Growing up in New England the real sign of Fall began when leaves started to turn beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. But a close second would be when my Mom started to bulk up on cans of pumpkin. Besides making delicious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, her real specialty was a family recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin loaf cake (at one point called Harvest Loaf in our family.) This recipe was made by my Grandma Judy and everyone else in our family has pretty much kept the tradition through the years.

It is a delicious loaf cake with all the tastes of Fall: pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and chocolate. It quickly became a favorite of our neighbors, friends, and teachers. During the holidays my Mom would load up a big shopping bag full of pumpkin cake and my brother and I would hand them out to everyone from the crossing guard to our librarian, Ms. Kelly (who loved to lightly toast the cake and eat it with cream cheese.)

The nice thing about this recipe is one can of pumpkin makes 2 cakes, so if you want to use the full can just double the rest of the ingredients and use two loaf pans. The cakes also freeze really well if you want to save one for a rainy day. I have also made this recipe in muffin tins and mini-loaf pans (so cute!).

Enjoy it with a glass of milk or warm apple cider.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf Cake

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Sift flour with soda, spices, and salt. Add to creamed mixture in thirds, alternately with pumpkin, beating until smooth. Stir in chocolate and walnuts. Turn into a greased and wax paper lined 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 350° for 1 hour.

Note: if using muffin tins you will need to adjust the time.