Pecan Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
It’s autumn! Which means it’s pumpkin season!
This pecan chocolate pumpkin bread is the most scrumptious, delicate, crumbly, and moist pumpkin bread you will ever taste! The pecans add that perfect crunchy texture and the autumn spices mixed in with the pumpkin marries perfectly with the melted white and dark chocolate that’s scattered all over in every slice. It was honestly so hard to stop ourselves from finishing the entire loaf right then and there!
History of Pumpkins
Evidence of pumpkin dates way back to 8750 BC when evidence was found to pumpkins being used as food in the Oaxaca Highlands in Central America, in today Mexico.
“The pumpkin was one of the first wild plants cultivated for human consumption in America, making it an extremely important part of our culinary history. The possibility of having access to something that could be planted, controlled and eaten meant less need for foraging and more likelihood of settling down in one place. Because of their thick and solid flesh, pumpkins could easily be stored throughout the winter and times of scarcity”
Native Americans used to use pumpkins then in much of their diet – such as frying pumpkins with mutton, drying it for later use, cooking unripe pumpkins with corn kernels and onions, and many more! The Abenaki tribe called pumpkins and squash wasawa. Many roasted them over a fire and even used it for soups.
European settlers, however, were the first to invent pumpkin pie.
Pecan Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 250 g (1½ cup) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 230 g (1 cup) pumpkin purée
- 90 ml (⅓ cup oil) vegetable oil
- 90 ml (⅓ cup) milk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 g (3½ tbsp) butter, softened
- 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 100 g (½ cup) brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 50 g toasted pecans, chopped
- 1 dark chocolate bar, chopped
- 1 white chocolate bar, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF/177ªC.
- Coat your loaf pan with a light film of fat and line with parchment paper.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine pumpkin purée, oil, softened butter, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and egg and mix on low speed with a paddle attachment until fully blended.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients and combine just until it's all incorporated. Don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate everything!
- Mix in pecans and chopped white and dark chocolate.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan, tapping gently to release any bubbles.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool the loaves in the pan for a few minutes, then remove and completely cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes:
To store pumpkin bread:
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap after it's completely cooled.
- Pumpkin bread can be stored in room temperature for up to 5 days.
- It can also be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
- It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Possible substitutions:
- You may substitute milk with water.
- If you prefer to avoid butter, you may add more oil and eliminate the butter.
- You can also opt out on the pecans.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
319.75Fat (grams)
13.65Sat. Fat (grams)
4.55Carbs (grams)
47.13Fiber (grams)
2.12Net carbs
46.25Sugar (grams)
30.55Protein (grams)
3.43Sodium (milligrams)
338.96Cholesterol (grams)
11.02
