Dark Chocolate Orange Pumpkin Bread
Who holds all the pumpkin goodies captive the other 9 months of the year? I’d like to have a word.
My sister-in-law, Julie, is a new mom! She and her baby daughter, Millie, came to stay last weekend. It was so fun to have a newborn around. Though I’ve raised three babies, it’s baffling how you forget those beginning stages of motherhood. I couldn’t believe how tiny she was. As I held her, habitually rocking her back and forth, swooning over her sweet little face, I looked up at my husband. He immediately said, “Don’t even think about it. We have three.”
Julie loves all things pumpkin. This being the season of pumpkin, she couldn’t resist ordering everything pumpkin flavored on the menu. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie ice cream shakes, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin muffins…I’m surprised she didn’t turned orange. But I completely understand the impulse. As a new, exhausted mom you want to eat everything anyway, but you feel an extra sense of urgency to eat all things pumpkin because come January 1st pumpkin will disappear. Why is it we only have pumpkin options around the holidays? Can someone explain this? WHY??? Where does all the pumpkin go?
So, to indulge Julie’s much deserved, tired mommy cravings (and my own), I decided to take matters into my own hands, no longer being held captive by so-called “seasonal” flavors. I created, in my kitchen, the most delicious pumpkin option on the planet. Yes, I’m bringing the planet into this. I made dark chocolate orange pumpkin bread, and it is THE absolute ultimate. It’s not even bread, it’s cake. Cake with generous chunks of dark chocolate, loads of spices, and a warm twist of fresh orange.
The pumpkin bread (cake) barely lasted the morning. Make it today, make it Christmas morning, make it in the middle of June.
Dark Chocolate Orange Pumpkin Bread
* Makes 1 loaf
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup grape seed oil (or other neutral oil)
juice and zest from 1 orange
2/3 cup of dark chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Set aside.
Zest and juice a fresh orange (about 1/4 cup of juice). Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars together till combined. Add the oil, pureed pumpkin, orange juice, and orange zest. Whisk till combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon till just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, leaving some to sprinkle on top.
Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, until golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Bread will stay good, well covered, for one week.