Marbled Pumpkin Cake with Fluffy Chocolate Buttercream (gluten-free!)

Pumpkin Week may be over but the pumpkin party doesn’t stop here at AK. Especially when I just so happened to whip up a brand new snacking cake for all of your fall baking adventures.

This beautiful, gluten-free marbled pumpkin cake is one of those desserts you’ll dream about for DAYS after making. It’s loaded with warming spices, rich cocoa, and real pumpkin puree, and you know I had to go all in with the fluffiest chocolate buttercream frosting.

TBH its absolutely delicious with or without the frosting, so you do you when it comes to this cake! Share it for any upcoming birthdays or holidays — everyone will be begging you for this recipe.

FREE Pumpkin Recipe E-Book

Everything you’ll need to make this marbled pumpkin cake

Yes, pumpkin and chocolate belong together, and yes, this beautiful, gluten-free chocolate pumpkin cake will be your new fav way to enjoy those flavors. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

Pumpkin: feel free to use store-bought pumpkin puree, or make your own from a fresh pumpkin using this tutorial!
Eggs: you’ll need 3 eggs to help the cake bake up.
Sweetener: we’re sweetening this cake with both brown sugar and maple syrup for that yummy molasses flavor.
Moisture: this cake gets its fudgy texture from a little Greek yogurt and melted butter. Feel free to use vanilla or plain Greek yogurt (whole milk or 2% yogurt are great).
Flours: we’re using a mix of fine blanched almond flour and oat flour to keep the cake gluten-free. I love the texture that this flour combination provides.
Spices & baking staples: you’ll add pumpkin pie spice, ground cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract for flavor, plus baking powder AND baking soda to help the cake bake up.
Chocolate: get that marbling effect by mixing unsweetened cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips into half of the batter.

Jazz it up with a luscious frosting

Yes, this marbled pumpkin cake is incredible on its own, but I love to get extra by topping it with my Dad’s famous Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. It’s infused with a little cooled, brewed coffee to really bring out the chocolate flavors.

I also like to add more mini chocolate chips and flaky sea salt (because OMG it’s good).

Optional ingredient substitutions

As always, please follow the recipe as directed so that the cake turns out perfectly every time! There are a couple of easy swaps you can make without any problems:

For the brown sugar: feel free to use coconut sugar instead. Otherwise, you can learn how to make your own brown sugar here!
For the butter: you can easily swap the butter for vegan butter or coconut oil.

Can I make it dairy-free or vegan?

Please note that I have not tested these swaps in this chocolate pumpkin cake, so try them at your own risk and let me know in the comments how it goes!

To make dairy-free: use dairy-free yogurt, vegan butter or coconut oil, and dairy-free chocolate chips in the cake itself, then use vegan butter and dairy-free milk in the frosting.
To make vegan: use 3 flax eggs in place of the regular eggs, then follow the dairy-free ingredients.

How to make a marbled cake

I know the “marbling” in this pumpkin chocolate cake makes it look extra fancy, but it’s easier to do than you think!

Make the pumpkin batter. You’ll start by making the full pumpkin cake batter, then evenly dividing the batter into 2 separate mixing bowls.
Add the chocolate. Mix the cocoa powder and chocolate chips into ONE of the bowls of pumpkin cake batter.
Layer the batters. Use a cookie scoop to scoop up the pumpkin batter and drop it into your cake pan, then do the same with the chocolate batter and drop it next to the pumpkin batter. Once the batter has covered the bottom, shimmy the pan so that the batter settles, then do an additional layer of both batters and use a spatula to smooth the top.
Gently swirl. Use a butter knife to draw a few figure 8s in the batters to swirl them (just a few!) then gently tap and shimmy the pan to settle the batter before baking.

Storing & freezing tips

To store: I recommend storing this marbled pumpkin cake in an airtight glass container the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To freeze: let the cake cool, leave the frosting off, and then wrap it well in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Place the full cake in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag. To serve it, thaw the cake in the refrigerator overnight, then let the cake come to room temp before adding the frosting and serving it.

Tools you’ll need

Get all of my fav kitchen tools here!

More pumpkin treats you’ll love

Get all of my pumpkin recipes here, and my dessert recipes here!

I hope you love this marbled pumpkin snacking cake! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!

The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook

125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day

Marbled Pumpkin Snacking Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Serves16 servings

Amazing marbled pumpkin cake topped with a fluffy chocolate buttercream frosting. This easy, gluten-free pumpkin chocolate cake is baked with pumpkin puree, chocolate chips, and plenty of cozy spices for a fun fall dessert everyone will love!

Ingredients

Wet ingredients
1 cup (240 grams) pumpkin puree
3 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup (106g) packed brown sugar (or sub coconut sugar)
¼ cup (78g) pure maple syrup
½ cup (113g) plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (2% or whole milk are great)
6 tablespoons (85g) salted butter (or melted and cooled) coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients
1 ¾ cup (196g) fine blanched almond flour
1 cup (95g) oat flour, gluten free if desired
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Mix-ins
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup (90g) mini chocolate chips
Frosting and topping
½ batch of Dad’s Chocolate Buttercream
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8×8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper and/or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
Add the dry ingredients: In the same bowl with the wet ingredients, add the almond flour, oat flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until well combined and smooth. (Do not worry about overmixing here!)
Divide the batter in half; adding half of the batter to a separate medium bowl (about 1 ½ cups of batter). Stir in cocoa powder and ⅓ cup chocolate chips into one of the batters, mixing until combined and smooth.
Layer the batters and marble: Use a medium cookie scoop to grab a scoop of the pumpkin batter and place in the pan, then alternate and scoop up some chocolate batter and place it next to the pumpkin batter at the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is completely covered with batter on the bottom you can gently shake/shimmy and tap the pan to settle the batter. Do not smooth it out just yet. Next, do an additional layer of each batter on top of the first marbled layer. Once you have used up all of the batter, you can tap and shake the pan, then smooth the top out with a spatula. Using a butter knife, gently swirl the mixture back and forth (in a zig-zag pattern) both vertically and horizontally. (I like to draw a few figure 8s in the batter and then be done with it.) Don’t go too crazy or the batter won’t look nice and swirled! Gently tap and shake the pan again to smooth out the batter.
Bake the cake: Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting: You can make HALF of the frosting as directed in the recipe. (Simply divide the ingredients in half!)
Frost the cake: Add frosting to the top of the cake and evenly spread to the edges. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips all over the top. Cut into 12 or 16 slices and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

If you want to skip the frosting, you can! This cake is delicious with ¼ cup extra mini chocolate chips sprinkled on top before baking the cake too!

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice (with frosting)Calories: 396calCarbohydrates: 36.4gProtein: 6.9gFat: 27.2gSaturated Fat: 12.7gFiber: 3.4gSugar: 27.1g

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats

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