Fall baking is in full swing over here! I just love all of the warm seasonal flavors that autumn has to offer! I’ve been really zeroed in on Thanksgiving pies and tartes, but being so close to Halloween, I wanted to make something fun, no-fuss and with pumpkin!
This casual loaf cake is golden-brown on the outside and super moist on the inside, thanks to the pumpkin purée. Big swirls of bitter chocolate cut through the sweet pumpkin and give it a striking aesthetic. This cake is great with a cup of coffee for a little afternoon pick-me-up, or as a fun, festive dessert for a casual potluck!
Here’s what you need:
Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature.
I cannot stress this enough. Not only does the butter need to be at room temperature in order to cream it with the sugars, the buttermilk and eggs need be at room temperature as well to create a smooth batter. Adding cold eggs and cold buttermilk to creamed butter will cause the butter to become cold again and form little clumps all throughout the batter.
Make the batter.
First, cream the sugars and butter for 3 minutes, then add the eggs one at a time. At any point, if you need to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, do so. I love using my Kitchenaid stand mixer for this but you could just as easily use a hand mixer as well.
Next, alternate the dry ingredients with the remaining wet ingredients. Combine the buttermilk with the vanilla in one bowl and the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and powder in another bowl. Then, with the mixer running on low speed, alternate between dry and wet in 3 or 4 additions until all the ingredients are in the batter.
Make the 2 different flavors of batter.
Scoop out 1 cup of the batter and add it to the cocoa powder. It will be very thick and it will take some effort to combine. Mix the canned pumpkin purée in with the other half of the batter.
Start adding the batter to the pan. Don’t worry about having perfect layers here. It’s all going to be swirled together later. Start with a thin layer of pumpkin on the bottom of a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, then drop spoonfuls of the chocolate all over the pumpkin. Then, add another layer of pumpkin and more chocolate.
Finish with one final thin layer of pumpkin and smooth it over with a rubber spatula.
Don’t be afraid to be aggressive with your marbling.
That chocolate batter is very thick and takes some effort to break up! Use a paring knife or a skewer to draw swirls, cut zig zags, diagonals and crosses all over the batter. Keep going until you no longer feel much resistance from the chocolate batter.
Finally, bake the cake for 58 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let it cool completely.
Keep the cake in the pan until it is completely cool. Cutting the cake too soon can cause it to fall apart. It needs about an hour to fully cool and set.
I love the color contrast between the pumpkin and chocolate batters! This cake is such a fun Halloween-inspired treat! It also makes a great gift. Just wrap the whole, cooled cake in cellophane and tie it off with a ribbon!
This cake isn’t overly sweet, which makes for a good after school treat. If you want to jazz it up and make it into more of a dessert, top it with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce!
Other recipes to try:
Pumpkin and Chocolate Marble Cake
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- .5 tsp kosher salt
- .5 tsp cinnamon
- .5 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- .5 cup granulated sugar
- .5 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- .5 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- .5 cup pumkin purée
- .25 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment. In a medium bowl, whisk very well the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside for later.In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together for 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat until combined. If needed, use a rubber spatula at any point to scrape down batter that has come up the sides of the bowl.Mix the vanilla with the buttermilk. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the batter in 3 or 4 additions until everything is in and combined. Scoop out one cup of the batter and stir it with the cocoa powder. It will be very thick. Add the pumpkin to the remaining batter. Add a thin layer of the pumpkin batter to the prepared pan then drop spoonfuls of the chocolate batter over the pumpkin. Add a little more of the pumpkin and more spoonfuls of the chocolate. Top with the remaining pumpkin batter and smooth with a rubber spatula. Use a skewer or paring knife to swirl the batters together. Remember that the chocolate batter is much thicker than the pumpkin and will take a lot of effort to break it up. You will feel like you are blending them together too much, but you aren't. Swirl it in circles, cut zig zags and crosses through the batter until you feel very little resistance from the chocolate.Bake the cake for 58 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting.