Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Bread using Almond Flour
Great Tasting Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Bread with some Special Twists
I have been experimenting with baking lately using natural nut flours with all natural ingredients. So far I have baked banana, pumpkin, and carrot bread. All are great natural low sugar breads that make a great after dinner treat.
This pumpkin pecan chocolate bread is a modified recipe that I have added some special twists to.
The first thing you should do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Now I bake this at sea level and it takes about 25-30 minutes. Other altitudes may need additional time.
Next gather the necessary ingredients and believe they are not many. So this part is easy. The pumpkin is best used from a can, just make sure it is 100% pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling. Also nuts are optional, I have used walnuts, almonds, and pecans. By far pecans are my favorite.
Here is a list of the ingredients you will need for Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Bread:
- 1 Cup of 100% Canned Pumpkin
- 2 Cups of Almond Flour
- 3 Eggs
- 1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
- 1/3 Cup of Sugar Free Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp of Almond Extract
- 1 Tbsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice or Cinnamon will do in a Pinch
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1/4 tsp of Fine Sea Salt
- 1/2 Cup of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chips or Other Brand
- 2 tbsp of Chocolate Chips for the Top
- 1/2 Cup of Chopped Nuts (I use Pecans)
Just a note I used to use coconut flour for this recipe but since have changed to almond flour because I felt like the coconut flour made the bread to dry. Remember high quality ingredients will lead to a better tasting bread.
Add all the wet ingredients into a mixing bowl, the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
It should look like this (see image above). You can use a hand or stand mixer, but I just prefer a spatula and to do it by hand.
Add all the dry ingredients (almond flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt) into the large mixing bowl with your wet ingredients, except for the chocolate and nuts (set aside for after the batter is made). Mix well with your spatula, or mixer of choice. Once well mixed add on top the chocolate chips and nuts.
Here is where you may want to do this step by hand as you want to gently fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. Once folded in your batter should look similar to this, as it is ready to bake.
Next liberally spray a bread pan with non-stick spray, or use parchment paper. Lately I have been using parchment paper so my cleanup is easier and the removal of the bread is done without sticking. I cant tell you how many times I have removed bread and had some stick to the baking dish. Oh and don’t worry I don’t bake it with the pestle that is to simply weight it down so that paper does not push up (super annoying).
Next take the batter and put that in the bread pan. Then evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the batter. You can use pretty much any chocolate in this recipe, but I like the taste of dark chocolate.
And now just pop it into the oven which should be heated to a nice 350 degrees, and bake it for 45 to 55 minutes. Use the toothpick method to check if it is done. When finished remove and put on a cooling rack to cool.
Once cooled I usually put it into tin foil and refrigerate it. I slice off a piece each night for a great end of the day treat. I can get 10-12 slices per loaf. Notice the chocolate chips and nuts running through the bread and the nice chocolate chips on top. This is going to taste delicious.
CONCLUSION
This is an easy to bake recipe and it really does taste great. It will be moderate in calories but as you can see it has very few ingredients and will be semi-clean eating friendly. If you want it to be more clean eating friendly then use 92% dark chocolate squares and chop them.
