You would think with as much pumpkin I have been working with, recipes would start becoming redundant. But there is sooooooooo much out there! I can literally almost type any combination in search and sure enough, there is a recipe for it. I do put chocolate chips in pumpkin recipes a lot, so this time I wanted to make something pumpkin and chocolate flavored. As I was looking through all of my baking ingredients, I realized I did not have any baking powder, which ruled out many options. However, I was lucky enough to stumble upon this gem from a blogger called the Post Punk Kitchen. I had never heard of her before, but considering my lack of options and my desire to combine pumpkin and chocolate, I was eager to try this recipe! It turns out, this pumpkin loaf was the perfect balance of dense yet light, and rich yet not too sweet. So perfect. All you vegan-eaters would approve too! The link above provides the full ingredient list, but I can walk you through the steps to make this satisfactory-but-not-too-sweet-treat. You can really taste the spices too, which I really liked.
Combine the coconut oil, applesauce and cocoa powder.
Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a bowl.
Meanwhile, have a kettle of boiling water ready to pour into the chocolate mixture.
After boiling water, add 1/3 cup to chocolate mixture, blending well.
Add pumpkin, vanilla and sugar into the chocolate mixture, blending well.
Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
Add one tablespoon of boiling water, stir again, then add the remaining flour mixture followed by another tablespoon of boiling water, stirring well.
Add in the chocolate chips (I just estimate).
Pour batter into a prepared (greased) 9×5 baking pan.
Spread batter evenly, and bake in a preheated oven of 350 degrees F for about 55 minutes.
Check to make sure a toothpick or fork can be inserted and come out clean.
Let it cool for 30 minutes, then slice off some pieces to the size of you fancy.
I made this the night before going to Brown County with a friend so we would have something for breakfast (and to snack on) on the way down there. We ended up polishing up almost the whole loaf by Sunday, leaving very little for my poor roommates! However, this is one recipe I feel really good about (in moderation of course), because of wholesome ingredients such as the coconut oil and whole wheat flour with a hint of chocolate. This bread is also good either hot or cold. I will definitely be making this again in the future!
