This Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake is the perfect mix of moist chocolate cake and creamy pumpkin cheesecake. The combination of flavors and textures is delicious – even better than I expected! I think chocolate & pumpkin is my new favorite flavor combination thanks to this tasty layer cake!
Hungry for another delicious pumpkin and chocolate treat? You should try my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes!
Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
So after our trip, it has been good to be back in the gym the last couple of days. I hadn’t worked out for almost a week, and I have absolutely no control when on vacay, so it has been much needed.
The only problem is that I’m a bit sore. Not from the gym, but from the trip. My niece was really into doing handstands while were there and it reminded me not only of my younger self, but of my cheerleading days. I cheered competitively for 8 years and it had me missing it.
So I made the brilliant decision to get up and do handstands with her. Which then turned into cartwheeling into a handstand. I hadn’t done those in like, a long time. It was actually a lot of fun and I could’ve kept on doing it. But surely I should have stretched or something first. My 29 year old body has clearly decided to punish me. That was Thursday, and my hamstring in my one leg is still sore. My shoulders are finally getting better. #ImNot10Anymore #ThisIs29Almost30 #Dangit #WhatHappenedToMyBody
Oh well! Cake makes it all better. And this cake in particular. Oh. Em. Gee. There are so man things about it to love.
Why I Love This Pumpkin Cake
First of all, it uses my favorite chocolate cake. It’s the moistest, most delicious chocolate cake ever. Moist for daaaaaays.
And the pumpkin cheesecake rocks. It tastes awesome and baking it is a breeze because it doesn’t need a water bath. Normally, I’d advise to use one because it makes a bigs a difference in the way a cheesecake bakes. This cheesecake is the one exception that I know of. And because it’s getting stacked into a cake, you don’t even have to make a crust. #winning
And then the pumpkin icing. It doesn’t get any better than this icing. So pumpkin-y but still thick and perfect for icing a cake. It’s so good I’m trying to think up a mother recipe to use it in so that I can make it again. Mmmmm…
If you’ve made some of my ice cream cakes or millionaire cakes, then it must be said that stacking this cake is even easier than those. Because the cake and cheesecake layers are nice and solid, you stack them just like any other cake. No need to stack them in a springform pan or anything like that. Just stack then with the ganache between the layers to help hold them together. Easy peasy.
Seriously, while the directions look like they might be tough at first glance, this cake really isn’t hard to make. There’s just more steps involved. Just trust me – it’s worth it. When you combine the delicious chocolate cake with the creamy pumpkin cheesecake and then add the pumpkin icing? Whoa. Just whoa. So good.
You might also like
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
Pumpkin Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
Pumpkin Cookies with Cinnamon Glaze
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake
Shop the recipe:
PrintChocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 53 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 18 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake is the perfect mix of moist chocolate cake and creamy pumpkin cheesecake. The combination of flavors and textures is delicious – even better than I expected! I think chocolate & pumpkin is my new favorite flavor combination thanks to this tasty layer cake!
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup boiling water
PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE
- 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
PUMPKIN ICING
- 3/4 cup butter
- 3/4 cup shortening
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 + 1/8 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- Hot fudge sauce, if desired (I used Hershey’s Fudge Topping)
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 4 oz chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 1052
- Sugar: 97 g
- Sodium: 592.3 mg
- Fat: 62 g
- Carbohydrates: 121.1 g
- Protein: 10.7 g
- Cholesterol: 163.5 mg
Keywords: pumpkin cheesecake recipe, pumpkin cake recipe, pumpkin cake, chocolate cheesecake recipe, best pumpkin cheesecake, layer cake, layer cake recipe
Enjoy!
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Can I make this chocolate cake 3 “6 pans?.
For cheesecake i thinking go to your recipe 6 inch pans.
★★★★★
I would probably cut the cake recipe in half and use two 6 inch pans. If you look at my guide for adjusting cheesecake sizes, I talk about adjusting for 6 inch cheesecakes. https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/guide-to-adjusting-cheesecake-sizes/
Question for you what type of shortening are you using for the pumpkin icing. Im about to try this recipe for thanksgiving instead of pumpkin pie. Want to make sure i use the proper shortening in the recipe. Crisco, liquid? Not sure what is used thank you
I used crisco vegetable shortening, but you could also swap it out for additional butter.
Another winner!
I made this for our annual”Friendsgiving” dinner and it was a stunner. The dark chocolate cake is absolutely delicious . I liked the “subtle” pumpkin flavor of the cheesecake and the frosting. Was gone by the next day. Everyone loved it! Thank you for another fabulous recipe.
★★★★★
Lindsay,
I am going to make this for a birthday this weekend. Is there a difference between canned pumpkin and pumpkin puree?
This looks amazing … can’t wait to try it.
On a different subject, all of the photos of your cheesecake and cakes after they are cut look so perfect. How do you get such clean cuts?
I really just use a sharp knife and then I use a fork to “clean” them up a bit.
Hi, Lindsay! I have made this cake about 2 years ago for Thanksgiving. After I put the cake on the dessert table, the entire cake was gone in about 10 minutes with about 25 guests. I just had a quick question… I was wondering if…
1. You would recommend using sour cream in the cheesecake recipe and if so, how much? AND…
2. Would you suggest separating the egg yolks and the egg whites, putting in the yolks when you add the eggs, mixing the egg whites separately until peaks form and then at the last minute, folding it into the cheesecake mixture before placing it in the springform pan to create a “lighter textured” cheesecake?
The cake is AMAZING either way, just asking your opinion. Thanks, Lindsay!
★★★★★
Hi Lindsay. I love your recipes. How on this wonderful earth, do you come up with all these fabulous recipes. I mean, each one has a deliciousness of it’s own, it’s unearthly, but in a wonderful way,
Thank you so much Carol!
Hello! I wanted to make this tomorrow before Thanksgiving, and I wanted to know this: since this recipe uses Dutch-processed cocoa, could I replace the baking soda and buttermilk with baking powder? If so, how much would I need?
No, I don’t believe you can.
I made this cake for my mom’s 88th birthday (9/26) and it turned out great! I even impressed myself! Thankfully I allowed myself plenty of time to make this chocolate/pumpkin cheesecake keeping in mind, like household projects, they always take longer than anticipated.
The cake was moist and flavorful! Definitely use parchment paper in the cake pans. The cheesecake filling was good but not great. The flavor just didn’t “pop” with pumpkin spice flavor, but that may just be me. The guests loved it, and the cake was devoured in short order.
★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed!
I made the chocolate cake part only of that cake and it is now my go-to recipe. The mixture was really watery and since my cake was to be carved I added a cup of flour to the mix. Not only was it firm enough to carve, but it was still incredibly moist. Plus it tastes awesome and is so easy and quick to make.
Glad you enjoyed it!