This delicious spiced pumpkin bread recipe is rich with flavor and light, like a cake. It combines cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to create the perfect spiced pumpkin blend.
Pumpkin bread is a dessert favorite for my family. We actually eat it year-round. Instead of cake pops at Starbucks, the kids get to share a slice of pumpkin bread with Mom. However, as soon as autumn weather starts to settle in, we switch from buying pumpkin bread to baking it at home. My husband tweaked his family’s recipe to create the perfect spiced pumpkin bread. It is light, like a traditional cake. This is different than many other pumpkin bread recipes, which are sometimes dense and heavy. Starbucks’ pumpkin loaf is especially wet and dense.
Our family’s recipe is also extremely flavorful. Rather than buying a premade pumpkin spice blend, we add the spices individually. This ensures that there are equal parts of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in each loaf. I firmly believe that the correct spice ratios make all the difference with pumpkin desserts.
Making Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Start making this spiced pumpkin bread recipe by mixing the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices to the bowl. The recipe calls for one “heaping” teaspoon of each spice. Heaping simply means that you don’t level off the spices when measuring them. This means that technically there is more than a teaspoon of each spice. It’s okay. Just measure with your heart. Whisk all of the dry ingredients together incorporating the spices throughout the mixture. Since all of the other ingredients are the same color, the spices are the only way to truly measure this.
In a separate, and larger, mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients together. The wet ingredients are the eggs, oil, and pumpkin. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Be sure to break up any large chunks of egg.
After mixing all of the wet ingredients, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl.
Why Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately
Mixing wet and dry ingredients separately helps ensure a smooth batter free of clumps. If you mixed the wet and dry together from the beginning, then the bread would most likely contain chunks of ingredients. This results in bites that may be especially salty or contain clumps of flour. By mixing the ingredients separately, it’s easier to ensure each ingredient is incorporated evenly.
Remember to Flour the Pan
After mixing the batter thoroughly, pour it into two glass loaf pans. Grease and lightly flour the pans before adding the batter. Greasing the pan helps ensure the loaf is easier to remove from the pan. Flouring pans before adding the batter serves two purposes. The first is that the flour helps the batter rise evenly along the sides of the pan. It also creates a barrier between the butter or oil on the outside of the pan. This results in a drier outer layer for the pumpkin bread. I prefer this to a wet, greasy outer layer.
Patience is Key with Pumpkin
Bake the pumpkin loafs at 350 degrees for 1 hour. You can check to make sure the bread is fully cooked using the toothpick test. Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf and pull it out. If the toothpick comes out completely clean, then the pumpkin bread is done. If not, then it may need a little more time in the oven.
Once the pumpkin bread is finished baking allow it to cool for about 15 – 20 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Now, this is where patience really comes into play. I recommend allowing the pumpkin bread to completely cool before serving. This typically takes about an hour. Do not skip this step! Waiting an additional hour gives the spices time to further develop. Similar to how many curries and chilis taste better the next day. The dessert will be even more delicious if you wait! I’m also a firm believer that pumpkin desserts taste better chilled or at room temp. It’s seriously just better that way!
Pumpkin spice and desserts for autumn may seem overplayed or a little too hyped, but there’s a reason for the hype. A slice of spiced pumpkin bread is the perfect dessert on a cool fall evening. It also goes great with coffee in the morning! Cheers to pumpkin season!
For more delicious pumpkin dessert ideas, check out my recipes for Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies and Pumpkin Scones!
Spiced Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cups oil
- 15 oz canned pumpkin
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- In a large bowl, mix the pumpkin, eggs, and oil until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until blended.
- Pour the mixture into 2 bread loaf pans.
- Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.
- Once cooked, allow the bread to cool for at least 1 hour before serving.
Hi, i am a absolutely Pumpkin any thing LOVER!! However as we get older the pumpkin sweets seems to “stick” with on !! I was gonna make it and substitute, Stevia for the reg sugar. However, I’d like to use Almond flour instead of reg flour but have never used it yet. Any suggestions on using almond flour? I’d LOVE your input? Thanks
Hi Jacqueline! It definitely depends on the flour! I know there are gluten-free flours that are “1 to 1,” meaning that it’s an exact substitution for regular flours. I don’t usually bake with almond flour, so I don’t have any suggestions beyond that.