Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Cake made with canned pumpkin puree, almond butter, cocoa powder, pure maple syrup, and eggs. This warmly-spiced chocolate cake tastes so dreamy and is ideal for my fellow chocolate lovers!
Words cannot adequately describe the moist, fluffy, sultry chocolate explosion this Pumpkin Chocolate Cake brings to the tastebuds. It is truly divine!
I thought I had landed on The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake recipe a few years back, but this one closely rivals it.
Plus, it is entirely flourless, made with all wholesome ingredients, and requires zero baking experience! The end result is the most magnificent celebration of chocolate decadents with a fraction of the work and time.
Bonus: there’s also a hidden vegetable (pumpkin) inside to make us feel like we’re eating health food.
If you’re familiar with my Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake, you won’t be surprised by this pumpkin version, as the two are very similar.
Let’s discuss the basic ingredients for this rich and decadent pumpkin chocolate cake!
Ingredients for Chocolate Pumpkin Cake:
Canned Pumpkin Puree: The main ingredient here, pumpkin adds volume, moisture, and subtle pumpkin flavor. Pumpkin is packed with Vitamins A, C, antioxidants and potassium, so I love adding it to baked goods.
Be sure to read the ingredient label to verify there is pumpkin only inside the can. We don’t need pumpkin pie filling in this application, which contains spices and sugar.
We need one cup of pumpkin purée, which is a little over half of a standard can of pumpkin. Make one of my other pumpkin recipes to use up the rest!
Unsweetened Almond Butter: Because we aren’t using regular flour, the structure of the cake comes from the combination of almond butter and eggs. The almond butter also provides richness.
Large Eggs: Eggs help the cake batter rise into a fluffy texture.
Pure Maple Syrup: Our sweetener here.
Cocoa Powder: The majority of the chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder. I use raw cacao powder but your favorite brand of unsweetened cocoa powder works too. I don’t recommend using Dutch process cocoa powder.
Pumpkin Pie Spice: An all-star ingredient here, pumpkin spice is what signals to our taste buds that we’re enjoying a pumpkin treat. It is a combination of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, cloves, and ground ginger.
If you would like for this to taste like a regular chocolate cake, simply omit the pumpkin spice.
Chocolate Chips: For added sweetness and pockets of chocolate goo, feel free to add chocolate chips. They are optional!
Baking Soda: The leavening agent to help the pumpkin batter rise.
Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract adds a luxurious warm flavor.
Sea Salt: A pinch of salt enhances all of the flavors. Don’t skip it!
Chocolate Ganache Ingredients:
Chocolate Chips: The sweetness, thickness, and chocolate flavor comes from chocolate chips. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips but dark chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate chips work too.
Canned Coconut Milk: This ingredient helps bring that silky smooth texture that we all love so dearly in chocolate ganache. If you aren’t dairy-free, use half & half or heavy cream instead of coconut milk.
Coconut Oil or Butter: A little coconut oil or butter helps add creamy richness and also helps solidify the ganache once it has cooled.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s make this hidden vegetable chocolate cake!
How to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
Transfer the canned pumpkin puree, almond butter, eggs, pure maple syrup, and pure vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Mix well until the wet ingredients are combined.
Note: if the almond butter is chilled, microwave it for 30-60 seconds, until it is easier to stir. Be sure to use well-stirred almond butter without oil separation.
Stir together the cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and sea salt in a separate bowl or measuring cup. Transfer the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the wet ingredients and stir well.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 23-28 minutes, until the top has firmed up and the center tests clean. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake. It is ready if it is 190 degrees F or higher.
Let cake cool on a cooling rack.
Optional Frosting:
While the cake is cooling, prepare the ganache in the recipe card, sweet potato frosting, keto chocolate buttercream, or your favorite chocolate frosting.
To prepare the chocolate ganache, transfer all of the ingredients to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring well in between each interval, until completely melted. The ganache will initially be fairly runny but will thicken over time as it cools off.
Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread it evenly over the cooled cake. If you want to make it look fancy, you can sprinkle the wet ganache with shaved or chopped chocolate. Transfer the cake to the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to allow the ganache to set up.
Slice the pumpkin chocolate cake, and serve! This delicious moist chocolate cake is amazing as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Cover the cake pan with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: For longer term storage, cut the rest of the cake into slices (if you haven’t already) and store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.
And that’s it! This perfect mashup of pumpkin and chocolate brings a spritz of fall joy to an already incredible chocolate cake.
If you love baking pumpkin desserts during the fall and holiday season, also try some of my favorite pumpkin recipes.
More Pumpkin Recipes:
- Flourless Pumpkin Brownies
- Healthy Pumpkin Pie
- Paleo Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Waffles
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Enjoy your newest favorite chocolate cake!
Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup unsweetened almond butter*
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice optional
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Chocolate Ganache (optional)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk**
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or butter
- Pinch sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Transfer the canned pumpkin puree, almond butter, eggs, pure maple syrup, and pure vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Mix well until the wet ingredients are combined. Note: if the almond butter is chilled, microwave it for 30-60 seconds, until it is easier to stir. Be sure to use well-stirred almond butter without oil separation.
- Stir together the cocoa powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and sea salt in a separate bowl or measuring cup. Transfer the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the wet ingredients and stir well. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it into an even layer.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 23-28 minutes, until the top has firmed up and the center tests clean. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake. It is ready if it is 190 degrees F or higher.
- Let cake cool on a cooling rack.
- While the cake is cooling, prepare the ganache. Transfer all of the ingredients to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-second intervals, stirring well in between each interval, until melted (about 60-80 seconds total). The ganache will initially be fairly runny but will thicken over time as it cools off.
- Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread it evenly over the cooled cake. If you want to make it look fancy, you can sprinkle the wet ganache with shaved or chopped chocolate. Transfer the cake to the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes to allow the ganache to set up.
- Slice the pumpkin chocolate cake, and serve! This delicious moist chocolate cake is amazing as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Use 1 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, or sugar-free sweetener, and add 1/3 cup of milk. Regular milk, oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk all work great.
No! In fact, if you leave out the pumpkin pie spice, you will be left with a chocolate cake that tastes just like regular chocolate cake. Because the bold chocolate flavor masks the pumpkin flavor, you won’t notice the pumpkin without the spice.
Any kind of nut or seed butter works here. Peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, and cashew butter are popular options. Just note that you will be able to taste peanut butter and sunbutter, so keep that in mind when making your selection.
Delicious, moist and light! It was a big hit with our family and will be a regular treat on special occasions.
Aww I’m happy to hear that, Susan! Thanks so much for swinging back around to share your feedback!
OOPS… This is supposed to be a pumpkin chocolate cake…but the recipe is for brownies. 🙂
Hi April! Thanks so much for catching that! My brain must have been on vacation when I was typing out the recipe card. I have a similar recipe for pumpkin brownies, so I must have been thinking about them, lol. This to say, the recipe in the recipe card is for pumpkin chocolate cake 🙂 Let me know if you try it out!