Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf with Cinnamon Streusel

Plus some new book recommendations

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Hello, Happy Friday!

Can we start out this week's newsletter with a quick straw poll to read the room? Are you a fan of baking that uses pumpkin?

I don't think it's necessarily a marmite, love it or hate it type of situation, but I do think people kind of fall into one of two camps: those who love absolutely everything pumpkin-flavoured and can't get enough, and those who just don't really care; they don't hate it, but it's never going to be a go-to flavour for them. For me personally, I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I like pumpkin desserts, and there are recipes using it that I love, but it's not anywhere in my all-time favourite flavours. That being said, pumpkin can be used for reasons other than flavour; it can be a real boon to texture.

Take this week's recipe, for example. Visually, it looks like a simple chocolate loaf cake with some sort of crumb or streusel topping. But hidden inside is a pretty significant amount of pumpkin. Most of the moisture in the cake actually comes from the pumpkin puree, and it's this that gives the cake a beautifully tender texture. Originally I was going to add a cream cheese glaze of some sort, and I’m sure it would have been wonderful, but I actually think the cake is perfect without it, like the ultimate in snacking cake. As I write this, I have a chunky slice of the cake and a big mug of coffee sitting next to me, and it feels like the perfect autumnal cake. The flavour is predominately chocolate with a hit of cinnamon from the streusel, and in the background is a whisper of pumpkin. If you want to make this with more of a classically autumnal vibe, you can also use classic pumpkin pie spicing to give the cake those flavour notes we associate with seasonal pumpkin bakes: a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove.

Before we get to this week's recipe, I wanted to shout out a few new books I have been enjoying recently, which I think you might similarly appreciate.

Recent Reads

Wild Cacoa - Rowan Jacobsen

I picked up this book whilst in the US for my book tour, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a fascinating look into the world of wild cocoa, but more generally, it also opens a window on the world of chocolate more widely, including its historical and cultural origins. It reads slightly like a travelogue, and the author is taking you along with him for a wild ride amongst jungle and cacao farms. I only realised when writing this newsletter that whilst the book is already published and available in the US, folks on this side of the Atlantic will have to wait a little longer; it is published in the UK in early January 2025.

Crumbs - Ben Mims

My friend Ben Mims just realised his most recent book, Crumbs, last week, and it is a brilliant work of cookie obsession. I had the pleasure of reading the proofs to this book many months ago and gave my thoughts for the book's blurb so rather than repeat myself, this was what I said.

‘A classic in the making; Ben has traced the journey of the cookie from LA to Budapest, Tokyo to London. No stone has been left unturned in his hugely ambitious undertaking to document the cookies of the world, shining a light on the history of each cookie, the traditions they spring from, and of course how to recreate each delicious cookie at home. A rare and special book that you’ll find yourself reading and baking from for many years to come.’

If you’re in London, keep your eyes peeeled for a fun event I’ll be doing with Ben in the run up to Christmas.

Hokkaido - Tim Anderson

Tim Anderson's books are probably some of the most consistently excellent books out there. The level of research that he puts into his cookbooks is hugely impressive, and his books never feel surface-level; you can really feel his love of Japan and Japanese cuisine in the pages of his books. Hokaido, Tim’s latest, is as good as you’d expect; it introduced me to a part of Japan I know very little about. The recipes are, of course, excellent, but the magic for me in this book is the stories; this is absolutely one of those cookbooks you’ll read as if it were a novel.

My Bread - Jim Lahey

Last night I popped along to the brilliant bakery Toklas in central London. I was there to listen to an interview with baker Jim Lahey, celebrating the 15th anniversary of his book My Bread. Lahey is rightly credited with popularising the no-knead method of baking bread after his recipe was published by the New York Times back in 2006. That recipe is a touchstone, a recipe that inspired 1000’s of home bakers to try their hand at bread baking. The book followed up on that method and that success and is still a great book and a great way to get into bread baking if you’ve still not been bitten by the bug. The book has been reprinted for its 15th year anniversary and is out now.

Coffee Creations

This little book dropped through my letterbox earlier this week, a new book from my publisher written by barista Celeste Wong. The book is primarily a coffee drink recipe book, with everything from classic coffee drinks to fun cocktails and even sweet and savoury dishes that use coffee. It also has a section on understanding coffee plus brew guides for a handful of the most common brewing methods you would use at home. As we get closer to Christmas, I can see this being a great stocking stuffer for the caffeinated friend or family member.