Brown Sugar Swirl Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
Published 10/7/2023
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Cake for breakfast it is! Pumpkin breakfast cake is a delightful breakfast cake to snack on all season long. It’s made with a delicious brown sugar pumpkin swirl and chocolate chips.
This recipe was inspired by our new pumpkin muffin recipe and our pumpkin pancake recipe. We wanted to come up with a breakfast bread, er cake, that satisfied our sweet tooth, yet that was naturally sweetened.
Our pumpkin breakfast cake is light and fluffy thanks to all-purpose flour and is extremely moist thanks to pumpkin puree, mashed banana, and coconut oil. The pumpkin brown sugar topping is the bee’s knees and adds a hint of sweet to every bite. Bake it at 350ºF for 40 minutes.
What is in pumpkin breakfast cake?
This recipe calls for pantry staples such as all-purpose flour, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, eggs, and coconut oil.
Recipe Variations
- Turn it into muffins: instead of baking this as bread, feel free to fill a muffin tin instead. Bake at 350ºF for 20-23 minutes.
- Use white whole wheat flour: we tested this recipe with white whole wheat flour. While it does come out a bit dense, it’s still delicious.
- Add-ins: if you’re not a chocolate chip for breakfast kind of person, feel free to swap it for a chopped nut.
- Don’t love bananas?: you can use applesauce instead for a less intense flavor.
FAQ
While we haven’t tested this, feel free to swap the eggs for flax eggs, instead.
To make this recipe gluten-free, swap the all-purpose flour for an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
This cake will fit in a loaf pan. Adjust the bake time and let cook for 50-60 minutes. If the top starts to brown, tent it with a piece of tin foil.
Storage
Store leftover cake in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Freezer Directions
Cook the cake as directed and then let it cool for 1 hour. Remove it from the pan and then wrap it tightly in a piece of tin foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Since this is a breakfast cake, we suggest serving this with a hot cup of pour over or French press. I personally topped mine with a scoop of peanut butter (because I’m obsessed) and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
Dry
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Wet
- 1 medium banana mashed, ~½ cup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened almond milk*
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
Pumpkin Topping
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. Set aside.
- Next, add the banana, pumpkin, and eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla, almond milk, and maple syrup and mix again.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.
- Finally, add the coconut oil and mix. The batter should be thicker. A runny batter will result n a mushy center. Transfer the batter to the lined pan.
- In a small bowl, mix the pumpkin and brown sugar. Add dollops of the brown sugar mixture to the top of the batter. Use a knife or toothpick and swirl the pumpkin over the top of the cake. Top with more chocolate chips.
- Bake for 20 minutes, turn the pan 180º, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven when a toothpick comes out mostly clean. It will continue to bake for a few minutes.
- Gently lift the parchment paper and place the cake on a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Tips & Notes
- This recipe was rewritten on October 5, 2023.
- You may need to thin out the batter with 2-4 tablespoons more almond milk if it is not pourable.
- The bake time may vary based on what oven is used and if you are baking at elevation.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is recipe after my own heart! pumpkin, chocolate, cake for breakfast- nuff said 🙂
This pumpkin breakfast cake sounds (and looks) fabulous! This would be perfect for meal prep 🙂 And girl, you’re coming to my city! Have a blast, you’ll love it up here. Let me know if you need any more recommendations of things to do!
I am going to have my wife make this for my birthday instead of a big-ol cake. Looks fantastic.
B-day cakeeeee! LOVE.
Was wondering about an alternative pan to use also since I don’t have a cast iron. I’m guessing a basic cake pan will do but I think the cooking time or temp will have to be adjusted. Any ideas?
Hey Becky! I would use a basic cake pan. Just pan on baking it a bit longer than the cast iron! Start with 35 minutes and then add on time from there based on how cooked the center is!
Yum, this looks so good! Perfect for my never ending addiction to all things pumpkin. What is an alternate dish to cook this in if I do not have a cast iron skillet?
Try a normal cake pan! You may end up baking it for a while longer, but it should work!
Any suggestions to make gluten free?
I’ve been having good success with recipes by ust replacing wheat flour with All Purpose Gluten Free flour (Krusteaz or Bob’s Red Mill)
Thanks for the suggestion!
It looks divine Lee! I love anything pumpkin, so pumpkin season can’t come soon enough for me 😉
Have a great weekend in Seattle!
My grandma’s turning 90 this weekend, so we’ll have lots of family celebrations and birthday cakes! (which I’ll be making 😉
AHHHH! HBD to your grandma!
Yum this sounds SO perfect!!! I’ll be headed to Seattle area at the end of October. My friend lives nearby, and we’ll definitely be hitting up Pike’s Place for some donuts from Daily Dozen Doughnut Company <3 The gum wall is sweet (literally, but kind of sick too, haha). Have fun, can't wait to see pics!
OMG a gum wall?!?!?! I love gum. Like I always get a gum ball when I go to the mall.
This sounds fantastic, but MFP estimated it at 1,600 calories per serving. Whoa, I can’t believe that! Do you have accurate nutritional values?
I calculated it through MFP at 274 calories for each serving (8 total).
I got a similar calculation! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/view/164821008879421
Awesome! Thank you both! 🙂 🙂
Just calculated it through MFP and updated the recipe with the info! Here’s the direct link to it –> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/view/164821008879421
You have to do Pike’s Place market, of course! And for breakfast, Lola’s was AMAZING. Was just there last month, cool city! Enjoy
o0o! We are looking for a breakfast place to go to for Sunday! Lola’s might just happen!