There’s nothing like the smell of this bread baking on a chilly autumn day. Not-too-sweet, flavoured with warm spices and crunchy walnuts, this pumpkin loaf cake is fall comfort food for sure! The recipe yields two 9×5 breads which freeze extremely well — but you can easily halve this recipe if you like. I also recommend using canned pumpkin puree here–homemade puree tends to be too watery. If you want to use homemade pumpkin puree, make sure to strain most of the water out of it before incorporating it into this recipe.

Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Check out my Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake and Pumpkin Tart.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup maple syrup or honey
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 60-70 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean.