Description
Twilight Swirl Pumpkin Bread is a beautifully marbled loaf combining spiced pumpkin batter with a rich molasses and cocoa swirl. This moist and aromatic bread has the perfect balance of warm spices and subtle sweetness, enhanced by a crunchy turbinado sugar topping. It’s an inviting treat for autumn and holiday baking, easy to prepare and delightfully impressive with its elegant swirl pattern.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1-2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (to taste)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar (½ white, ½ light brown recommended)
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ½ cup oil (vegetable or canola)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Molasses Swirl Batter
- About ½ of the pumpkin batter (from above)
- 2 tablespoons sweet molasses (NOT blackstrap)
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon extra spice (pumpkin spice, ground cinnamon, or gingerbread spice)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Topping
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (optional for sparkle and crunch)
Instructions
- Prep: Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper leaving an overhang for easy removal. Gather and measure out all ingredients.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice. Whisk thoroughly to break up any clumps, especially of baking soda.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk sugar (both white and brown if using), pumpkin purée, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together until smooth and glossy. Ensure brown sugar is fully dissolved for smooth texture.
- Combine batter: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir gently just until no large flour streaks remain. Avoid overmixing to keep bread tender and light.
- Make the twilight batter: Scoop half the pumpkin batter into a smaller bowl. Fold in molasses, dark brown sugar, extra spice, and cocoa powder until evenly combined and dark but not choclate-flavored.
- Layer the batter: Spread half of the dark swirl batter evenly in the bottom of the loaf pan. Spoon half of the pumpkin batter over it in dollops. Repeat with remaining batters in the same order.
- Create the swirls: Using a butter knife or fork, swirl gently in figure-8 motions or spirals to create beautiful ribbons. Do not overmix to preserve distinct swirls.
- Bake: Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top for sparkle and crunch if desired. Bake for 50–60 minutes. Check at 40 minutes and tent loosely with foil if browning too quickly. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean or with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then lift loaf out with parchment onto a rack. Cool mostly before slicing to best see the swirl pattern.
Notes
- Using parchment with an overhang makes removing the loaf from the pan much easier.
- Make sure to dissolve the brown sugar well in the wet ingredients for smooth batter.
- Cocoa powder is used for color only and won’t make the bread taste like chocolate.
- Do not overmix the batter to avoid a dense bread texture.
- Tent the bread with foil if it starts browning too quickly to prevent burning.
- Allow the bread to cool before slicing to highlight the swirl design.
