My cousin Laurie’s recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cake is legendary. It’s perfect as muffins as well. It’s a great loaf cake to bring to friends or relatives too because you can make a few at a time, a few days in advance. As long as it’s covered with plastic wrap all around, it will stay fresh for at least four days, and it freezes beautifully if it’s wrapped nice and tight.

One can also replace the pumpkin seasonally with other items like mashed banana and frozen thawed blueberries or raspberries. Just make sure to add a nice splash of vanilla and skip some or all of the chocolate chips.

There are two recipes here. One is Laurie’s original recipe. The other is my adaptation using offbeat substitutions, particularly taking into account my muffin-loving daughter’s egg allergy. It’s hard to tell which one is better. I recommend experimenting with this recipe: substitute with your own favorite ingredients as well, just keep the general ratios the same.

Laurie’s Classic Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Sift dry ingredients together. Beat eggs, sugar and oil until light in color. Add, alternately, dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing between each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour until half full into large, greased tube pan (or 9 x 13 pan). Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until dry in center. This cake also may be baked in muffin tins, two 8”x 8” pans, or two large loaf pans or three small ones. The baking time will be shorter if you use smaller pans or muffin tins, so keep an eye on them. Recipe can be easily halved or doubled.

Elizabeth’s Egg-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake

My recipe directions are the same. The ingredients differ and are listed below.

Enjoy!

 By Elizabeth Kratz