My favorite pumpkin chocolate chip bread and a Cream Cheese Cinnamon Frosting

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you have lots to be thankful for this year and that we all have enough delicious food to share with our loved ones!

I certainly have something yummy to share today. This pumpkin bread with chocolate chips is a favorite at our house at this time of the year. I came up with this recipe last Fall and have baked it a zillion times since then. I love how flavorful and fluffy - yet velvety - this cake is. I add cinnamon and ground cloves for aroma and spice, and the dark chocolate chips are perfect if you are a chocolate lover like we are in this house! Notice that you can definitely amp up the spices if you wish by adding more cloves, some ginger, nutmeg etc. Also, you may skip the chocolate chips or substitute with chopped walnuts. I have baked this using a loaf pan, a sheet cake pan, and a bundt pan. All worked great. I have also added a Cream Cheese Cinnamon Frosting to it to make it a bit more special when serving it as a dessert.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread 

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Grease a baking sheet of your choice (loaf pan, sheet cake pan or bundt cake pan) and set it aside.

In a large bowl mix the following ingredients until well combined (don't over mix):
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin pure
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add the following ingredients to wet mixture above (place all the ingredients bellow in the bowl and then mix just until well combined with no lumps):
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Finally, the chocolate chips:
In a small bowl, mix 2 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chocolate chips with 1/4 cup of all purpose flour. Add it to the batter and gently fold it in until chocolate chips are well distributed.

Transfer batter to greased baking pan and bake it in the pre heated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Baking time will vary depending on the baking sheet chosen. Expect it to be done in 30 to 50 minutes.


If you are interested in adding frosting to this cake, here is a delicious one:

Cream Cheese Cinnamon Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
16oz cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups of confectioner's sugar

Place butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment beat until well combined. Add cinnamon, vanilla and the sugar and beat until creamy (start with 3 cups of sugar and add more according to your taste).

Wait for the cake to cool completely before adding the frosting.