This super moist and flavorful pumpkin chocolate chip cake is the best fall cake. Each layer of the pumpkin cake is moist and full of spices. The cake is filled with chocolate whipped cream and mini chocolate chips to give it a little crunch. The entire cake has cream cheese frosting and a classy chocolate drip.
Tips For Making The Best Pumpkin Cake
This is truly the best layered pumpkin cake. It has extra pumpkin puree and tons of spices. This pumpkin cake has a strong pumpkin flavor and tastes like fall!
- Use a large can of pumpkin- You can also use 2 small cans, but there is a lot of pumpkin that goes into this cake. It will equal to 2 ¼ cups of pumpkin puree.
- Room temperature eggs- Make sure to pull the eggs out 2 hours before baking. It will help with the rise of the cake.
- Mix all of the dry ingredients- This recipe uses only 2 bowls. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl including the sugars.
- Blend pumpkin with the oil- Blend all the wet ingredients together. Mix until it is bright orange. Then, pour it into the dry ingredients in 3 intervals.
- Scrape the bowl- After everything is combined, make sure to scrape the bowl!
How To Keep The Cake From Sticking To The Pan
First, you will need three 8 inch cake pans. Spray the pans with baking non-stick spray. Then, place an 8 inch parchment circle on the bottom of the pans. Spray the pans again to make sure they are well coated.
After the cakes are done baking, let them sit for 10 minutes in the hot cake pans. The cake will start to shrink away from the sides. Once you flip them onto the cooling rack, it should come out easily!
Freezing The Cake
I love to make the pumpkin chocolate chip cake ahead of time and then freeze the cake layers until I'm ready to bake.
Wrap the cake layers tightly with cling wrap. Make sure they are cooled all the way first. Then, freeze.
Pull the cake out of the freezer 1 hour before decorating. The cake will still be plenty moist!
What Is Chocolate Whipped Cream Cheese
Chocolate whipped cream cheese is regular whipped cream cheese but with chocolate! I use this whipped cream cheese in Halloween Candy Chocolate Cake. It tastes like magic!
Actually, it is room temperature cream cheese that has been whipped by a mixer until light and fluffy. Then, powdered sugar and cocoa powder is mixed in. It does become pretty thick.
To thin it out, the vanilla and the milk gets mixed in. A slightly thinner chocolate cream cheese mixture is a lot easier to mix into the whipped cream.
After the whipped cream is made, fold it into the cream cheese. Make sure to use a rubber spatula and be gentle so you don't deflate the whipped cream. Now, this does take some elbow grease. It takes a while to fully mix everything together.
In the end you will have a creamy and soft chocolate whipped cream cheese.
I prefer to make this right before decorating the cake. You can make it up to 24 hours in advance.
Extra Cream Cheese Frosting
If you are wanting to pipe the pumpkins on the side of the cake, you will need slightly more frosting. Here is the recipe:
- 3 cups unsalted butter slightly cold
- 13 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 12 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- pinch of salt
- 2 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plus ⅛ cup heavy cream
I know this seems like a ton of powdered sugar. However, you need a lot of powdered sugar to get the cream cheese stiff enough to frost the cake. The cream cheese makes the frosting more slack, so you need a ton of powdered sugar.
Assembling The Cake
- Make the cream cheese frosting right before decorating the cake. It will need to be chilled for 15 minutes before using it.
- The first and second layer will be placed bottom side down. The last layer needs to be placed bottom side up. This will give you the flattest surface on top while decorating the cake.
- Pipe a double layer of frosting around the edge of the cake. This will act as the barrier. We don't want any chocolate escaping and mixing into the frosting.
- Use ¾ cup of chocolate whipped cream cheese and smooth it onto the cake. Make sure to spread it evenly towards the edges. Then, sprinkle with mini chocolate chips. Use as much as you want, I like to make sure the whole layer is coated.
- Repeat with the second layer. Then, place that last layer on top.
- Since the filling is soft, freeze the cake for 10 minutes to set it.
- Next, frost the cake in a light layer of frosting. This will be the crumb coat layer. Then, freeze the cake for 15 minutes to set the frosting.
Decorating The Cake
Frost the pumpkin chocolate chip cake after it is done in the freezer. At this time, you can decorate the sides of the cake with the pumpkins. Once the cake is frosted, top with with chocolate drip.
An important note about the chocolate ganache. It needs to be warm if it's going to slide down the sides of the cake. If it isn't warm, it won't drip down. If you need to warm the ganache, heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Once the ganache is ready, place it in the freezer for 10 minutes. This will set the chocolate and when you pipe more frosting on top for decoration it won't slide off!
How To Store The Cake
To store the cake, it needs to be in the fridge and can last for up to 5 days. It can be stored in a cake carrier or cut into slices and stored in an airtight container.
Other Cake Recipes To Try
- Triple chocolate cake
- Halloween chocolate cake
- Blueberry jam cake
- Butterscotch cake
Make sure to tag me on Instagram @stephaniesweettreats and leave me a review below if you made this cake. I hope you loved it! To get more ideas follow me on Pinterest.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoon Baking powder
- 3 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 ¼ cup White granulated sugar
- 1 cup Brown sugar packed light or dark
- 5 Large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup Oil canola or vegetable
- 2 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 1.4 lbs Pure pumpkin puree not the pie filling
Chocolate Whipped Cream Cheese
- 8 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- ¾ cup Powdered sugar sifted
- ½ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon Milk
- 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Heavy cream cold
- Mini chocolate chips for topping the filling
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 ½ cup Unsalted butter slightly cold
- 10 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- 8 ½ cups Powdered sugar sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 2 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup Heavy cream This is just enough to frost the cake. If you want enough to pipe decorations see notes below the recipe.
Chocolate Drip
- 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup Heavy cream
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray three 8 inch cake pans with baking non-stick spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with 8 inch circle parchment circles. Spray again and set aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add in the sugar and brown sugar. Use a mixer, and mix on low for 15 seconds.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin puree. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in 3 intervals. Once mixed, scrape the bowl and mix again for 20 seconds. The batter should be thoroughly combined.
- Pour the batter evenly between the cake pans by using a kitchen scale.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes. The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cake sit in the cakes for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow cakes to cool completely.
Chocolate Whipped Cream
- In a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together. Set aside. Using a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese on high for 1 minute. Mix until smooth. Add in powdered sugar/cocoa powder. Mix on low until combined, then switch to high. Mix until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and milk to the bowl, mix until combined. Freeze a metal mixing bowl and a whisk attachment for 10 minutes. This makes whipping up whipped cream easier.
- Use a mixer with the cold bowl, and pour in the heavy cream. Whip on medium-high until stiff peaks form. Pour the whipped cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture.
- Use a rubber spatula and gently fold in the whipped cream. It takes a bit to get it smooth, but keep folding. Keep cold until using it in the cake. Can be made up to 24 hours in advance.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Sit the butter on the counter for 30 minutes. The butter will be cold to the touch and still leave a finger indent. Sift the powdered sugar in a large bowl
- Use a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high for 1 minute. Add in the butter and beat for 1-2 minutes on medium-high. Beat until the butter is completely smooth. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until all combined.
- Add in the salt, vanilla, and heavy cream. Beat on low until heavy cream is mixed in, then turn to high and beat for 4 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat for 1 minute. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Take a wooden spoon and beat the frosting by hand until all air bubbles are beaten out. The frosting should be silky smooth. This frosting makes enough to frost the cake and pipe decorations on the top. If you want frosting to pipe the pumpkins, see notes.
Chocolate Drip
- Pour chocolate chips in a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan on medium-low until it is hot and steaming. Pour heavy cream over the chocolate chips. Let it sit for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
- Use a rubber spatula and mix the chocolate together until it smooth and silky.
Assembly
- Place first layer bottom side down. Use a 1M wilton tip and pipe a double layer border around the edge of the cake. This will keep the filling inside the cake.
- Use ¾ cup of chocolate whipped cream per layer of cake. Smooth it on the cake. Top with mini chocolate chips. Repeat with the second layer. Then, place the last layer bottom side up.
- Freeze for 10 minutes to set the filling. Place a thin layer of frosting around the cake. This will be the crumb coat layer. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Frost the cake. If piping the pumpkins, pipe them now. I used a 1M tip to pipe the pumpkin, then size 3 tip to pipe the stems and vines. Then, freeze cake for 10 minutes for the frosting to set. Prepare the chocolate drip while its in the freezer.
- Use a squeeze bottle and have the chocolate fall natural down the sides of the cake. This only works if the chocolate is warm. Pour the rest of the chocolate on top of the cake and use a spatula to guide it to the edge of the cake. Freeze for 10 minutes. If you pipe frosting on top of the chocolate while it's wet, it could slide off.
- *Optional pipe a border around the top of the cake. Then, top with mini chocolate chips. Keep cake in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
- 3 cups unsalted butter slightly cold
- 13 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 12 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- pinch of salt
- 2 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup plus ⅛ cup heavy cream
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