While it may seem a tad late to be sharing a pumpkin recipe now, I assure you we still have time to whip up one last squashy dessert before the onslaught of winter treats beckon. Everywhere I turn they have us believing that we should be moving on to other winter goodies, but let's be honest here - it's still autumn until the 22nd of December, so lets squeeze out all the pumpkin we can get. And to to be fair, I've totally been one of those winter goodie pushers as of late - spending long hours working at the bakery turning out tarts and fruit cakes, and icing sassy lil' ginger people for the masses, I'm sorry dear pumpkin, I take full responsibility for your untimely demise.
This easy to make bread is actually a quick loaf (my ultimate favourite), meaning that it uses baking powder and soda to get its rise. In simplest terms, it's a gigantic muffin, but boy does it look so much more impressive. Heck yes! And while you can bake it off in a muffin form, I'm partial to the loaf version (this might have to do with the habit I have to nibble on teeny tiny slivers of cake all throughout the day). I glazed my loaf with a generous helping of date caramel and salty pecans - a la, a healthier take on my old haunt El Rey's amazing sweet potato bread topped with caramel and aleppo spiced pecans. But if the idea of a crunchy topping isn't floatin' your boat, it's equally delish served as-is or with a generous amount of nut butter.
Pumpkin Loaf with Caramel Crunch Topping
Print the recipe Here
Makes: 1 Loaf
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree (250 g)
1 ½ tsp. Molasses (10g)
⅓ Cup Melted Coconut Oil or Avocado Oil (80 ml)
⅓ Cup + 2 tablespoon Water (110 ml)
½ Cup Maple Syrup (125 ml)
2 ¾ Cup Light Spelt Flour (330 g)
1 tsp. Baking Soda (7 g)
1 tsp. Baking Powder (7 g)
1 tsp. Sea Salt (3 g)
1 tsp. Cinnamon (2.5 g)
½ tsp. Ginger (1 g)
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg (0.5 g)
¼ tsp. Cloves (0.5 g)
- Begin by heating the oven to 175 C (350 F) and prepare a loaf tin with a parchment lining.
- In a big bowl, mix the pumpkin, molasses, oil, water, and maple syrup together. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until combined.
- Pour into the lined loaf tin and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
- Once cooled, remove the loaf from the pan and top with caramel.
Caramel Crunch Topping
½ Cup Pitted Medjool Dates (100 g)
1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil (13 g)
1 Tbsp. Almond Butter (16 g)
Pinch Sea Salt
½ tsp. Vanilla (2.5 ml)
⅓ Cup Chopped and Toasted Pecans (40 g)
Optional Pinch Cayenne
1. Cover the dates with boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes to soften. Once they have sat, drain the dates (but keep the liquid separately, just in case) and add to a high speed blender along with the oil, almond butter, salt, and vanilla. Puree until smooth ( you may need to add some of the soaking liquid to thin it). Spread on the top of the loaf and sprinkle with pecans. If desired, sprinkle a pinch of cayenne over top.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
Such a tasty and flavourful looking loaf! I love it!
Rebecca Pytell says
Never too late for pumpkin! This may be one of the best sweet loafs I've seen all season!
Jenna House says
It is never too late for pumpkin! Thank you for reminding me to continue to exploit pumpkin while it is available. <3
Jessie Snyder | Faring Well says
That rise! It has to be the best I've seen. I will have to give your squashy recipe a try 😉 so much love for everything pumpkin. And these photos Sophie, so so crazy gorgeous. I hope you are having a wonderful season so far friend. Happy (almost) Christmas! xo
Louisa Rosenqvist says
This looks absolutely lovely!
Laura says
This looks incredible! Do you think it could be made gluten free?
Sophie says
Hey! Yeah, I think if you used a gf mix that had some stabilizers like arrowroot, tapioca, or potato in it, it would work out no problem. <3
Laura says
I made this yesterday and the texture was spot on, but there was way too much baking soda, you could smell it in the oven and it ended up being inedible. Just something you might want to know 🙂
I love your blog! Your squash pizza is a family favourite, as are your cajun chickpea cauliflower burgers! I'm planning on trying your buckwheat bread next x
Sophie says
Hey Laura! Gosh, I'm so sorry to hear that! That really sucks 🙁 Since this post is a bit older I can't recall what all I put in it, and maybe I made a mistake transcribing. I cut the soda back to just 1 tsp, so hopefully that works. Thank you so much for letting me know. <3 <3 <3
Kristine says
This looks great! I was wondering what size your loaf tin is?
Sophie says
Thanks, it is a standard loaf pan—8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches or 21 x 11 x 6 cm