What’s for Brunch? Try Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake

I guess everyone has their own idea about what makes a perfect lazy, Sunday morning breakfast. Sometime around noon, ideally. For me, it’s never been about eggs, bacon, sausage, or any of those traditional Sunday breakfast foods that always leave me feeling just a little un-well afterwards; I’m a muffin person. Waffles are ok too; banana nut-loaf is good. Raisin scones…

I can toss together an original muffin recipe (made up from whatever I happen to have lying around the house, based on a simple recipe from my very first cookbook, received as a birthday present when I was about 10 years old) in about 25 minutes, start to finish. Apple/walnut cinnamon muffins. Banana chocolate chip muffins. Dairy-free blueberry oatmeal muffins. Hmmmmm….

But I like trying new recipes too. And I just happen to have seen a cookbook reviewed in the newspaper about 4 months ago, and thought it looked worth checking out. So I put it on reserve at the local public library. And waited. And waited… And it finally arrived last week. So I’ve committed to making at least 6 recipes from this very cool cookbook during the three weeks I can keep it from the library.

What’s cool about it? Every single recipe in this cook book contains beans. Or lentils. Or chickpeas… And that includes the (white bean) cinnamon bun recipe, the (black bean) brownies recipe, and, yes, the Pumpkin (Lentil) Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake recipe 🙂

I’m still working my way through the recipes in here (the roasted-cauliflower Aloo Gobi was delicious! I’m so sold on roasting the cauliflower before adding it to Indian recipes from now on – it may take a little longer, but the flavor is so wonderful!), but figured I’d share one just to give you an idea of how wonderful this cookbook is! Run, don’t walk, to your local bookstore to check it out! (or find it at the local public library. I prefer to see whether I REALLY want to own a book by getting it from the library first – by the end of three weeks, it’s pretty clear which ones are keepers)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake recipe ( serves 16 thick, rich, moist, hearty slices! )

– 1/4 cup dried red lentils (I used green, because we had no red in the house)
– 2.5 cups whole grain flour
– 1 cup sugar (white or brown, or half and half)
– 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp ground ginger
– 1/2 tbsp baking powder
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 1 14oz (398mL) can pureed pumpkin
– 1/2 cup canola oil
– 1/2 cup buttermilk, plain yogurt, or milk (I used skim milk)
– 3 eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla
– 1/2 cup chocolate chips
– 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Boil the dried lentils in water for about 15 minutes, til soft. Drain.

Mix the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Mix the lentils, pumpkin, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a food processor until smooth and well-blended.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and walnuts and chocolate chips. Stir til just combined, and pour into two 8″ x 4″ loaf pans (either non-stick, or silicone, or greased). Bake for 60 minutes, roughly.

Let cool long enough to get out of the loaf pans, and enjoy. They’re still good the next day, or even a few days later. Apparently you could also freeze one of the loafs, if you didn’t think you could eat both anytime soon.

Nutritional breakdown [nutritiondata.com]

This food is low in Sodium. It is also a very good source of Vitamin A and Manganese.

Glycemic load – 17 (low – that’s good)
Calories – 250
Fat – 11.8 grams (mostly mono and poly unsaturated; high in Omega 3 fatty acids)
Protein – 5.9 grams
Fiber – 4.9 grams
Vitamin A – 97% RDA
Manganese – 55%

So, one notable thing about this recipe is that, while it’s pretty good for protein and fiber, it’s a little high in fat. If you want to increase the nutrition density while decreasing the fat, you might consider replacing one of the eggs and half of the oil with shredded carrot, shredded zucchini, and/or blended pineapple. All of these will keep it wonderfully moist, provide additional vitamins and minerals, and cut back on the fat levels.

Try it – let me know what you think! I’ll do the same 🙂 I very seldom follow a recipe exactly, even the first time. Experiment with it… Make it your own!