Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

 

 

I was wanting to bake something really autumnal for the weekend. We are really having some cozy days here.  It's been quite cold chilly in the mornings and in the evenings, but the days are quite pleasant.  I love the flavors of pumpkin and spice and ginger in the autumn, they just seem to go with the colors of the leaf change and the cooling temperatures.

I saw this Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf recipe on a page called The Live In Kitchen the other day and immediately bookmarked it, wanting to bake it.  It had all of the autumn feels to it. The smells too. Pumpkin.  Ginger. Molasses. Spice.  What's not to love!

 

Gingerbread has always been a favorite thing of mine. I do NOT think you can have any such thing as too many gingerbread recipes.  

Pumpkin is also a real favorite. Especially when it is baked into a quick bread loaf/cake.  My late Mother in Law's Pumpkin Loaf has been a family favorite for a very long time now.  It is something I bake every autumn.

When I saw that this recipe combined my two favorite things, pumpkin loaf and ginger bread, well, I just HAD to bake it.

I can promise you now. It will not disappoint.  This is a fabulous loaf, a fabulous loaf indeed.  Even the biggest of pumpkin haters will love love LOVE this loaf!  I guarantee.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD LOAF

This loaf really only needs a few store cupboard/baking cupboard ingredients. There is nothing really fancy here. No bells and no whistles. It is a rather long list, but most are spices.

• 1 1/2 cups (187g) unbleached plain all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 cup (180g) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100g) dark soft brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (175g) fancy molasses (can use equal amounts of treacle and golden syrup in the U.K.)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 3 TBS milk
• 1 TBS turbinado sugar (demerara sugar)

Do NOT use self-raising flour.  Use plain, all-purpose flour. That is what the recipe calls for. There is no baking powder in the recipe, just baking soda.

This is a lovely mix of spices. That does seem like a lot of ginger, but trust me, it works and works very well. This has a lovely flavor. Nice and spicy.  The smell when this is baking is just wow.

You don't really taste the pumpkin in this, but it does give this loaf a special moist quality that is really quite nice. Its dense. Lovely and dense and moist.

Molasses is not the same as dark treacle in the U.K. Dark treacle has far too strong a flavor. To combat that I always suggest using a combination of dark treacle and golden syrup if you are living in the U.K. and cannot get molasses.

I use whole milk and salted butter. 

 

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD LOAF

 This is really a very simple loaf to make. It is made as most quick breads are by mixing the dry and wet ingredients together separately and then simply stirring the two together.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ ga mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf tin well, and line with baking paper, leaving a bit of an overhang for ease of lifting it out when done. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and salt together in a large bowl.

 

Whisk the pumpkin, melted butter, molasses, eggs and milk together in another bowl.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the wet ingredients and stir everything together just until combined and no dry streaks remain. (It is okay if the batter is a bit lumpy. Quick breads batters benefit from not combining everything too well together. A few lumps are actually preferable!)

 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing over the top. (This is where I actually recommend that you sprinkle the turbinado (demerara) sugar over top. I think it will give a much better result.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the turbinado sugar over top.

Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before lifting out to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

This was quite simply lovely. I have to say it smells amazing when it is baking, but then again, any kind of gingerbread does. Beautifully sweet and spicy, this is lovely cut into thick slices and served buttered along with a hot drink.

The pumpkin makes for an especially dense and moist loaf. I think you are really going to enjoy this one!

I did find that it was a bit of a waste to sprinkle the turbinado sugar on after the loaf has almost been fully baked. The next time I bake it, I am going to add the turbinado sugar to the top of the loaf before I bake it. Putting it on when the loaf was almost finished baking meant that the sugar only really stuck to the cracky bit down the center of the loaf.

 

If you are a huge gingerbread fan as I am, you might also love the following really delicious gingerbread types of recipes.  (I have never met a gingerbread that I did not enjoy!)

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS - These are the loveliest muffins. Moist and full of lovely spicy gingerbread flavors. These have a lovely rise and a beautiful texture. I do like to sprinkle some coarse sugar on top with gives the finished muffin a lovely bit of a crunch. These go down really well with a nice hot cuppa! They are moist and delicious with a lovely crumb and beautiful ginger/cinnamon flavor.

OLD FASHIONED GINGERBREAD - No bells, no whistles, just good old fashioned gingerbread tastiness. This is a particularly easy gingerbread recipe.  Everything just gets measured into a bowl and beaten together.  Simple ingredients, simply put together in a most delicious way. I would not add anything else. It has a lovey spicy flavor and a certain amount of smoky robustness from the molasses. This is beautiful served cut into squares with a dollop of whipped cream on top!

Yield: one 9 by 5 inch loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

Sweet, dense and spicy. This smells fabulous when it is baking.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (187g) unbleached plain all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 cup (180g) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/2 cup (115g) butter, melted
• 1/2 cup (100g) dark soft brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup (175g) fancy molasses (can use equal amounts of treacle and golden syrup in the U.K.)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 3 TBS milk
• 1 TBS turbinado sugar (demerara sugar)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ ga mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf tin well, and line with baking paper, leaving a bit of an overhang for ease of lifting it out when done. Set aside.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Whisk the pumpkin, melted butter, molasses, eggs and milk together in another bowl.
4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the wet ingredients and stir everything together just until combined and no dry streaks remain.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing over the top.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the turbinado sugar over top.
7. Return to the oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
8. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before lifting out to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

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