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This pumpkin loaf cake is the perfect fall dessert. It’s moist, tender, and has all the warm spices we love this time of year. The chocolate fudge swirl makes it even more indulgent and adds a bit of contrast to the sweetness of the cake.
This pumpkin bread cake is everything you want in a holiday dessert. It’s delicious on its own, but the cream cheese frosting takes it over the top.
Cool weather is made for pumpkin, spice, and everything nice. This cake brings all of those flavors together in one delectable treat. Serve it as a tea cake or an after-dinner dessert, and enjoy every last bite. If you want more pumpkin in your life, try our pumpkin cake roll or no bake pumpkin cheesecake bars.
Why This Recipe Works
- Canned pumpkin makes this recipe fast, easy, and approachable.
- A swirl of chocolate fudge and rich cream cheese frosting turns an old fashioned pumpkin bread recipe into a decadent holiday dessert.
- Baking the cake in a loaf pan makes it easy to slice and serve.
- The recipe makes two pumpkin loaves, so you can share one with a friend or freeze one for later.
Ingredients Needed
Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for this pumpkin bread cake recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
- Heavy cream.
- Dark chocolate. If you are more of a milk chocolate fan, go for it but decrease the cream to 1/3 cup.
- Cocoa powder. The cocoa powder gives the chocolate swirl a deeper flavor and a thicker texture. You can skip the cocoa if you want a sweeter chocolate flavor.
- All-purpose flour. We recommend weighing the flour but if you don’t have a scale, fluff it with a fork, then lightly spoon it into a measuring cup.
- Pumpkin pie spice. Or you can make your own blend with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Baking powder and baking soda. Baking soda tends to get clumpy, so sift it well. Make sure the dates on the packages are not expired.
- Salt
- Pumpkin puree. Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Sugar. You can swap the white sugar for brown sugar if you want a hint of molasses flavor.
- Oil. Use an oil with a neutral flavor, like canola or vegetable oil. The oil gives the cake a tender, light, and moist texture. You can also use melted butter if you want a firm pound cake texture.
- Eggs. Eggs are essential. They bind everything together and give the cake the right texture and structure.
- Vanilla extract
The cream cheese frosting is optional but turns this loaf cake into an irresistible dessert. We used the frosting recipe from our intense chocolate cake and adjusted the portions to work for this cake. If you are not a fan of cream cheese, you can make a simple glaze with maple syrup and powdered sugar, similar to the icing on our maple pecan cookies.
How to Pumpkin Loaf Cake
Here is a brief overview to give you an idea of what to expect when making our pumpkin loaf cake. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
Heat the cream, then add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts. Stir in the cocoa powder.
Mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and sugar in a large bowl.
Sift the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then fold them into the pumpkin mixture.
Add about 1-1/2 cups of batter to the loaf pans, then swirl in some of the chocolate mixture. Top the pans off with more batter, then another swirl of chocolate fudge. See the recipe card below for all the details.
If you like this recipe, try our pumpkin cupcakes.
More Easy Quick Bread Recipes
- 19 Easy Quick Bread Recipes
- Blackberry Lemon Bread
- Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
- Buttermilk Barley Biscuits
- Buttery Cornbread
Tips for Success
- Whisk the dry ingredients separately from the wet ingredients and make sure there are no clumps in the flour or baking soda. You can even pass the flour mixture through a sifter.
- Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the batter just until everything is combined. It is ok if there are a few lumps in the batter, the important part is that you don’t overmix the batter.
- Do not use pumpkin pie filling for this recipe. Use plain pumpkin puree either from a can or make your own with fresh pumpkin. If you make your own pumpkin puree, results may vary.
- If you do not have pumpkin pie spice, create a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. See the notes in the recipe card for measurements.
- Feel free to mix some chopped nuts, pumpkin seeds, or mini chocolate chips into the batter.
- Insert a toothpick in the middle of your pumpkin loaf cake to test for doneness. Once the toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, it is done. If you want to be extra precise, use an instant-read thermometer and bake the loaf cake until the internal temperature reaches 200°F.
- Remove the pumpkin loaf cakes from their pans after 20 minutes and let them finish cooling on a wire rack.
This pumpkin loaf cake is easy to throw together and makes two loaves because we know you won’t be able to get enough. It also makes a great gift for friends and neighbors.
Helpful Tools
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Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love:
This banana bread doesn’t skimp on flavor. It is moist, tender, and has the perfect amount of sweetness.
Our zucchini bread is easy to make and doesn’t require any fancy ingredients, so you can whip up a loaf whenever the zucchini harvest comes around–or even when it doesn’t!
These little banana muffins are perfect for a quick morning snack or an afternoon tea. They are moist and flavorful and the recipe is easy to adapt with different add-ins.
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Pumpkin Loaf Cake
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Ingredients
For the Fudge Swirl
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 5 ounces dark chocolate chopped
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
For the Pumpkin Loaf
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, 360 grams
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice *see notes
- 1-½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 can, 15 ounces pumpkin puree ** see notes
- 1-½ cups sugar, 300 grams
- ⅔ cup oil, 132 grams
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
For the Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-½ cups powdered, confectioners sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F. Grease two loaf pans (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches each)
Make the Fudge Swirl
- Place the cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until just barely simmering. (or you can heat the cream in the microwave).
- Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until completely melted and smooth. Stir in the cocoa powder. Set aside and let cool while you make the pumpkin cake.
Make the Pumpkin Loaf
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large bowl, stir the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. (Don’t over-mix, some small lumps of flour are fine).
- Pour 1-½ cups of batter into each of the prepared loaf pans.
- Dollop 5 to 6 tablespoons of the chocolate mixture on top, then swirl it into the batter.
- Add the rest of the pumpkin batter to the pans. Top off with 5 to 6 more dollops of the chocolate mixture, then give it a swirl.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the loaf pans. Remove the bread and let them cool on a wire rack for 1 to 1-½ hours.
Make The Frosting
- Add the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt to a mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until soft and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium-high. Beat until smooth. Spread over the top of the cooled pumpkin loaf cakes.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin puree is just pumpkin, nothing more. Pumpkin pie filling has spices and sugar added to it and will drastically change the outcome of this recipe.
- This recipe also works well with homemade pumpkin puree. If you are using homemade pumpkin puree, you will need to use 2 cups of pureed pumpkin. Be aware that some homemade versions are more watery than others and may affect the outcome of the bread. If you have a watery pumpkin puree, let it sit in a strainer for a while to drain off some liquid.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can combine 1 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon cloves.
- Optional add-ins: 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, or chopped nuts.
- If you want to use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate for the fudge swirl, decrease the cream to 1/3 cup.
- Nutrition is based on getting 16 slices from each loaf of bread
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!This recipe was originally published on November 3, 2017.
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Can this be made with a gluten free mix (Bob Red Mills) or even spelt flour?
Teresa, this recipe works very well with all purpose spelt flour but I have not tried it with gluten free mix so I don’t know if adjustments to the recipe would be needed if made gluten free.