Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Loaf

The color of this photo is oddly yellowed and I can't seem to fix it,
so you will have to imagine the rich warmth of the
orange cake studded with deep brown chocolate chips.

I like pumpkin, but I'm a bit picky about it. I don't like pumpkin pie or other overly sweet applications. In fact I tend to only eat pumpkin in savory dishes, such as pumpkin soup or pumpkin risotto--yum! I digress. I happened to have a few cans of pumpkin purée in the back of the cupboard and I decided it was high time I used them--plus I always like making pumpkin recipes for Halloween and I'll be traveling on the day so I figured I'd do it early. I found a recipe for chocolate chip laden pumpkin loaves in the original Baked cookbook and decided that chocolate was bound to improve on the pumpkin. I was right! (I suppose it was their idea first, so they were right...but I take credit for choosing to make the recipe!)

The loaves were delicious! The pumpkin wasn't overwhelming, nor were the spices (I find many pumpkin dishes tend to use far too much cinnamon and nutmeg). The bittersweet chocolate cut the sweetness of the loaves and actually enhanced the pumpkin flavor. The were dense and moist but still tender and the chips added some texture. Definitely my favorite pumpkin dessert recipe!