spiced pumpkin loaf
This moist, nutty loaf makes a lovely alternative to banana bread. I’m not sure if it’s the baking aromas or the fact of having a nourishing snack sitting on the bench smiling at me, but whenever I make it, I feel like my chaotic house becomes just that bit more of a home. If you have ground cardamom on hand, you might like to add 1/2 tsp of that too, with the cinnamon.
See Variation for Thermomix method.
Ingredients
2 eggs
60g (1/4 cup) milk
120g (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil or macadamia oil
155g (1 cup) grated pumpkin (cut pumpkin into cubes for Thermomix method)
100g (approx. 1) peeled banana, mashed (break banana into pieces for Thermomix method)
80g (1/2 cup) wholemeal self-raising flour
100g (2/3 cup) self-raising flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
100g (1/2 cup) preferred brown sugar (see Tips)
60g (1/2 cup) almond meal (ground almonds) (use whole almonds for Thermomix method)
40g (1/3 cup) chopped walnuts (optional) (use whole walnuts for Thermomix method)
Butter, to serve (optional)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Grease a loaf tin (25 × 10 × 7cm) and line with baking paper, extending paper over two long sides of loaf tin. Set aside.
2. Place eggs, milk, oil, pumpkin and mashed banana into a large bowl and mix until well combined. Sift in flours (returning any sifted out husks from the wholemeal flour to the bowl) and cinnamon. Add sugar, almond meal and walnuts (if using), and mix until combined.
3. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf tin. Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean (see Tips). Allow loaf to cool in tin for 20 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, cut into slices and serve with butter (optional).
Tips
- Use your preferred brown sugar in this recipe, either regular brown sugar or a less refined option such as rapadura sugar (panela) or coconut sugar. (Note that the weights of these sugars can vary, so the gram measurement will be more accurate than the cup measurement.)
- If your loaf is golden-brown before the end of the cooking time, lightly cover it with aluminium foil to prevent the top from over-browning.
- Nut-free loaf: Omit the walnuts and replace the almond meal with an equal quantity of ground seed mix (such as a mixture of sunflower seeds, pepitas and linseeds, milled until finely ground).
Variation
Thermomix method
1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease and line a loaf tin (25 × 10 × 7 cm) with baking paper, extending baking paper over two sides of loaf tin, and set aside.
2. Place walnuts (optional) into mixing bowl and chop 2 sec/speed 5 or until coarsely chopped. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.
3. Place almonds into mixing bowl and mill 15 sec/speed 9 or until finely ground.
4. Add pumpkin and banana and mix 6 sec/speed 6 or until pumpkin is grated and banana is mashed. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.
5. Add eggs, milk, sugar and oil and combine 10 sec/Reverse/speed 3.
6. Add flours, cinnamon and reserved walnuts (optional) and combine 15 sec/Reverse/speed 3. Pour mixture into prepared loaf tin and bake for 60–70 minutes (150°C) or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. Allow loaf to cool in tin for 20 minutes, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, cut into slices and serve with butter (optional).
