Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf (WFPBNO)
Prep Notes
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready an 8 x 4-inch nonstick or silicone baking pan. Also, boil some water in a tea kettle (no need to measure yet).
Ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 cup dry sweetener
3 tbsp almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup grain-sweetened chocolate
Directions
- Combine the applesauce and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
- Measure out 1/3 cup of the boiling water and pour it into the bowl with the chocolate mixture, mixing quickly to make a smooth chocolate sauce. Add the pumpkin, sweetener, almond butter, and vinilla and mix well.
- Dump about half of the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and gently stir just to incorporate, then measure out 1 tablespoon of the boiling water, add it to the mixture, and stir again. Add the rest of the four mixture, and another tablespoon of boiling water, and stir just until smooth (do not overmix). Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. It will be good and thick. You can smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Stick a steak knife into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. A little bit of wetness is okay, since it could be from a chocolate chip, but the knife should come mostly dry.
- Remove the loaf from the oven. Let it cool for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and carefully invert the loaf onto a cooling rack to cool most of the way. It's yummy a little bit warm or thoroughly cooled. Slice and serve!
Notes
This loaf is dense, chocolaty, and moist, with undertones of pumpkin and autumnal spices laced throughout. I throw in some chocolate chips, and you may like to add other yummy things too, like pecans or walnuts.
Chef's Notes:
Dry sweetener is a general term for non-liquid sweeteners. There are many kinds available, some more natural than others. Some sugars, like white table sugar, are bleached, sometimes chemically and sometimes using charred cow bones. This recipe was designed to be made using evaporated cane juice or cane sugar, sucanat, or date sugar. Since all sugar has had the fiber and most, if not all, of the vitamins and minerals removed, it should be enjoyed only on occasion.
There's a funny little method with boiling water in this recipe and you may wonder why. The answer is....don't know why it works. What you do is add boiling water alternately as you add the dry ingredients to the wet. Disobey or disregard at your own risk. Likely, you will be greeted by a loaf whose crumb was not as fine and rise was not as perfectly formed. Don't fight it. Just go along with it. Maybe it has to do with the baking soda. Just use it, and be rewarded with perfect loaves every time.
Credit
The Forks Over Knives Plan