Sweet potato and chocolate swirl bread

When the colder weather arrives, I tend to bake a lot more frequently. I found a can of sweet potato puree from last year lingering in the back of the cupboard recently and decided that I needed to use it immediately in some baked treat. Does this ever happen to you? You just all of the sudden get an uncontrollable urge to bake something? Maybe it's a food nerd thing... I was also in the mood for something chocolaty, which is how this sweet potato and chocolate swirl bread came to be. I used my chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe as a starting point for this bread and was not disappointed in the results.

So if you are looking for a fall treat that's a change up from pumpkin and apple, give this sweet potato bread a try (and then go back to making pumpkin and apple things, because they are awesome). This recipe will make one 9-inch loaf of quick bread. 

Sweet potato and chocolate swirl bread
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sweet potato puree
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through ginger) until combined. In another medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar through egg until well combined. The stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. 

Transfer half of the batter back into the bowl the dry ingredients came from and set aside. In the other bowl, stir in the cocoa powder and chocolate chips until combined. 

Pour half of the chocolate batter into the pan and spread it with a spatula. Top with half the the sweet potato batter, followed by the remaining chocolate batter, and then remaining sweet potato batter. Then, using a chopstick or rubber spatula, insert it into one end of the loaf pan to the bottom and swirl batter up and down lengthwise and then crosswise.

Bake the bread for approximately 45-55 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

What was I cooking one year ago?: apple and pork macaroni and cheese

Two years ago?: apple crisp pie

Three?: roasted chicken thighs with garlic cloves

4?: shiitake mushroom and barley soup