Pumpkin Bread (with Chocolate Chips!)

Years ago, I did an internship abroad where I stayed with a scientist who was also an avid home cook. This recipe is one of hers, but adapted to meet the level of ease that I look for when I bake. I just use a tin of pumpkin puree, but whenever she made this recipe, she'd cut open and roast a whole pumpkin, then blend the flesh into a puree once cooled. She would share how the pumpkin bread might taste great or terrible depending on the particular pumpkin used, and that there was no way of knowing which way it was going to go until after the pumpkin had been roasted - a very time-consuming process! 

Suffice it to say, I'm still not quite at the point where I'm willing to go through the breaking down and cooking of a whole squash if the result might be terrible, so for the time being I'll stick with the canned stuff. I hadn't made this recipe in years, but was in a pumpkin spice mood and decided to go for it - and the result is a truly moist, soft, and decadent loaf packed to the brim with comforting fall flavor :)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, and spices. (Out of laziness, I actually just used 1 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice in place of the three spices, but just know that this tends to give a milder, cinnamon-forward flavor to the cake.)

3. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, mixing well after each addition.

4. Fold in the chocolate chips if using. (Feel free to also use another mix-in of your choice, such as walnuts or pecans.)

5. Pour the batter into a buttered loaf pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes. (Use a cake tester or a skewer to check the doneness of the cake: when inserted into the center of the loaf, you'll know the cake is done when no batter sticks to the skewer when you pull it back out.) Let cool before slicing.

 Once this loaf goes in the oven, your whole house is going to be swimming in the scent of warm pumpkin spice. I'd highly recommend giving this recipe a try, as it's perfect for the season!