A loaf that uses the entire fifteen ounce can of pumpkin rather than leaving half of it in the fridge. The trick is cooking the purée down first.
Cook the pumpkin down before it goes in the batter
Twelve to fifteen minutes in a wide skillet with a quarter cup of the sugar and the spices, until it darkens and starts sticking to the pan.
This is the whole idea and it solves two problems at once. Canned pumpkin is mostly water, and a full can in a loaf this size would make it dense and damp. Driving that water off concentrates the flavour and removes the excess moisture.
You should end up with about a cup and a quarter from the full can, which is roughly a third less volume than you started with.
Stir more frequently toward the end and lower the heat as needed. Once it is thick it catches quickly, and scorched pumpkin is bitter through the whole loaf.
A wide pan rather than a saucepan. More surface area means faster evaporation.
Cooking the spices with it, not adding them later
Cinnamon, ginger and the optional turmeric all go into the pan.
Spices bloom in heat, which releases their aromatic compounds in a way that stirring them into a cold batter does not. Twelve to fifteen minutes with the pumpkin is considerably more contact than they would get in the oven.
The turmeric is for colour rather than flavour. A pinch deepens the orange without being detectable.
Whisk the eggs and sugar until voluminous
One to two minutes, until thick, pale and increased in volume.
There is no creaming step here because there is no solid fat. The air comes from beating eggs and sugar together, and that air is a meaningful part of the loaf’s lift alongside the baking powder.
Vigorously is the word the recipe uses. A hand whisk works and takes closer to two minutes than one.
Add the oil gradually
Whisked in until shiny and emulsified before the pumpkin goes in.
Oil poured in all at once sits on top of the egg foam and knocks the air out. Added gradually while whisking, it emulsifies into the mixture and the volume holds.
Shiny and emulsified is the visual cue. It should look homogeneous rather than streaky.
Bake to 200F internally
Fifty to sixty minutes, with a thermometer reading at least 200F as well as a clean skewer.
That temperature check is worth doing. Quick breads with this much moisture can read clean on a skewer while the centre is still underbaked, particularly around melted chocolate chips.
200F is the point at which the starches have gelatinised and the crumb is set.
Two leaveners
A teaspoon and a quarter of baking powder and half a teaspoon of soda.
The soda needs an acid, and here it comes from the pumpkin itself, which is mildly acidic, plus the brown notes developed during the cooking down. The powder works independently.
Together they lift a batter carrying a cup and a quarter of dense concentrated pumpkin, which is considerably heavier than a plain quick bread batter. Either alone would leave it squat.
The parchment sling
Lined so the paper extends up two sides.
A loaf carrying chocolate chips sticks readily where the chips touch the pan, and a sling lifts the whole thing out rather than requiring you to invert it and risk the top.
Coarse sugar on top
A tablespoon of sparkling or turbinado sugar.
Large crystals do not dissolve during baking, so they stay as a crunchy crust across the top. Granulated sugar would melt into the surface and do nothing.
It is the only textural contrast in an otherwise soft loaf.
Chocolate chip quantity is a choice
Half a cup to three quarters, with the recipe noting the higher amount for more prominent chocolate.
Half a cup gives you chocolate as an accent against the pumpkin. Three quarters makes it a chocolate loaf with pumpkin in it.
Semisweet suits the spices better than milk chocolate, which would push the whole thing sweet.
Cinnamon and ginger, not a blend
A teaspoon and a quarter of each, which is a lot of ginger relative to most pumpkin recipes.
Pumpkin pie spice leans heavily on cinnamon with small amounts of the others. Using equal cinnamon and ginger pushes the loaf sharper and warmer, and ginger stands up to chocolate better than nutmeg or clove would.
Ground rather than fresh. Fresh ginger brings moisture and a different, brighter heat that would fight the chocolate.
Room temperature eggs
Three of them.
Cold eggs whip to less volume than room temperature ones, and volume is what this method depends on. Twenty minutes on the counter, or a few minutes in warm water.
Why not just use half a can
Which is what most pumpkin bread recipes do, and the source is explicit that this one exists to avoid it.
Half a can leaves you with an awkward remainder that goes mouldy in the fridge within a week. Freezing it in portions works but few people do it.
Using the whole can means no waste, and cooking it down is what makes that possible without a wet loaf. It is a good example of a technique solving a practical problem rather than just a culinary one.
Making it gluten free
A measure-for-measure gluten free flour blend substitutes directly for the all-purpose flour.
Bake it thoroughly, since gluten free batters often need longer, and the 200F internal reading matters even more here. Expect closer to sixty minutes than fifty.
Making your own purée
Roasted squash blitzed smooth, and it works here with one caveat.
Fresh purée varies enormously in water content depending on the variety and how it was cooked. Some will need considerably less than fifteen minutes on the stove; some more.
Go by the visual cue rather than the clock: darker in colour and dry enough to stick to the pan. And by volume: about a cup and a quarter at the end.
Storing
Airtight at room temperature up to four days, or frozen for longer.
It stays moist well, which is a consequence of the oil and of how much pumpkin is in it. The concentrated purée gives moisture without the sogginess a raw can would.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
Equipment
- 8.5×4.5 or 9×5 inch loaf pan
- Parchment Paper
- Wide skillet or saucepan
- Medium bowl
- Large Bowl
- Whisk
- Digital thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 can pumpkin puree 15 ounce, 425g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 198g, divided
- 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- pinch ground turmeric optional, for colour
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 210g
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil 99g
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips the higher amount for more chocolate
- 1 tbsp coarse sparkling or turbinado sugar 12g
Instructions
- Cook the pumpkin down. Preheat the oven to 350F. In a wide skillet or saucepan combine the pumpkin, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the cinnamon, ginger and turmeric. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the pumpkin is darker in colour and dry enough to start sticking to the pan, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir more frequently toward the end and lower the heat as needed to prevent scorching. Transfer to a bowl to cool slightly; you should have about 1 1/4 cups.
- Prepare the pan. Lightly grease a loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling extending up two sides.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine.
- Whisk the eggs. In a large bowl vigorously whisk the eggs with the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar until the mixture is thick, pale and voluminous, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Build the batter. Gradually whisk in the oil and keep stirring until shiny and emulsified, then add the cooked pumpkin mixture and whisk to incorporate. Add the flour mixture and whisk until combined, then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Bake. Transfer to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle evenly with the coarse sugar. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean and a digital thermometer reads at least 200F.
- Cool. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly, then use the parchment to lift the loaf out and cool completely on the rack.
