Pumpkin Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Pumpkin Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. The name alone is swoon worthy! I love a good coffeecake, even though I’m a milk at breakfast type of person!

I absolutely love this time of year. The weather is cooling down, the leaves start to turn colors and pumpkin desserts are re-appearing. I have more pumpkin desserts on ABK than a sensible person can possibly make and bake in the fall!

Pumpkin Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake for any occasion!

Coffee cake is one of my favorite ways to enjoy pumpkin. This recipe is the perfect amount of sweet with one of our favorites…PUMPKIN! Pumpkin Buttermilk Coffee Cake is an any time of the day treat. It works for breakfast, brunch and dessert. Think pumpkin bread in a lighter version, with chocolate chips and finished with a a streusel topping!

Pumpkin Coffee Cake without frosting

This cake may be served as a cake or coffee cake. Serve it warm out of the oven with a scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream for dessert. Or in the morning as coffee cake. I love the simplicity of Pumpkin Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, because it doesn’t require frosting! If you are looking for a pumpkin cake with frosting, try our pumpkin sheet cake with cream cheese frosting!

buttermilk + pumpkin = moist cake!

Pumpkin Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake is especially moist with the addition of buttermilk in the batter. Pumpkin desserts are usually moist, and the buttermilk insures that your coffee cake will be anything but dry.

I love the simplicity of mixing the batter in a bowl, using basically a wet ingredient plus dry ingredient approach. No need to worry about over-complicating the process! This cake can be baked two ways: in two-8 inch cake pans or one- 10 inch springform pan. The photos on this post show the cake in one 10 inch springform pan.

Perfect for make ahead or freezing

This recipe is also perfect for making ahead and freezing. Simply make, bake, let cool and freeze. On day of serving, remove the coffee cake from the freezer, let thaw completely and enjoy. All of the fall flavors make this the perfect dessert or brunch treat for holiday gatherings from Halloween to Christmas!

This post has been updated with new text, photos and recipe adjustments since first published in October of 2013.

Pumpkin Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Coffeecake

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Author: Si Foster

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Servings: 10

A Bountiful Kitchen original recipe

Ingredients 

cake:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, I use Libby's
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup butter (softened) or canola oil or coconut oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Spiced nut topping:

• 2 tablespoons butter, cold
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup pecans*
• two dashes salt

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set the rack in center of oven.

To make topping:

• Place all of the topping ingredients into a food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped and ingredients are mixed well. If you don’t have a food processor, soften the butter to room temperature and chop the nuts. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

To make cake:

• Mix butter or oil with one cup of sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until smooth.
• Add eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix again until smooth. Turn off mixer. 
• Add all dry ingredients to the bowl, including the chocolate chips. Allow the chocolate chips to be coated with the flour to help prevent sinking of the chocolate in the cake.
• Line the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease the pans, oruse one 10-inch Springform pan.
• Pour the cake ingredients evenly into the prepared pan(s). Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cakes.
• Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes for 8-inch pans, or about 45 minutes for 10-inch pan. A toothpick inserted in center of cake should come out witha few moist crumbs attached when done.
• Remove from oven and let cool. Invert onto a plate, then turn over again onto a platter to serve, or if using a springform pan, remove the sides when cooled and place on platter.

Notes

• *For the pumpkin pie spice I used my simple, inexpensive, home made recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice.
• **If not using nuts in topping, add 2-3 more tablespoons of flour to topping.
• If you want to give away a cake and keep one for yourself, use two 8 inch cake pans. You may also use disposable pans, then there is no need to turn the cake out of the pan before serving or giving away.
• I like to place the chocolate chips on top of all the dry ingredients so the chips will be coated with the flour and prevent sinking to the bottom of the pan. One bowl-one-mix cakes work best when all of the wet ingredients are placed in the bowl first, then the dry ingredients on top of wet ingredients.

Equipment

• mixer