Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Eating Seasonally

As soon as the cosy season starts, I always look forward to the abundant display of pumpkins. Whether that’s getting out my ceramic pumpkins to decorate around the home, doing most of my cooking in my Staub pumpkin cocotte, or simply cooking with pumpkin at nearly every meal, I just love all things pumpkin.

Here in Switzerland, the supermarkets and farmers’ markets make it really easy to eat seasonally. Once certain vegetables come into season, they are always prominently and beautifully displayed, and a great advantage is that they are always cheaper to buy when they are in season. It is not uncommon to indulge in seasonal ingredients over an intense period because, once that season is over, you won’t be seeing that ingredient again at the farmers’ market, by which time you will have moved on to the next “in season” ingredient.

Fresh Pumpkins

I start buying pumpkins the moment I see them at the farmers’ markets, where they sell them by the wedge, freshly cut. Sometimes, in my greed, I buy one wedge too many, but the great thing about pumpkin is that they freeze perfectly. I add them straight from frozen to soups (such as my Classic Pumpkin Soup or even to my Quick Chicken Laksa).

I also frequently steam pumpkin to make mashed pumpkin or a pumpkin purée to use in recipes such as my Pumpkin Scones, or this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

One of the first things I look forward to making each autumn is Pumpkin Bread.

This Pumpkin Bread recipe is heady with cinnamon and fresh nutmeg, and made even more aromatic with the nutty aroma of brown butter.

Why This Recipe Works

What sets this pumpkin bread recipe apart from others is the nutty aroma of brown butter, together with freshly grated nutmeg for a delicious hit of spice.

What is Brown Butter?

Brown butter is made by melting butter, and simmering it gently until the water evaporates and the milk solids become toasted and nutty in flavour. In French, brown butter is called beurre noisette, which translates as hazelnut butter, as a way of describing the colour and flavour of the butter.

Tips For Making Pumpkin Bread

• Brown the butter. This recipe uses melted butter, but taking the time the brown it (about 10 minutes), will amplify the flavours in the cake.
• Use homemade pumpkin purée. Homemade is always best because you can control the texture of the purée, as well as the flavour, which will depend on what type of pumpkin you choose. To make homemade pumpkin purée, you can steam, boil or microwave the pumpkin. Please see the notes in my recipe below.
• Use good quality canned pumpkin purée. If time is short, canned (or bottled) pumpkin purée is a good alternative. Try to choose one which has no other added ingredients, and also one which is not too liquid in consistency.
• Use fresh nutmeg. You can buy nutmeg already ground to a powder, but freshly grated nutmeg is much more potent. A little goes a long way, but in a cake like this Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread, I almost think it is a key ingredient. You can grate whole nutmeg on a fine grater, and some spice jars of nutmeg even come with a mini grater.
• Use a springform loaf pan. We all know about round springform cake pans, but when I spotted a springform loaf pan in a French supermarket, I knew I had to have it. Of course, it works just like a regular loaf pan, except it is easier to grease and line the pan, and your loaf cakes will have nice smooth edges.

5 stars (2 reviews)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Thanh | Eat, Little Bird

Prep15 minutes mins

Cook40 minutes mins

Total55 minutes mins

Serves: 4 to 6

A moist and aromatic Pumpkin Bread flavoured with brown butter and chocolate chips. Use either homemade or canned pumpkin purée in this delicious loaf cake.

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Ingredients

• 125 g (1 ¼ sticks) unsalted butter
• 220 g (1 cup) caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 210 g (¾ cup) pumpkin purée, see Kitchen Notes
• 250 g (1 ⅔ cup) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg, freshly grated
• 100 g (½ cup) mini dark chocolate chips

Instructions 

To Make Brown Butter

1. Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Let the butter simmer gently for 8-10 minutes, or until it has turned brown and smells nutty. During this time, the butter will splatter as the water evaporates, and the milk solids in the butter will fall to the bottom of the pan and start to toast and turn brown. Remove the pan from the heat when the milk solids start to turn brown in colour. Take care to not burn the butter.
3. Pour the brown butter, together with any brown specks at the bottom of the pan, into a small jug.
4. Set aside to cool completely.

To Make the Pumpkin Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F (without fan).
2. If you are using a traditional loaf pan, line the pan with some baking paper. If you are using a springform loaf pan, line the bottom with baking paper and grease the sides. For this recipe, I used a springform loaf pan measuring 11 x 30 x 8 cm (4 x 12 x 3 inches).
3. Place the cooled brown butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer.
4. Beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for a few minutes, scraping down the sides as necessary.
5. Add the eggs, vanilla and pumpkin purée.
6. Beat together lightly until everything is loosely mixed together.
7. Measure the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl.
8. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, one tablespoon at a time.
9. Add most of the chocolate chips (reserve a small handful to decorate the cake) and stir this through the batter.
10. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
11. Use a small spatula to spread the batter evenly.
12. Sprinkle the reserved chocolate chips on top of the cake.
13. Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
14. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
15. Carefully remove the cake from the pan, and remove the baking paper.
16. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack, but you can also serve the cake warm.

Kitchen Notes

• HOMEMADE PUMPKIN PURÉE
  * Peel and remove the seeds from about 500 g (1 lb) of pumpkin.
  * Cut the pumpkin into large pieces of roughly equal size.
  * To boil, bring a large pot of water to the boil, add the pumpkin and cook for about 30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.
  * To steam, bring a large pot of water to the boil, place the pumpkin in the steamer basket and steam for about 50-60 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender (the timing will depend on how large the pumpkin pieces are).
  * Place the cooked pumpkin into the bowl of a large food processor and blitz until you have a fine purée.
  * Leave the purée to cool completely before using in this recipe.
  * Any leftover pumpkin purée can be kept in a covered container in the fridge for a few days.
• OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
  All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook.
• CONVERSIONS
  To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition Information Nutrition Information

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More Pumpkin Recipes

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkin Spice Muffins with Pecans & Chocolate

Pumpkin Bundt Cake