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Welcome fall with a mild pumpkin bread made from scratch and covered with a glossy, rich chocolate ganache!
Yay! It’s my first pumpkin recipe of the season! 🙂 It was my turn again to bring the snacks in Sunday School last week. You know I will take any excuse to bake and I wanted to try something new and “pumpkiny” now that September is here.
I started out to make pumpkin bread with chocolate chips (because chocolate makes everything better) but I wanted something more “special” than just plain chocolate chips. Then I thought maybe I would do a chocolate or even Nutella swirl in the batter. Finally, I settled on making a ganache to pour over the top. I have made ganache in the past, but it wasn’t very successful, so this was my chance to get it right!
I went old school for this pumpkin bread and used a recipe in my trusty old Better Homes and Gardens cook book. Yep, an actual ink-and-paper book! Sometimes it’s nice to flip through the pages of a cookbook and mark things by folding over the page instead of pinning it. Sometimes. 😉
The best way to pour the ganache without making a mess is to leave the bread loaf on the wire rack, place the wire rack in a baking sheet and then pour the chocolate. Catch all the run-off in the pan and then scoop it out to pour over a second time or just save for frosting.
You know what would also taste great with chocolate ganache? A traditional (and yummy) pumpkin roll! You can see step by step photos and my Pumpkin Roll recipe here.
Chocolate Ganache also tastes delicious on ice cream! Remember, the longer it sits, the thicker it will become. I was very pleased with how well mine turned out this time (it’s so shiny!), and it really added a delicious layer of flavor to the mild pumpkin bread.
Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour divided
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup butter
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease the bottom and sides of a regular loaf pan
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger.
- Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and butter and beat with a mixer on low until blended. Then beat on medium/high for 2 minutes
- Add the final cup of flour and beat just until blended.
- Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes and then remove from the pan to cool completely.
- For the ganache:
- In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a simmer. Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and pour the hot cream over the chips. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes (do NOT stir or touch for the entire 5 minutes!)
- Starting in the center of the bowl, stir gently in circles, working your way to the outside of the bowl. The chocolate and cream will mix together like magic. Let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes, and then pour over the bread, coating the loaf evenly. Cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set the ganache. Store any remaining chocolate and use as frosting!
Nutrition
If you like pumpkin bread, I think you’ll like these, too!
- Chocolate Orange Cookies - November 2, 2024
- Nutella Banana Bread - October 14, 2024
- Bacon Onion Dip - September 13, 2024
Cerise says
Can’t wait to try this recipe. What size loaf pan and can you use this recipe with mini loaf pans and if so how many will the batter fill?
Nicole Burkholder says
It’s a standard loaf pan (8.5×4.5×2.5) and yes, you could also use several mini loaf pans. How many would depend on what size mini pans you use.(seems like they are usually 5×3 or so.) Remember, you’ll also need to cut down the cooking time if you are using smaller pans!
Bob says
So yummy good
Easy Peasy Life Matters says
This sounds absolutely delicious! 🙂