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A slightly healthier banana pumpkin chocolate chip cake recipe with rich chocolate flavor, a hint of cinnamon and tall thick slices – a delicious fall dessert!
Happy Friday friends!
I hope you’ve had a great week! The weather is starting to cool off here, so I pulled out some of my fall clothes and I’m feeling very ready for cooler days ahead! I also got a case for my new iPhone 7 and couldn’t be more happy with it. It’s the little things, right?
Mainly I love it because it’s purple and I’m a bit purple obsessed. 💜💜💜 It’s been my favorite color since high school. Maybe middle school. We don’t need to count the years so let’s just say a very long time. 😉
(In fact, when I chose Northwestern University for college, whose colors are purple and white, my friends thought that was the reason. It was because they had the best journalism school, but the purple factor sure didn’t hurt!)
But I digress…
I told you with my pumpkin baked oatmeal with chocolate chips recipe that I’d be bringing you more pumpkin+ chocolate recipes, didn’t I? Here’s #2. (And one more to go, my chocolate pumpkin granola, coming at ya next week!)
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!
I did. A couple of times. I had to send half of the second cake with my husband to his office so I wouldn’t keep eating it at all hours of the day! He said they scarfed it up. 😀
Though of course, I healthified this cake a bit:
- 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 1/4 cup of butter for the entire cake. Not bad.
A few other quick notes for you on this banana pumpkin chocolate chip cake:
- 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!
~ Kathryn
Banana pumpkin chocolate chip cake
This (slightly) healthier banana pumpkin chocolate chip cake is a delicious fall dessert!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1 heaping cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup milk (any kind)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 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.
Recipe Notes
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 strange taste if they sit out too long.)
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 318kcal Calories from fat 102 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 11g | 17% |
| Saturated Fat 6g | 30% |
| Transfat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 57mg | 19% |
| Sodium 287mg | 12% |
| Carbohydrate 54g | 18% |
| Dietary Fiber 5g | 20% |
| Sugars 31g | |
| Protein 6g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
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 says
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 says
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 says
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 says
This is the kind of homework I LOVE doing 🙂
Kathryn says
Haha, right?! Have a great weekend Tara!
julie lindberg says
does this recipe work the same with regular white flour or do I have to adjust the amount?
Kathryn says
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 says
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 says
So happy you found me Julie! And yay for fall and all the fun baking projects!
Alia says
Can I make this in a bundt pan? (Buttered and floured)
Adina says
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 says
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 says
Do you have nutrition info for this recipe? Carbs specifically? My daughter is type 1 😉
Kathryn says
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 says
I accidentally left the butter out and I am so worried! It’s cooling now, do you think it will be ok
Kathryn says
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 says
Will this come out well in a bundt pan? Do I just need to bake it a bit longer?
Kathryn says
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 says
Can I make this with almond flour or coconut or oat or quinoa flour ?
Kathryn Doherty says
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!