Description
This chocolate marble pumpkin bread brings together two favorite flavors in one loaf: classic pumpkin bread, swirled with rich chocolate and finished with a crumbly chocolate streusel topping.
Ingredients
Chocolate Crumb Topping
- 3 Tablespoons (24g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons (27g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (5g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 3 Tablespoons (34g) mini chocolate chips
Pumpkin Batter
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup (133g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) canned pure pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup (113g/120ml) vegetable oil, avocado oil, or melted coconut oil
- 2 Tablespoons (30g/ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Chocolate Batter
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (23g) whole milk, warm
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (60g) mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and salt together until combined. Add the butter and use a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers to blend until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Cover and place in the refrigerator or freezer until needed in step 5.
- Make the pumpkin batter: Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a couple inches of overhang on two opposite sides.* Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, milk, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk together until combined. The batter is thick and a few lumps are OK. Do not overmix. Transfer a heaping cup (about 280g) of the batter to a medium bowl; this will be the chocolate batter. Set aside the remaining pumpkin batter (the larger amount).
- Make the chocolate batter: In a small bowl, combine the espresso powder and warm milk, whisking with a fork to dissolve the espresso powder. Pour this into the medium bowl with the smaller amount of batter, along with the cocoa powder, and whisk to combine. Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
- Assemble the loaf: Spread a thin layer of the pumpkin batter in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Layer a few spoonfuls of the chocolate batter on top, followed by a few spoonfuls of the pumpkin batter. Continue alternating spoonfuls of each batter until all of the batter is used. Gently shimmy the pan to level the batters. Using a knife, make rounded horizontal zigzags from one side of the pan to the other, followed by rounded vertical zigzags from top to bottom. Sprinkle the cold crumb topping evenly on top.
- Bake for 60–70 minutes; loosely tent with aluminum foil around the halfway mark. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be before or after 60–70 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 55-minute mark.
- Cool the bread completely in the pan set on a cooling rack. Lift the bread out of the pan by gripping the parchment paper overhang. Transfer it to a cutting board, then slice and serve.
- Cover and store leftover chocolate marble pumpkin bread at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Wrap the cooled pumpkin bread in a layer of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil; freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Dutch-Process Cocoa | Espresso Powder | Pastry Cutter | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Oil: You can use vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or melted coconut oil. I typically use vegetable oil or avocado oil.
- How to Line a Loaf Pan: Lightly grease the loaf pan with nonstick spray. Cut a piece of parchment long enough to cover the bottom and extend up and over the two long sides of the pan. Press it into the pan, leaving the ends hanging over the sides to use as handles for lifting out the cooled bread. There’s no need to line all four sides. The parchment sling takes care of the bottom and two sides, while the exposed sides can be lightly greased.
- Room-Temperature Ingredients: All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read more about room-temperature ingredients in baking.