Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cake

This was a brainstorm I had the other day. Pumpkin, chocolate, and cinnamon are terrific flavor to pair. The combination is spicy and rich. To make the cake, I used a combination of butter and cream cheese, like in Cinnamon-Apple Cake, which yields a moist, tender cake. This batter bakes best in a springform pan. If you've never tried pumpkin and chocolate together, here's your invitation. Yummy!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
Vegetable cooking spray

1. Beat sugar and next 2 ingredients until blended and creamy. Mix in vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
2. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients. Gradually add to cream cheese mixture, beating until blended. Stir in pumpkin and chocolate chips. Pour batter into a springform pan coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until done. Let cool for 30 minutes in pan; release and remove sides of pan, and cool completely.