A Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf Recipe from Food52

One of my favorite parts about this season is the permission we finally have to make yummy, warm, pumpkin-baked goodies.

Okay, we obviously don’t need permission; we can bake whatever, whenever we want! But it helps capture the spirit of fall and what makes this season so great. Fall is all about feeling warm and cozy and fuzzy, and that’s exactly what this chocolate pumpkin loaf from Food52 tastes like. Food52 always shares the most delicious looking recipes, and they seem to always post exactly what I’m in the mood to make, even before I know what I want. Funny how that works out…

It’s not too sweet, it’s not too chocolatey, it’s not too pumpkiny, it’s just the right amount of all three whisked together, and our family has been snacking on it for the last couple of days. My advice? Best eaten warmed up and with a lot of butter on top.

Does it get better than warm bread with melted butter on top? Especially this time of year? The answer is no. No it doesn't.

Full transparency: I baked ours for the recommended time of an hour and it was a little dry. I could have probably taken it out 5-10 minutes earlier and it would have been perfect, so depending on your oven (you know it best!), you may want to take your loaf out a little sooner than an hour. If you don’t like your bread soft and moist, then an hour bake time should be just right.

Here’s what you’re going to need, straight from Food52.com.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
15 ounces canned pumpkin
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease two 8- by 5-inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and canned pumpkin.
In a heatproof bowl, melt the semisweet chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave until fully melted. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined.
Add 1 cup of the pumpkin batter to the melted chocolate chips and stir until smooth and well-mixed.
Pour a 1-inch layer of the pumpkin batter in the bottom of each of the prepared loaf pans. Spoon a layer of the chocolate batter on top of each pan, taking care to keep the chocolate from spreading to the very edges.
Divide the remaining pumpkin batter between both pans and carefully smooth it over the chocolate filling so that it completely covers the chocolate.
Bake for about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.