This vegan pumpkin bread is not your typical quick bread. Why? Because of the endless swirls of dark chocolate in each slice. The anticipation of these unique swirls will not only be aesthetically pleasing but will also surprise your taste buds with each bite.
Quick breads are typically easy to convert into vegan recipes. For example, the amount of bananas in vegan banana bread creates a binding and sweetening effect, eliminating the necessity for eggs and loads of sugar.
Same goes for this vegan pumpkin bread. The pumpkin puree is thick and creamy, causing the ingredients to hold together. However, pumpkin puree is not as sweet as bananas, which is why this recipe calls for a bit more sugar.
Typically, quick breads use a neutral tasting oil to keep the bread moist. However, for this vegan pumpkin bread, I decided to use the creaming method with vegan butter. The creaming method combines your fats, the vegan butter, and sugar and mixes them until light and fluffy. This results in the formation of small air cells, creating more volume and texture to the final product.
I also find it funny how these breads are called “quick” breads when they really test our patience. Yes, they are quick in the sense that there is no need to add yeast and proof .. and then proof again.
But the warming smells that fills your kitchen while waiting for the bread to fully bake…
Or the additional time for the bread to completely cool before cutting into it…
The wait feels long but trust me when I say this – it’s super important. This vegan pumpkin bread has a lot of moisture from the pumpkin puree, so it needs over an hour in the oven. It also needs to completely cool as the steam continues to bake the bread before cutting into it.
Have fun and test your patience with this vegan pumpkin bread as it will be 100% worth the wait!
quick notes
Flax egg is a natural egg substitute typically used in vegan baking. Similar to eggs, flax egg helps bind ingredients together by forming a gel-like substance when combining ground flaxseed with water.
Make sure to purchase ground flaxseed, or flaxseed meal. If you only have whole flaxseeds on hand, you can ground them in a coffee grinder or blender.
VEGAN PUMPKIN BREAD WITH CHOCOLATE SWIRLS
serves 1 loaf in 9″ x 5″ loaf pan
Flax egg
- 2 tbsp (12g) ground flaxseed, or flaxseed meal
- 4 tbsp water
Combine and mix flax egg ingredients and set aside to thicken. (Pop in refrigerator to speed up the thickening processing.)
Chocolate mixture
- ½ cup (55g) dark chocolate
Add dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the chocolate mixture does not touch the water. Occasionally stir until smooth until all chocolate pieces are dissolved. Take off heat and let it cool to room temperature. The mixture should thicken as it cools. Store mixture in fridge until ready to use.
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups (284g) all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (60g) almond meal
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cloves
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly oil loaf tin.
Create a parchment paper sling (optional but helpful when transferring cooked loaf to cooling rack): Cut a piece of parchment paper as wide as the bottom of your loaf pan and long enough to hang off the edges by about 2 inches. Place parchment paper sling into the lightly-oil loaf tin and coat bottom and sides of parchment paper with oil.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add rest of the ingredients and mix. Set aside.
Wet ingredients
- ¼ cup (56g) vegan butter
- ⅔ cup (192g) sugar
- 1 cup (220g) canned pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup nondairy milk (I used homemade soy milk)
In a mixer, combine vegan butter and sugar together. Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. Continue to mix in the rest of the wet ingredients and the flax egg.
Add dry ingredients in ½ cup increments, combining until incorporated each time.
Pour and gently fold the chocolate mixture into the batter. Pour batter into your loaf pan and with a knife, draw a figure 8 into the batter a few times. Bake for 70-80 minutes. To check if baked, insert a toothpick in the center of the loaf. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s ready. If the toothpick comes out wet, the loaf needs a few more minutes.
Remove from loaf pan and let it completely cool before cutting! Enjoy!
p.s. If you like this recipe, click the icons below to share and leave a comment below! Make sure to tag me @girlmeetsradish & #girlmeetsradish so I can see what you are making!
