Good afternoon!
I’ve been a busy girl… ;)
Finally a moment to blog! You will see why tomorrow, I promise. :)
First up, I wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you who voted for me in the Project Food Blog Challenge #2!!!
I am absolutely shocked to say this, but I was chosen as ‘Reader’s Choice’ for Challenge #2. Thank you times a million. You don’t know how much this means to me! You consistently prove to me what amazingly supportive and caring readers you are and I love ya.
I advanced to Challenge #3 which is to throw a lavish dinner party. It is due tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow!!!!
They don’t mess around with the turnaround.
Luckily, I have been planning and plotting and scheming all week. Muhauhaha. And of course, inserting evil witch cackles when necessary.
When you see my post tomorrow, it will all become clear. Either that, or I am going to burn down the house in the process. It could go either way.
Back to the gingerbread for now though…
Mmmmm. Yummy.
Vegan never looked this sexy!
Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf with Spiced "Buttercream"
Yield
8 to 9 slices
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
When I bite into a slice of this loaf, I’m flooded with fond memories of the holidays, cozied up by the fire, kids running around shrieking and causing havoc (it can't just be our house!). This loaf is the perfect “bake it all fall and winter long” vegan treat and it’s been a holiday tradition in my house for the past decade. You can serve it for dessert or simply enjoy a gingery, cozy slice alongside a cup of coffee or tea with friends. I also love it served for breakfast, swapping the frosting for vegan butter. The blackstrap molasses makes it iron, calcium, and magnesium rich, too! The second best part about this recipe, aside from the delicious flavour, is that it fills the house with the most wonderful pumpkin pie aroma. This recipe was originally published on ohsheglows.com in 2010. The recipe has now been revised and rewritten complete with fresh photos and new tips. I recommend weighing the flour for best results and to read through the Tips section before you begin.
Ingredients
For the walnuts (optional):
- 1/2 cup (50 g) chopped walnut halves
For the wet ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon (10 g) chia seeds
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) water
- 1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened canned pumpkin purée
- 3 tablespoons (45 mL) pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup (120 g) natural cane sugar
- 1/3 cup (80 mL) grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil*
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) blackstrap molasses
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
For the dry ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cups (263 g) unbleached all-purpose flour**
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice***
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt (or scant 1/2 tsp fine sea salt)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 batch Spiced Vegan "Buttercream" Frosting
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper cut to fit the length of the pan cavity. Allow the ends to overhang the pan as this will help you lift out the loaf later.
- If using the walnuts, spread the chopped walnuts onto a baking sheet and toast at 350°F (180°C) for 5 to 8 minutes until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- For the wet ingredients: To a medium mixing bowl, add the chia seeds and water. Stir to combine and let sit for a couple minutes. Meanwhile, gather the rest of the wet ingredients. Now, add the pumpkin purée, maple syrup, sugar, oil, blackstrap molasses, and vanilla. Stir well until smooth.
- For the dry ingredients: To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cloves. Whisk to combine.
- Using a spatula, spoon the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients, making sure to scrape all of the wet ingredients out of the bowl. Stir well to combine just until there are no dry patches of flour left. Be sure not to overmix the batter. If using, add the walnuts and stir until just incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth it out as evenly as possible. Bake in the preheated oven for for 45 to 55 minutes, until the loaf slowly springs back when pressed in a few spots and when a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- While the loaf bakes, prepare the Spiced Vegan "Buttercream" Frosting.
- Allow the loaf to cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan. After 30 minutes, carefully lift out the loaf using the parchment paper overhang as handles, and transfer it to a cooling rack to fully cool.
- Once fully cooled, frost the top of the loaf with the buttercream. Slice and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. If freezing a frosted loaf, chill the loaf in the freezer (uncovered) just until the frosting is firm to the touch, then remove it from the freezer. Next, wrap the loaf in plastic wrap before placing it into a large freezer-safe zip bag or airtight container.
Tip:
* If using the melted coconut oil option, keep in mind that the loaf will firm up if chilled in the fridge (due to the coconut oil solidifying when chilled). I recommend letting the loaf sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving so it can soften up a bit.
** I recommend weighing the flour for best results. If you don’t own a kitchen scale, I use the “scoop-and-shake-until-level” method of scooping my flour out of the bag. This simply means that I briefly stir the flour in the bag, insert a measuring cup into the bag, scoop a heaping amount of flour using the measuring cup, and then shake the cup side-to-side until the flour is level. You can substitute 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (284 grams) white/light spelt flour in place of the all-purpose flour, if desired. I highly recommend Hockley Valley Premium Light Spelt Flour for my Canadian friends if you can find it as it is very smooth and similar to all-purpose flour in terms of its refined texture. Our family also prefers the flavour of this loaf made with white/light spelt flour compared to all-purpose flour, but they are both great. I don't recommend using whole spelt flour as it creates a dense loaf.
*** Instead of using a store-bought pumpkin pie spice, you can make it at home using my Pumpkin Pie Spice recipe.
Nut-free tip: This recipe is naturally nut-free as long as you don't include the optional walnuts.
High altitude baking tips: If baking at a high altitude, bake the loaf at 375°F (190°C) instead of 350°F (180°C). Loaves baked at a high altitude will probably have some sinking in the middle of the loaf, but this is normal. Be sure to test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the loaf and also making sure the loaf slowly springs back when touched in a few areas.
This frosting is killer.
I have been dying to inhale this Gingerbread!!!! But alas, it is for the dinner party.
I did manage to sneak one heel of the bread (with leftover buttercream) and it was outrageously good.
The spiced buttercream makes this bread.
Major Yikes:
I’ve got 45 minutes until my guests arrive and lots left to prepare! I better get a move on. ;)
Here goes nothing…
I made this over the weekend and it barely made it through!!! It came out SO well. I didn’t have molasses, so I subbed it for a little bit less than a 1/4 cup of brown sugar (read this online) and added a smidge more maple syrup. Because it lacked the molasses, it looked more pumpkin-y. I was worried about making these substitutions, but it couldn’t have been better. Loved the toasted walnuts in it!!! Will deff be making this again :)
Don’t you love when something turns out so good even when you change it up a lot? I’m so happy it did! Thanks for sharing your tweaks, Shana! Now I’m curious to try it without molasses next time.
This looks so yummy! I’m going to try this out for a holiday party. Do you think this recipe would work as cupcakes? If so, any adjustments or ideas on cooking time?
Hey Nikki, I haven’t tried making the pumpkin gingerbread cupcake-style so I can’t say for sure, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! Generally my vegan muffins take around 22 to 26 minutes at 350°F (bake until a toothpick comes out clean). I’d love to hear how it goes if you try them out as cupcakes :)
I didn’t follow the recipe exactly, so unfortunately, I can’t rate it, but I’m sure it’s also delicious as written. I was out of regular sugar, so I subbed in date sugar (granulated dates) and upped the maple syrup to a quarter cup (since date sugar is less sweet than normal sugar) and reduced the molasses to 3 Tbs to keep the amount of liquid the same. I also skipped the walnuts and added little bits of candied ginger to mimic the pumpkin gingerbread from my favorite DC bakeshop. Cooked just under 50 min in my oven, the result: moist, delicious pumpkin gingerbread! My version also rose a lot more than the photos so it’s closer to the height of a normal sweet bread. I think this stands alone well without frosting, but I mean, if you have frosting ingredients and frosting-making time, you should always frosting. I did and it was delightful.
Hello Angela, I don’t think you check these comments anymore but this may come in handy for other bakers. I made this using the gram measurements as suggested, after making this recipe multiple times over the past 10 years without using a scale. The gram measurements are extremely off. The loaf has baked gooey in the middle and the flavor is incorrect. It is just not good unfortunately. I was certain this was my own user error, as none of your recipes have failed me yet. I measured using cups and then weighed out what I had measured. The measurements are very off. I then found a cups to grams baking converter online and entered your recipe. Again, the grams are incorrect for the measurements you have listed. I think this recipe may need an update with measurements- something is not right! I am so sad I wasted ingredients and time today, but I hope this will help others who are baking this delicious loaf! I have enjoyed it in the past and will put the scale away for this one.
Hi Sonia,
Thank you so much for your feedback here! I do still check comments but I am a bit slower than usual as I’m taking time away with my baby boy. :) Thank you so much for letting me know about your experience using the gram measurements in this recipe and I’m so sorry this happened to you (I am so glad you have enjoyed this for 10 years though!!! We have too!). I’m unsure why this happened as this was tested over 10 times by myself and my tester Nicole recently (using both cup measurements and also weighing the ingredients numerous times on our food scales) and we didn’t experience any gooey/underbaked results. Do you mind if I ask a few troubleshooting questions to see if we can figure this one out? How many minutes did you bake the loaf for and what temp? Is there any chance that your scale may be off? I’m also curious which flour you use – all-purpose white flour or light/white spelt flour – as both of these call for different amounts which I’m sure you saw in the notes about using spelt. =) Anyway, I hope it goes better next time and please let me know if I can help with anything else!! xo Angela