This Spiced Pumpkin Loaf is one of those loaves that’s nourishing, filling and just sweet enough to satisfy a sweet craving (without leaving you with a sugar crash 20 minutes later). It’s a variation of my Easy Pumpkin Loaf, which I’ve lightly sweetened and studded with pecan nuts and dark chocolate pieces. Because I like “bits” in my baking.
It’s gluten-free, dairy-free and depending on your stance on buckwheat (which is technically a seed) it’s grain-free as well. I’ve recently been using buckwheat flour quite a bit in my baking to reduce the need for large amounts of nut meals (which, in large quantities, tend to make me bloated). I also love the slight earthiness of the buckwheat flour in contrast to the sweet spices and dark chocolate. And the pumpkin does it’s job to keep the loaf moist.
I love to make the loaf on the weekend and freeze it in slices to warm up during the week for a snack or treat. You can wrap up a nice thick slice to take to work for afternoon tea, or have it in the morning if you’re in the mood for a quick, sweet breakfast (that’s a hell of a lot better for you than many store-bought loaves, which are usually loaded with refined sugar and flour).
You might also like to try this Easy Gluten Free Dairy Free Pumpkin Bread. It’s a variation of this recipe and comes with an amazing maple glaze. The pumpkin bread is sweetly spiced, moist and delicious. You can enjoy it on its own as a healthy snack, or serve it with the glaze for a pumpkin spice dessert.
Serves
12 slices
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
1 hour 10 mins
Ingredients
- 360g pumpkin purée (see Notes below)
- 55g melted coconut oil
- 3 free-range eggs
- 100g rice malt syrup
- 140g buckwheat flour
- 100g almond meal
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice powder
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg powder
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 90g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
- 120g pecan nuts, broken into pieces
Method
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1Preheat your oven to 160°C (fan-forced) and line a 10 x 20 cm loaf tin with baking paper.
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2Beat the pumpkin purée, melted coconut oil, eggs and rice malt syrup together in a large bowl. Add the buckwheat flour, almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt and stir everything together until just combined. Fold through the dark chocolate and 80g of the pecan nuts.
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3Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle over the remaining 40g of pecan nuts and lightly press them into the top of the mixture with your fingers.
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4Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing it up with a serrated knife.
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5Store in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
Check out this post I wrote on how to make your own pumpkin purée to use in this recipe.
Just made this loaf and my partner and I absolutely loved it! It’s moist and a beautiful balance of flavours. Will definitely be making it again! Im also not great at baking but this was really simple so thank you 🤍
So great to hear you both enjoyed it 🙂 I haven’t made this one for a while, so I might have to make it again!