Because sometimes you want pumpkin and spices but don’t feel like pie.
Recipe based on Joan’s Pumpkin Loaf by Made About Maida.
Gather:
2 + 1/2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups mashed pumpkin*
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
(Dragonfruit is unrelated.)
Then:
- Preheat the oven to 175° C and butter a 2L square Pyrex baking dish or large loaf tin.
- If you’re starting from a whole pumpkin, peel, chop, steam and mash the pumpkin now.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
- Chop the dates and walnuts and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment, if you have one) or a large bowl with a hand mixer, lightly beat the eggs.
- Add the sugars and continue mixing til combined.
- Add the oil and ditto.
- Set aside the mixer and switch to a wooden spoon. Add the pumpkin and mix until combined.
- Stir in the dates and walnuts.
- Add the flour about one-third at a time, mixing with the wooden spoon until you have a smooth (well, smoothish) batter.
- Transfer to the baking dish or loaf tin and bake for 70–80 minutes, or until a bamboo skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. The pumpkin can make it very moist, so reduce the heat to about 150° C and cook for a little longer if it’s still a bit gluggy.
- Remove from the oven and leave in the dish/tin on a cooling rack until it’s about room temperature (to keep in the moisture) before turning it out to finish cooling en plein air.
Notes:
This freezes even better than the banana bread. When completely cooled, cut into single portions, wrap in cling wrap, and freeze until needed/wanted. It’s soft enough to eat straight from the freezer (and the dates will be extra chewy).
(It’s also good when still warm from the oven, spread with soft, salted butter…)
*If you’re lucky enough to live in the US, go ahead and used canned pumpkin. If you’re in Australia (where we have to do things the hard way) peel, steam and mash a small butternut pumpkin. Use what you need for this recipe, and keep any leftover for pie, ice-cream, pudding, whoopie pies…
The Lucky Baker 