Sweet Pumpkin Bread
This Sweet Pumpkin Bread makes a lovely afternoon pick me up or the perfect pudding!
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Pumpkin spiced everything
I’m not ashamed to admit that I love pumpkin spiced everything. Totally basic I know. But pumpkin is delicious and nothing screams autumn more than fiery cinnamon, earthy nutmeg and sweet ginger.
Every September I stock up on pumpkin puree and set to making all sorts of treats from chewy pumpkin cookies, to pumpkin blondies and even pumpkin spice lattes. But it doesn’t stop there, I even make spiced pumpkin soup and a banging creamy pasta dish (though that one I’m yet to blog…)!
If you’ve been following the blog over the last few month’s you’ll know that pumpkin spice isn’t my only obsession – I’ve also got a bit of a thing for loaf cakes at the minute so this weekend I decided to combine the two and make this Sweet Pumpkin Bread!
It’s made with real pumpkin, my own autumnal spice blend, golden raisins and cranberries (though you can use any dried fruit you like, more on that below). I love eating a warm slice when the loaf has only been out of the oven for 10 minutes or so. It also tastes amazing served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
Pimp your pumpkin bread
I’ve used my classic spice blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and all spice for this Sweet Pumpkin Bread recipe but if you have your own blend or prefer to use a store bought pumpkin spice mix that’s fine by me!
You can also use any dried fruit you like. I use a mix of regular raisins, golden raisins and cranberries! Not a huge fan of fruit? Then why not swap them out for dark chocolate chips. I love when they are still molten and gooey.
Last but not least, pumpkin seeds, and pecans also make a nice addition to the batter, though you could use any seeds or nuts you have lurking in the back of your cupboard. I like to scatter a few pumpkin seeds on the top of my cake but you have to keep an eye on them in the oven to make sure they don’t burn!
The recipe
There are a few steps you really don’t want to miss out in this recipe:
- Make sure you melt the butter, it makes it much easier to cream it with the brown sugar. If you do it on the hob you can also let it brown slightly to get a nutty flavour.
- You’ll also need to whisk for a fair few minutes on high. This is a lot easier if you have a stand mixer (check out a review of the mixer I use here).
Sweet Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 2lb Loaf tin https://amzn.to/3PA9iQA
- 2lb loaf tin liners https://amzn.to/3PxMzo7
Ingredients
- 150 grams dried fruit
- 425 grams pumpkin puree roughly 1 can depending on the brand
- 100 grams melted butter cooled slightly
- 125 grams caster sugar
- 125 grams light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 75 ml natural yogurt roughly 3 tbsp
- 275 grams self raising flour
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon
- 0.5 tsp nutmeg
- 0.25 tsp all spice
- 0.25 tsp ginger
- 1 handful pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl, re-hydrate the dried fruit by pouring boiling water over them and leaving them to soak.
- Line a loaf tin with grease proof paper or a loaf liner (see note 1).
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
- Whisk in the eggs to the butter/sugar, one at a time until well combined, light and frothy.
- Carefully fold the pumpkin puree into the wet ingredients trying not to knock out the air.
- Next, carefully fold in the natural yogurt.
- Add the flour and spices to the bowl, drain the fruit and add them too.
- Again, carefully fold the ingredients until the flour has been fully incorporated and the fruit and spices are well dispersed.
- Pour the cake mix into the lined loaf tin and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds over the top.
- Place into the centre of your oven and bake for 45 minutes.
- Test the cake with a skewer and see if it comes out clean. If it required baking for a little longer, cover with tin foil and bake for up to an additional 20 minutes.
- Leave to cool slightly before serving (it tastes great both warm or cold).
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this you’ll love…
…these other pumpkin spice recipes!
More autumn recipes
If you’d like to see more autumnal recipes then check out the autumn recipe archive.
This Pumpkin Bread looks fabulous, I’d love a slice right now with a cup of tea. I’ve never used pumpkin spices so need to get a bit more with it:-)
Yummm! This looks so amazing – I love how moist it looks! Great idea to use the pumpkin seeds on top too 🙂
Love the look of this beautiful pumpkin bread, especially when I see your suggestion for using chocolate chips instead of dried fruit, hell yes! I do love autumn spice blends, though am always somewhat amused by the American reference to them as Pumpkin spices, because of how commonly they are used alongside pumpkin. The first time I came across that expression I thought the spice mix included dried pumpkin or something! Ha!
It looks delicious! If I am using plain flour how much baking powder I should use? Thank you
Self raising flour can be made by adding 1 tsp of baking powder to every 100 g of plain flour.