie lindberg
does this recipe work the same with regular white flour or do I have to adjust the amount?
Kathryn
Hi Julie! Yes, you can substitute regular all-purpose flour here in a 1:1 ratio and it should work just fine. Hope you try it! Would love to hear what you think!
julie lindberg
Thank you Kathryn. I'm new to your site and I really like it. I think I see some yummy dishes (especially this pumpkin bread!) coming out of my kitchen now that the weather is cooling down!
Kathryn
So happy you found me Julie! And yay for fall and all the fun baking projects!
Alia
Can I make this in a bundt pan? (Buttered and floured)
Adina
A perfect looking cake! I don't bake much with pumpkin but this recipe puts me in the mood for it! And I do the same with my cakes: give them to my husband to take to work, otherwise I end up eating too much of them myself. 🙂
Kathryn
Thanks Adina! Glad I'm not the only one sending things out the door... I have ZERO self control with treats like this in the house! I'll eat them all hours of the day 😉
Heather
Do you have nutrition info for this recipe? Carbs specifically? My daughter is type 1 😉
Kathryn
Hi Heather! I don't have nutrition info on my site yet, but I'm looking into adding that. I just plugged this recipe into one of the calculators I'm considering and it shows 58 grams of carbs for one slice (if you cut the cake into 12 slices). I hope that helps!
Brooke
I accidentally left the butter out and I am so worried! It's cooling now, do you think it will be ok
Kathryn
Hi Brooke! It might be fine without the butter (it's not a lot). It'll lose some richness but if the batter seemed OK, the cake might turn out fine. Crossing my fingers for you! Let me know how it works out!
Alia
Will this come out well in a bundt pan? Do I just need to bake it a bit longer?
Kathryn
Hi Alia! Yes, I would think you could bake this in a bundt pan. It would need to be buttered and floured well, as you mentioned, and probably the bake time would be a bit longer. Would love to hear if you try it!
Nishi
Can I make this with almond flour or coconut or oat or quinoa flour ?
Kathryn Doherty
I haven't tested this recipe using those flours, so I can't say for sure. My guess is that it would affect the texture as well as the cake's ability to rise a bit. Would love to hear if you try it though!