Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
A moist spiced pumpkin loaf with chocolate chips and a crackled top, baked for 1 hour at 175C.
Photograph credit: Fairall's Farm pumpkin chocolate chip bread - December 2023 - Sarah Stierch 01 by Missvain · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Don't Make These Mistakes
Blot the puree to remove excess water.
Do not skimp on the spices.
Cover with foil if the top darkens early.
Cooking Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Heat the oven to 175°C / 345°F. Grease and line a 900 g loaf tin.
-
Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
-
Whisk the eggs, both sugars, oil and pumpkin puree. Fold in the dry ingredients until just combined.
-
Toss the chocolate chips in a spoonful of flour and fold in, reserving a handful for the top. Pour into the tin and scatter over the reserved chips.
-
Bake for 1 hour until a skewer comes out clean, covering with foil if the top darkens. Cool in the tin.
Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.
Why the Method Works
This is what to make in the first cold week of autumn, when the shops fill up with pumpkins and cinnamon, and the oven starts to feel like a friend. Pumpkin bread is one of the best things to make with a tin of puree, and chocolate chips turn it from a breakfast loaf into an anytime treat.
The batter is almost entirely wet ingredients and a measured amount of flour. Pumpkin puree is dense and rich, and it contributes moisture and colour, but not much sweetness. Brown sugar and white sugar together give a balanced flavour, and the oil keeps the loaf tender for days. Be careful to blot the puree with kitchen paper before using, because a puree that is too wet gives a gummy, heavy loaf.
Spices should be generous. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and a pinch of cloves are all needed, and the quantities here are larger than you might expect. Pumpkin by itself is mild, almost bland, and the spice is what carries the flavour of the loaf.
Toss the chocolate chips in a spoonful of flour so that they stay suspended, and sprinkle a few on top. Bake until a skewer comes out clean, covering with foil if the top darkens. Cool in the tin, then slice. The loaf is better the next day, when the flavours have settled.
Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping
Keeps in an airtight container for 4 days, or frozen for 2 months.
Good With
- Butter
- Coffee
- Hot tea
- Cream cheese
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More American cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
A moist banana loaf studded with chocolate chips and baked for 1 hour until the top cracks and turns deep gold.
Zucchini Chocolate Cake
A moist chocolate cake made with grated zucchini and dotted with chocolate chips.
Pumpkin Bread
Dark, damp and heavily spiced, with the pumpkin purée cooked down first so the loaf tastes of squash rather than of…
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft, cake-like pumpkin cookies loaded with chocolate chips and cinnamon, baked for 14 minutes.
Double Chocolate Muffins
Cocoa muffins with chocolate chips through them, made with buttermilk and oil and a splash of hot coffee to deepen…
White Chocolate Raspberry Blondies
Chewy brown sugar blondies with white chocolate chunks and fresh raspberries, baked for 28 minutes at 175C.