Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Pumpkin walnut bread

I don't know why we call these kinds of things "bread." It's really a cake, and that's what they're called in French. Since I had the bounty of a nice big pumpkin, I've been making raviolis, timbales, and this cake. I also froze some of the flesh for another use later in the season.

Freshly baked pumpkin and walnut bread. Yummy!

This cake is made with walnuts (given to us by a friend whose tree produced a lot this year) and gingembre confit (candied ginger) that we got at the Asian market. All very good stuff! Here's the recipe if you're interested. It's my own, adapted from various other pumpkin bread recipes.

Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Butter a loaf pan and put it into the refrigerator until ready to fill. In a large bowl, mix together:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
In another bowl, whisk together:
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup of plain yogurt, milk, or water, whatever you like.
Blend in until well incorporated:
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée (fresh roasted or canned, but not raw)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Stir in:
  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
Pour the batter into the buttered loaf pan and bake for 55 to 65 minutes. Test with a wooden skewer; when it comes out of the loaf clean, the cake is done. Cool on a rack then turn out and slice with a serrated knife.

11 comments:

  1. Is this bread as sweet as cake? (I'm thinking why it's called bread) :D

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  2. Thanks, Walt...I'm gonna make this one for sure!! Since I'm allergic to nuts, I'll substitute roasted seeds.

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  3. I like "bread" because it sounds healthier. Maybe that's why us Americans are so overweight.

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  4. Wow, that looks fabulous.... fabulous!

    Judy

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  5. That's a picture perfect pumpkin bread! I sure it would take first prize at the fair.

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  6. Well, you won't have to worry when the food runs out. But I haven't noticed any runs on the local markets, so people can't be too worried about it....yet.

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  7. I've saved this recipe and sent it to my kids (whose ages range from 28 to 35). Quick breads are delicious and can be done quickly. And this is a new combination for me.

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  8. We went to the local pumpkin patch and purchased six pie pumpkins at fifty cents each last weekend. I processed them today and ended up with six quarts of beautiful pulp.
    I made Walt's cake/bread. It is cooling and we will probably have it for breakfast. It looks and smells beautiful.
    The seeds are soaking in salt water.

    Thanks for the timely post.

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  9. vtt, not as sweet as a real cake, but sweet. I think it's called bread because of the shape.

    bill, sounds good. What kind of seeds?

    rick, could be... maybe we should start calling it "birthday bread."

    judy, :)

    evelyn, we eat it up too fast for it to make it to a fair...

    starman, well, you know how the news media can be. Hype, hype, hype.

    kristi, cool.

    cubby, ;)

    harriett, that seems like a great deal for pumpkins. Do people not buy the eating kind in great numbers? Are the carving ones more expensive? Glad you made the recipe!

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  10. Walt, looks delish! I made some the other day... Ken pointed me to your version. Yum-O!

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Tell me what you think!