Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cake

The marbled effect of this visually impressive cake is easily achieved by setting aside a small portion of the batter and mixing with cocoa and chocolate chips. Serve as a snack or dessert.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 cup solid-pack pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10- to 12-cup capacity Bundt cake pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla, then mix again. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing well after each addition.

Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the cake batter. Pour 1/3 of the pumpkin batter into the pan. Mix the reserved batter with the cocoa and chocolate chips. Add dollops of the cocoa mixture onto the mixture in the pan. Top with another third of the pumpkin batter, then dollops of the cocoa mixture. Finish with the pumpkin batter.

Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert carefully on a rack to finish cooling.

Serve dusted with confectioner’s sugar.

Tip: Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.