October 26th is National Pumpkin Day, sandwiched between National Pumpkin Spice Day (October 1st), National Carve A Pumpkin Day (October 31st), and National Pumpkin Pie Day (December 25th).

This “bread” is a loaf cake recipe. As with other loaf cakes, you can enjoy it plain, with ice cream, or with whipped cream.

Thanks to Colavita for this recipe, which uses heart-healthy olive oil instead of butter.

> Here are more pumpkin dessert recipes.

> The history of pumpkins.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE SWIRL BREAD

Prep time is 15 minutes, and bake time is 45 minutes.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the pumpkin, maple syrup, milk, olive oil, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a large bowl and mix until the sugar is well combined.

2. USE another bowl to mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. Once mixed…

3. ADD these to the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir until combined. The batter should be thick. Divide the batter into equal parts into two separate bowls.

4. MIX in a small bowl the turmeric and 1 teaspoon water until you get a golden liquid. Add this to one of the batter bowls and stir until combined. In another small bowl…

5. COMBINE the cocoa powder, vanilla, and 3 teaspoons water and mix until a chocolate paste forms. Add this to the other batter bowl (the one without turmeric) and mix until well combined.

6. LINE the loaf pans with parchment paper. Spoon some of the orange-colored batter into the bottom of the pan. Spoon the chocolate batter on top and continue in this fashion until you reach the top. Finish with mini chocolate chips.

7. BAKE at 375°F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out almost clean. Cool completely before slicing. Enjoy immediately after cooling, or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
 
 
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[1] Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Bread, one of our many delicious pumpkin dessert recipes (photo © Colavita Recipes).

[2] You want pumpkin puree, not pumpkin spice filling, which is already sweetened and spiced (photo © The Kitchn).

[3] In addition to a cocoa batter, there are mini chocolate chips embedded on top (photo © Lauryn Cohen | Bella Baker).

[4] Turmeric may seem an unusual spice in a cake, but it enhances the flavor of the pumpkin, as do the conventional pumpkin pie spices. This photo shows the whole turmeric root and the ground root (photo © Silk Road Spices).