Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf

Banana, apple sauce, carrot and even courgettes are regularly used to add moisture to cakes – so why not pumpkin? This loaf doesn’t scream “pumpkin”, but it’s beautifully moist and chocolatey.

1 ¹⁄³ cups plain flour

½ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup chocolate chips

125g butter, softened

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin (not too watery) ¼ cup milk

CHOCOLATE TOPPING:

Knob of butter

3 tablespoons chocolate chips 2 tablespoons cream

Heat oven to 160°C. Grease and line a 4-cup capacity loaf pan.

Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl. Stir in chocolate chips.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time then beat in pumpkin and milk.

Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Pour into pan and bake 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in tin. Allow to cool then drizzle with chocolate topping.

Topping: Melt butter and chocolate chips with cream in the microwave on medium heat. Stir until smooth. Leave until cool and slightly thickened before using. Makes 1 loaf >