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This Sesame Pumpkin Chocolate Cake has all the flavors of fall. Inspired by my sesame chocolate chip cookies, this moist and light pumpkin cake is filled with the flavor of toasted sesame oil, crunchy sesame seeds and gooey dark chocolate chunks. It requires one-bowl and it’s easy to prep in 15 minutes. Enjoy a slice with a mug of Homemade Hot Chocolate for a ultimate cozy fall treat!
This pumpkin cake is a snacking cake. It’s quick to make without any layers or frosting, because it’s just that good to enjoy on its own. Just like this Pumpkin Coffee Cake, Tahini Banana Bread, or Swedish Chocolate Cake. But if you have a little bit more time on your hands this Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Frosting is always DIVINE!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Sesame Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
- Pumpkin puree – 100% pure pumpkin puree gives the perfect amount of fall/ pumpkin flavor to this cake combined with pumpkin pie spice mix.
- Oil – I used a mixture of a neutral-tasting vegetable oil and toasted sesame oil. Using oil in cake ensures that it stays perfectly moist. Toasted sesame oil in particular gives the cake a lovely but subtle nuttiness that pairs so well with the flavor of pumpkin and of course sesame seeds.
- Sesame seeds – A mix of black and white sesame seeds are mixed into the cake batter itself and sprinkled on top for extra crunch and nuttiness.
- Dark chocolate – Optional! I enjoy the little pieces of chocolate throughout the cake but feel free to leave it out.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How To Make Sesame Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
- Make the cake batter – In a large mixing bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, sesame oil, eggs, pumpkin spice and sugar. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined, try not to over mix. Lastly, fold in chocolate, if using.
- Pour batter into a prepared baking pan, smooth it out in an even layer then sprinkle over more sesame seeds and chocolate chunks.
- Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool then serve.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t over mix the batter, stir until you can’t see any more speckles of flour then stop. Over mixing can knock out the air in the cake causing it to be dense and tough.
- If the top is browning too quickly and the center is still wet and gooey, tent the top with a piece of aluminum foil, this will help protect to the top of the cake but also gives the middle more time to bake fully.
- Uses for leftover pumpkin puree – This recipe uses about half of a standard can of pumpkin puree leaving you with roughly 1 cup remaining. Use your leftovers to make Pumpkin Pancakes, Crispy Pumpkin Waffles, or these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Recipe FAQs
You might have added too much pumpkin puree to the cake batter. Pumpkin adds a lot of moisture to the cake and can sometimes make it too wet. On the other hand, you may not have baked your cake for long enough. Depending on the size of your baking pan you might need to bake the cake for a few extra minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Nope! Canned pumpkin puree is 100% blended pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling is pumpkin puree mixed with sugar and pumpkin pie spices. It’s perfect for making a pie but not much else, they can’t be used interchangeably.
More Fall Recipes
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Sesame Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 1 (8-inch) round baking pan or a 8×4-inch or 9×5-inch loaf pan(your loaf will be a bit more stout)
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as avocado oil or grape seed oil)ย
- 1/4 cup sesame oilย
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chunks or chips (about 3/4 of a cup), reserving a few pieces for the top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 8-inch round baking pan (or you could use a 8×4-inch loaf pan. Alternatively you can also use a 9×5-inch loaf pan (but your loaf will be a bit more stout).ย
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, neutral oil, sesame oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice and sugar. You want it to be well combined so mix it with a whisk or spatula for a good minute or so. Next, add the flour, sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, kosher salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix once more until mostly combined. Lastly, add most of the chocolate (reserving a few pieces for the topping) and mix until no more speckles of flour appear; being sure NOT to over-mix the batter.ย
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and smooth it out into an even layer. Sprinkle the top with a small handful of black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds, along with a few chunks of chocolate.ย
- Place in the oven to bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. ย
Notes
Tips and Tricks
- Donโt over mix the batter, stir until you canโt see any more speckles of flour then stop. Over mixing can knock out the air in the cake causing it to be dense and tough.
- If the top is browning too quicklyย and the center is still wet and gooey, tent the top with a piece of aluminum foil, this will help protect to the top of the cake but also gives the middle more time to bake fully.
- Uses for leftover pumpkin puree โย This recipe uses about half of a standard can of pumpkin puree leaving you with roughly 1 cup remaining. Use your leftovers to makeย Pumpkin Pancakes,ย Crispy Pumpkin Waffles, or theseย Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is definitely being added to my Thanksgiving Day menu! Stunning!
This looks GREAT!!!! Have you ever tried making this with almond flour?
i haven’t and i recommend using an all-purpose gluten free flour if you’re going to try and make it gluten free. ๐
This looks GREAT!!!! I’m gluten free, so I’m going to try to convert this recipe to use tahini and almond flour. Have you ever tried that??
hi brad, just wanted to comment again that you won’t be successful with using almond flour instead of all-purpose. almond flour is very fine so if you’re bent on using almond flour (maybe it’s the only thing you have), i’d recommend googling gluten-free baking recipes that use almond flour!
Could these be made into muffins?
I realize we spoke on IG stories but wanted to comment and say yes! It should make 12 muffins and will probably need 25 to 30 min. ๐
Could these work as muffins?
are you using the TOASTED sesame oil? Pretty sure that’s the type but wanted to make sure . thanks, kim
yep, toasted sesame oil! ๐
this looks amazing! in the UK it’s freezing today- could do with some of this. if only we had canned pumpkin or pumpkin spice!
Hi Emma, Tesco has canned pumpkin in the US foods section (i just bought one!) itโs an orange tin, around 70p ๐
ooh thank you!