This butternut squash cake is tender, rich, and perfect for snacking! Made with healthy, wholesome ingredients, this cake comes together in one bowl in about 30 minutes.
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When life gets busy, sometimes we forget to treat ourselves. Make ahead snacks like this butternut squash cake are a great way to have your cake and eat it too!
What makes this snack cake recipe so good? You get a dose of veggies, mixed with a bit of chocolatey goodness in every single bite. It's kid approved, making it great for the whole family!
Ingredients
- Melted butter
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Homemade butternut squash puree (or you can use baby food jars)
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Semi sweet chocolate chips
How to make butternut squash dessert
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and brown sugar.
- Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth and thick.
- Fold in squash puree.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and fold with a spatula until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 24-27 minutes or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached.
Top tips
How to make butternut squash puree
My favorite way to do it is to first peel a whole butternut squash and remove the seeds, then cut into small cubes. Toss that with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast until soft and beginning to caramelize and turn brown.
Allow your cooked squash to cool slightly, then transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, adding a little water at a time to create your desired consistency.
Check out my butternut squash puree recipe for more detailed instructions.
How to store butternut squash snack cake
Wrapped well, this cake will store well at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can also cut it into individual portions, wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Tips for customizing butternut squash cake:
- Sprinkle cooled cake with powdered sugar
- Spread cooled cake with chocolate frosting or cream cheese frosting
- Swap the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice
- Use a gluten-free flour blend to make it a gluten free cake
FAQ
Not at all. It's on par with anything that is baked with pumpkin. The flavor is very subtle, and mixes well with the chocolate.
Three 4 ounce jars of squash baby food should be enough for this recipe!
If you don't want to use baby food jars, but you could totally make your own butternut squash puree.
Just keep in mind that if you make your own puree, it might contain more or less water than the puree I used, so adjust flour and/or cooking time accordingly. The finished batter should be thick but still pourable.
More butternut squash recipes
- Butternut Squash And Sage Pesto Grilled Cheese
- Butternut Squash Risotto With Kale
- Butternut Squash Pizza With Kale
- Butternut Squash and Sage Pesto
- Crispy Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Pan Fried Butternut Squash Pasta
- Black Bean and Butternut Squash Quesadillas
- Winter Salad with Butternut Squash
- Vegetarian Enchiladas with Butternut Squash
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Butternut Squash Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups butternut squash puree, (or 3 {4 ounce} jars squash baby food)
- 2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter and brown sugar.
- Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth and thick.
- Fold in squash puree.
- Add flour, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon and fold with a spatula until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 24-27 minutes or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting. Cake will last three days well wrapped at room temperature.
Notes
Tips for customizing your butternut squash cake:
- Sprinkle cooled cake with powdered sugar
- Spread cooled cake with chocolate frosting or cream cheese frosting
- Swap the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice
- Use a gluten-free flour blend to make it a gluten free cake
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
I love baking with veggies so I'm all about this snack cake! Looks great!
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks Pamela!
cheri says
Wow! very clever. delicious looking snack cake.
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks Cheri!
Anna @ Garnish with Lemon says
Pretty sure this would please even my picky 8 year old (the chocolate chips certainly sway the decision). Love!
Lindsay Moe says
Chocolate makes everything palatable, doesn't it?
Heide M. says
What a clever idea of using squash.
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks Heide!
Erika says
Hi, how many servings does this make?
Chris says
I made this substituting a mashed banana for the butter and using a flax egg to make it vegan. Outstanding!
Lindsay Moe says
What a great swap! Thanks for sharing!
Mandy says
I made this substituting unsweetened applesauce for the butter. Next time I may add more cinnamon. Super tasty and so simple to make!
Sally says
Made this with Carmel chips and dusted with sea salt before baking. So good!
Nicola says
How do you think using a different squash would work? I'm not talking about pumpkin or other winter squash, but my surprise --the seedlings just said zucchini--Golden Zucchini squash. (We don't have the stereotypical zuke overload you hear about, but enough more at the same time that I now need to get creative.) First, can zucchini be pureed like butternut? And/or if I shredded it like in zucchini loaf bread, what tweaks would I have to make (say, liquid: flour changes) so that the texture would stay the same? I just haven't acquired enough knowledge --chemistry or witchery-- to be "that" experimental baker.
Lindsay Moe says
I do not think zucchini would work in this recipe. It doesn't puree like butternut squash does, it would just turn to water. Trying to shred it and tweak the recipe would just be coming up with another recipe entirely, so you'd be better off finding a recipe developed specifically for zucchini. I would recommend trying my chocolate zucchini muffins! https://theliveinkitchen.com/vegan-chocolate-zucchini-muffins/
Leah says
Can I make this gluten free and sub 1:1 all purpose gluten free flour?
Lindsay Moe says
I haven't tested it, but I do think it would work!
Leah says
Will this cake freeze well?
Lindsay Moe says
Yes! I recommend cutting before freezing.
Jan Bunker says
Delicious! An absolute hit! My family gobbled these up in one day. Neighbor gave me a large banana squash. I processed that and used some for my squash. I will definitely make these again.
Priscilla says
This is such a moist and delicious cake! I'm always trying to get more veggies in my toddlers and this was a huge win.... the butternut squash was a surprising ingredient for me, but it turned out perfectly!! So glad I came across this recipe! Thanks!
Lindsay Moe says
I'm so glad you and the toddlers enjoyed this cake, thanks for taking the time to leave a review!