Happy November!! One of these days I'll stick to that schedule I keep making myself. Until then, I'll just keep my fingers crossed that as long as I can keep giving you scrumptious food, you won't up and rebel on me. Totally kidding, you're the sweetest, most patient group of friends and readers that a scatter-brained girl could ask for! Which is why even though 'tis late, I had to get you this recipe, come hell or high water or a week-long hiatus. October may be over, but who said that means we have to put our pumpkin away till next year? If you've got a spare can, and some cream cheese lying around, with that winter storm front looming, you'll be set for scrumptious goodies to hold you through the big chill with this recipe. Is it just me, or does this whole Alaskan storm remind anyone else of the intro to the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie??
If it were December instead of early November, I would be pretty concerned about Christmas, I don't know about you... Instead, I'll just be concerned for Alaskans, pray like crazy, and hunker down planning my baking list!! For those of you not in the US, congratulations. :) For those of you getting frozen already, bundle up and stay warm!! I'll see you tomorrow, when we start getting snowed on. Have a delightful Sunday!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bread (adapted from Your Cup of Cake)
Printable Recipe
Makes 2 Loaves or 24 muffins
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (about 1 3/4 cups)
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce (you can just use more oil, but the applesauce makes it lighter, and slightly healthier!)
2/3 cup milk
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
2 cups mini chocolate chips.
Cream Cheese Filling:
2 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tb sugar
1 egg, room temperature (if halving this recipe for one loaf, just use the yolk)
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/line 2 loaf pans, 2 12-cup muffin pans, or one of each.
In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla and sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until combined. A few lumps are fine! Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips, reserve the remaining chips for sprinkling on top.
Beat the cream cheese filling ingredients together until smooth.
For Pumpkin Loaves: Divide your batter and filling in half. Remember, you're making two loaves, so apply these directions to each loaf. Starting with one half, pour about a third of the pumpkin batter into the first loaf pan and gently spread to cover the bottom. Spoon half of the cream cheese filling and gently spread it over the pumpkin. Repeat with the second third of batter, last half of filling, and top with dollops of the last third of batter. Gently swirl together a few times with a knife, chopstick, or skewer. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, repeat this process with the second loaf, and bake for 60-80 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (No batter; you'll probably have some melted chocolate on there!) Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before slicing.
For Muffins: Fill each muffin cup 1/3 full, spoon a generous tablespoon of filling into the cup, then top with another spoonful of pumpkin batter. Give it a figure-eight swirl with a toothpick, top with mini chocolate chips, and bake for 14-18 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
I'm seriously in love with this stuff. When it comes to straight-up classic pumpkin bread, this recipe is hands-down my favorite, but this dressed-up, decked-out version is seriously yummy!! And yes, totally worth the extra layering work.
The cake is lightened up a bit with applesauce, all soft and scrumptious and pumpkiny-spiced. Sprinkled with zillions of bits of melty chocolate (you've got to warm this stuff up, it's kind of essential) and that rich, creamy ribbon of cream cheese deliciousness, it is a serious snack. Or breakfast, or dessert...
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
2 cups mini chocolate chips.
Cream Cheese Filling:
2 8 oz. pkgs cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tb sugar
1 egg, room temperature (if halving this recipe for one loaf, just use the yolk)
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/line 2 loaf pans, 2 12-cup muffin pans, or one of each.
In a large bowl, stir together the pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, milk, vanilla and sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until combined. A few lumps are fine! Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips, reserve the remaining chips for sprinkling on top.
Beat the cream cheese filling ingredients together until smooth.
For Pumpkin Loaves: Divide your batter and filling in half. Remember, you're making two loaves, so apply these directions to each loaf. Starting with one half, pour about a third of the pumpkin batter into the first loaf pan and gently spread to cover the bottom. Spoon half of the cream cheese filling and gently spread it over the pumpkin. Repeat with the second third of batter, last half of filling, and top with dollops of the last third of batter. Gently swirl together a few times with a knife, chopstick, or skewer. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, repeat this process with the second loaf, and bake for 60-80 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (No batter; you'll probably have some melted chocolate on there!) Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before slicing.
For Muffins: Fill each muffin cup 1/3 full, spoon a generous tablespoon of filling into the cup, then top with another spoonful of pumpkin batter. Give it a figure-eight swirl with a toothpick, top with mini chocolate chips, and bake for 14-18 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.
Trying not to eat it for all three meals a day is a bit of an exercise in self-control, but I have faith in you. It really does make yummy muffins too! Make one of each and they should get you through this week of frigid Northern winds. Good luck!
This bread looks positively sinful and yummy! Just so you know, for me the recipes are a bonus. You and your ramblings are what I really come here for. I love it!
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks Hilary! Nice to know my ramblings are entertaining too. :) But you should still try the bread, its fantabulous!!
DeleteI would love to. My time is too limited to do it and enjoy it. I like eating everything when it comes out warm. Come to think of it, that would make awesome presents for some people. Didn't you post an eggnog bread a year or two ago? If so, I made those for gifts. I even did a gluten-free version.
DeleteYou could definitely make mini loaves! They'd be adorable! I haven't made an egg-nog bread, I'd actually love to get your gluten free version if you remember it! My email is at the top left :)
DeleteThat looks really good April. I do have lots of pumpkin on hand, having stocked up last year when I saw it. It's not an ingredient you can get very often over here! xxoo
ReplyDeleteI never realize how American pumpkin is until this time of year, when international blogging friends tell me they can't find it or have never tasted it! The things we take for granted, huh? I know you sometimes have a hard time getting ahold of cream cheese, you could easily skip the ribbon! Although it is pretty scrumptious... I don't know if I would survive without cream cheese!
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