This easy pumpkin loaf covers all bases as far as pumpkin ingredients are concerned and will easily exceed your expectations. It is shamelessly moist and sweet and while it’s baking you could whip up slather-perfect pumpkin spice honey butter.
- Go straight to the Recipe Card or
- Read on (2 mins) for useful tips, video and step-by-step pictures (about 2 mins)
What you’ll Need
Essentially you will be baking a moist pumpkin bread with a great texture and rich flavor – it’s important to use the right ingredients.
Besides your oven, a loaf pan and parchment paper you will need the following (or the noted closest substitutions):
- Basic ingredients:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt, pumpkin spice, brown sugar
- eggs
- olive (or vegetable) oil
- butter
- Star ingredients:
- a small pie pumpkin (substitute with unsweetened pumpkin puree from a can)
- raw pumpkin seeds (no shell) aka pepitas (substitute with pecans or your favorite nuts)
- pumpkin ale or apple cider or soda water (if soda water increase the brown sugar by 2 tbsp)
TIP: Do try to use a pumpkin ale. Both its carbonation and spiced sweetness immensely elevate this pumpkin loaf. Pretty much any pumpkin ale will do just fine, even if you reach out for a pumpkin stout. Baking with pumpkin ales is just pure fun.
How to Make Pumpkin Loaf
Begin with the pie pumpkin as it requires the most work attention. I like to say attention instead of work because I list cooking for oneself under the pleasure category.
Carefully slice the pumpkin in half, clean out each half and peel it using a potato peeler. Cut in pieces small enough to grate and grate about a cup and a half worth. Sprinkle it with pumpkin spice and brown sugar, mix and set aside.
TIP: Save the rest of the pumpkin to make this savory Roasted Pumpkin Dip. Placed in an airtight plastic bag it will save well refrigerated for up to a week.
Peeling and grating is by far the most labor intensive part of this recipe but it is absolutely worth it. You don’t even need to set up a food processor – grating the pumpkin the old fashioned way is easy enough.
NOTE: Yes, you can use pumpkin puree from a can instead of fresh pie pumpkin, but the texture of the loaf will not be the same. I recommend that you use grated pumpkin if you can. In this recipe your effort will be very much worth it.
The brown sugar coated fresh grated pumpkin bakes with the bread and gives it the most delightful texture.
Step by Step
- Turn your oven on to 350 F and grease and line with parchment paper a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
- Prepare your pumpkin as per the above and set aside or measure out one cup of pumpkin puree and set aside.
- In a bowl beat the eggs, add the sugar and incorporate it and add the pumpkin ale (or apple cider or soda water). Mix well.
- Next, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice and add the egg mixture from the previous step.
- Mix together and add the olive oil, continue to mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Fold in the pumpkin seeds and grated pumpkin (or puree) into the batter and transfer to the loaf pan.
- Top with pumpkin seeds, brown sugar and butter pieces and bake.
Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter
To make it (and you better make it, it is soooo good) cut a stick of butter in small pieces and bring it to room temperature.
Place the butter in a tall container such as a plastic jar, add a teaspoon of pumpkin spice and 1/4 cup of honey and whip it for about a minute with an electric mixer. Transfer to a suitable container and sit tight until the pumpkin loaf is done baking.
Watch the recipe video above to see me make it. Easy and fast work.
You will want to slather the butter onto a slice as soon as you can and I will be the last person to blame you if you sliced the loaf way early. I usually do not give my fresh baked loaves enough time to cool off.
To me the cost of minor crumbling is insignificant compared to the benefit of biting into a still warm slice with melting butter.
But if you’d like to avoid crumbling altogether, do let the loaf cool down for 5-10 minutes while still in the pan. Then gently ease it out with the help of the parchment paper, place it onto a cutting board and let it cool down completely.
Pumpkin Bread Muffins?
Yes, you can absolutely use this pumpkin loaf recipe to bake pumpkin bread muffins. Bonus – the time it takes for them to cool off is significantly shorter.
To make muffins transfer the batter into greased muffin liners placed in a muffin tin, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and brown sugar in the same manner as shown above for the bread and place a small slice of butter on top of each muffin.
Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each muffin comes out clean.
Other Quick Bread Recipes
Raspberry Bread
Cheesy Porter Bread
Dunkelweizen Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips
Peach Ale Peach Breakfast Loaf
Roasted Garlic and Olives Studded Beer Bread
Loaded Pumpkin Loaf (with Pie Pumpkin, Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Ale and Spice!)
Aromatic, moist and sweet - this pumpkin loaf also has a delightful texture. Everything pumpkin is covered - from fresh grated sweet pie pumpkin, to pepitas and even pumpkin ale (star ingredient actually). Easy recipe that you can also use to bake pumpkin muffins.Â
Ingredients
Pumpkin Loaf
- 1 1/2 cup fresh pie pumpkin, grated, (or 1 cup pumpkin puree)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, plus more to toss grated pumpkin and sprinkle over loaf before baking
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice, divided
- 2 eggs
- 12 oz pumpkin ale OR apple cider OR soda water
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (no shell), reserve 1 tbsp to sprinkle over loaf before baking
- 2 tbsp butter, divided into 5 pieces to place on top of loaf before baking
Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter
- 1 stick butter, unsalted
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
Pumpkin Loaf
- Turn oven on to 350 F and grease a parchment paper lined 9x5 loaf pan.
- Cut, clean, peel and grate the pie pumpkin (enough to fill 1 1/2 cups), toss with 1 tsp pumpkin spice and 1 tbsp brown sugar OR measure out 1 cup of pureed pumpkin from can. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs, add the brown sugar, incorporate. Add the pumpkin ale (or substitute) and mix.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt and add the egg mixture. Stir to incorporate. Add the olive oil and stir until smooth.
- Fold in the grated pumpkin (or puree) and the pumpkin seeds. Transfer to loaf pan. Top with brown sugar, the reserved pumpkin seeds and the sliced butter.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool off completely before slicing or it will crumble.
Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter
- Cut a stick of butter into slices and bring to room temperature. Add pumpkin spice and honey and use an electric mixer to whip it (about a minute is enough). Slather over pumpkin loaf slices.
Notes
Save the rest of the pumpkin to use in a different recipe or simply bake it with brown sugar at 375 F until soft and enjoy with vanilla ice cream.
If making muffins reduce the baking time to about 45 minutes.Â
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 270Saturated Fat: 3.2gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 25mgCarbohydrates: 36.5gFiber: 1.5gSugar: 14.7g
Sara @ Cake Over Steak says
OMGGGG this is like pumpkin bread on steroids or something. It sounds so good!! Thanks for this great addition to the VPP. 😀 xoxo
CraftBeering says
Thank you Sara!
camila says
Beautiful pictures! I was starring at that first one for a good couple minutes. gorgeous lighting! And oh man how delicious is this bread!!!
CraftBeering says
Thank you Camila! You are someone we trust when it comes to pics – love your work and your baking!
Kelsey @ Appeasing a Food Geek says
That pumpkin ale addition is a great trick–one of my favorites! Thanks for sharing, and happy pumpkin day! xo
CraftBeering says
Thank you, Kelsey!
Nicoletta Sugarlovespices says
Wow wow, look at this beauty! I hate when summer ends, but I love when pumpkin season starts!! This is a gorgeous loaf, loved the video, and the use of that fork-shaped wooden spoon. I use that a lot, too!! 🙂
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
Fabulous way to celebrate pumpkin season! Will have to get my hands on some pumpkin ale pronto 🙂
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Need to give this one a try!! I’m pumpkin obsessed so clearly this one needs to happen. And with that butter? That must be a dream! And, like you, I can never wait for loaves to cool before I have to dig in. It’s worth it, if you ask me 😉
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen says
First, I have to say all of these pictures are SO BEAUTIFUL! I stared at that first one for several seconds, then scrolled back up to look at it again :). So pretty! Second, I need a loaf of this deliciousness right now. OMG pumpkin bread is the best isn’t it? I’m adding pumpkin ale to my shopping list now!