Autumn Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cake

With the vast variety of gourds available at the market this time of year, celebrate the season by indulging your sweet tooth with this autumn-inspired breakfast cake! Although I tend to favor sweeter gourds such as Fairytale pumpkins and Butternut squashes, this recipe can be made using any buttery textured autumn gourd. Avoid using large carving pumpkins and Spaghetti squashes, as they have a stringy texture unsuitable for this recipe.

1 cup palm oil shortening

2 cups evaporated cane juice sweetener

1 cup autumn squash purée

1 cup soymilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups unbleached white flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup macadamia nuts

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whip together shortening and sweetener. Add all wet ingredients and mix well, using a spatula to scrape down sides of bowl. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Combine dry ingredients to the wet mix, scraping down sides often to reach an even consistency. Fold in nuts and chocolate chips, using hands to knead batter together.

Grease and line a large baking dish with natural parchment paper. Evenly spread batter in dish and bake for 40-50 minutes (oven temperatures vary, so modify baking time as needed). Remove dish from oven and allow to cool completely before serving.