PUMPKIN PIE. Who doesn’t love it? I would like to speak to the person who doesn’t share this particular holiday comfort food passion and belittle/berate them! What’s wrong with these people?? Have they no nose, no taste buds, no heart?!! If you are one of these pumpkin-pie haters I would like for you to turn off your computer, lock yourself in the bathroom and think about what poor taste you have!
…Ok, sorry I’m back and I’ve calmed myself down… In all seriousness though, I have an abusive love for my orange-skinned friend, Mr. Jack O’Lantern. This season I have made him into a pumpkin ginger bisque, a classic pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes and the namesake of this post: pumpkin loaves. Gosh, more like pumpkin loves—I have actually lost track of how many times I have baked these. I find many excuses to make this recipe: for an afternoon tea my mom is hosting, for a friend’s thanksgiving dinner or sometimes just because I have a selfish craving for it.
Before I get to the actual recipe, here is an interesting pumpkin tidbit:
Pumpkin pie has rich warm mellow flavours and is often served during memorable fun festive times. Perhaps some of these features help explain why the scent of pumpkin pie can actually be arousing for some people, even to the point of sexual arousal (!). Smell, as many of us have probably noticed, is strongly linked to emotion and memory. It is also linked to attraction (which in turn can be linked back to emotion and memory) in a very powerful way. When a smell triggers highly charged memories and emotions it can lead to arousal (loosely defined here as increased blood flow or excitement). There have been a series of studies conducted by Hirsch and his colleagues (2004) about smell and attraction and one in particular measured the blood flow to the nether regions of both men and women while exposing them to a plethora of scents and scent combinations. It turns out that while the women in the study apparently experienced the most blood flow increase to the curious combination of cucumber and good ‘n plenty (that black licorice candy!) men were the most turned on by the combination of lavender and…pumpkin pie! See, I’m telling you, there’s something magical about this squash. I don’t think it’s a coincidence for example, that a pumpkin turned into a royal carriage in Cinderella.
Anyways, with that in mind let’s get on with the baking:
I originally discovered this recipe on the wonderful site epicurious while searching for ways to recreate the warm comforting taste of pumpkin pie—the magical (and apparently seductive!) blend of the baking spice trifecta (cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) with the earthy mellow flavour of pumpkin–without having to add the heavy cream or buttery crust. Alright, who am I kidding? The recipe I’m about to dish out is not light by any means, but! I have named it a “loaf” rather than a “cake” which gives it more of a down-to-earth and generally nutritious feel, right?
Yes…so, as I previously mentioned, the recipe originally came from the epicurious archives, however I have made some major adaptations and like to think of the pecan pumpkin loaf as my own creation now.
You will notice that the recipe calls for solid packed pumpkin, but if you want to use a fresh pumpkin, feel free. If you do make this decision—perhaps pumpkins are in season or maybe you just like your baking projects to be more challenging & authentic feeling (ugh, way to upstage me!) —I would suggest picking out a relatively small pumpkin. Apparently the large pumpkins are primarily bred for Halloween/jack-o’-latern season and due to this abnormally large size they have a resulting watery texture and are less flavourful overall. I personally use 100% pure canned pumpkin and think that the consistency and taste are excellent, so I’d suggest you just calm down and stay away from the patch and reach for the can opener instead.
This recipe makes 1 large loaf:
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 large eggs ( An egg plus an egg yolk is good)
- 1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, plus more for the top
- 1/2 cup of raisins
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend.
- Mix in eggs and pumpkin.
- Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl.
- Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.
- Mix in pecans and raisins, if desired (other suggestions: coconut flakes, walnuts)
- Pour into loaf tin and sprinkle more pecans on top (creates a yummy crust!)
- Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes
A pumpkin loaf that I brought to a Thanksgiving dinner
