Pumpkin Loaf

One of my guilty pleasures this time of the year is the pumpkin loaf from Starbucks. I just can’t get enough of the stuff. Naturally, I thought… why not try and make it at home?

I’ve tested nearly a dozen different combinations of spices, flour, eggs, and pumpkin purée… and this was the clear winner in my family, every time. This recipe gives the loaf a soft and moist texture, with the perfect balance of fall spices (sans the heartburn) — do I dare say, maybe even better than the Starbucks version?

I added some chopped pumpkin seeds to the top just to stay true to the original, but they are totally optional. I actually had to check several different stores in my area before I could find them.

This is a pretty quick and simple recipe to make. Just mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl, all of the wet ingredients in another, combine, and bake! The hardest part is letting the loaf cool before you cut a slice.

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

With a pastry brush (or just your fingers), brush a standard-size loaf pan with softened butter. Sprinkle some flour into the pan to evenly coat the bottom and inner sides. Then, tap out and discard any excess flour.

Cut a piece of parchment paper roughly 15 inches long by 8½ inches wide. Lay the parchment paper into the loaf pan so that the shorter measurement (8½ inches) fits the length of the pan and the larger measurement (15 inches) spills over the width of the pan. Trim ends slightly, allowing some extra on both sides to help lift out the loaf after baking.

Then, combine all of the dry ingredients: mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium-sized bowl.

In a separate, larger bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients: mix together the eggs, pumpkin purée, white sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, half a a time, and mix with a wire whisk until all the ingredients are just combined. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and spread it evenly using a spatula or the back of a spoon.

While optional, I like to sprinkle the top of the loaf with about 1 tablespoon of chopped pumpkin seeds. They will gently toast in the oven and come out perfect!

Bake the loaf for about 70 minutes, until it has risen and a wooden skewer can be poked into it and come out clean.

Pumpkin Loaf This quick and simple pumpkin loaf is perfectly Fall-ready, especially when you’re looking for an at-home version of the Starbucks favorite. I just can’t get enough of it. The hardest part is letting it cool before you cut a slice! 5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings 1 loaf

Category Sweet

Ingredients

  

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For Preparing the Loaf Pan

• ▢ 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 1–2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Dry Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tsp baking soda
• ▢ ½ tsp baking powder
• ▢ ½ tsp kosher salt
• ▢ 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground cloves
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground ginger

Wet Ingredients

• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 1 ½ cup pumpkin purée
• ▢ 1 cup white sugar
• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Topping (optional)

• ▢ 1–2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• With a pastry brush (or your fingers), brush loaf pan with softened butter.
  1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• Sprinkle flour into the pan to evenly coat the bottom and inner sides. Tap out and discard excess flour.
  1–2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• Cut a piece of parchment paper roughly 15” by 8½”. Lay parchment paper into loaf pan so that the shorter measurement (8½”) fits the length of the pan and the larger measurement (15”) spills over the width of the pan. Trim ends slightly.
• In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger.
  2 cup all-purpose flour

  1 tsp baking soda

  1/2 tsp baking powder

  1/2 tsp kosher salt

  2 tsp ground cinnamon

  1/4 tsp ground cloves

  1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

  1/4 tsp ground ginger
• In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin purée, white sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.
  1 1/2 cup pumpkin purée

  1 cup white sugar

  1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

  1/2 cup vegetable oil

  1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

  3 large eggs
• Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients, half at a time, and mix with a wire whisk until just combined.
• Pour batter into loaf pan and spread evenly using a spatula or spoon.
• Sprinkle top with chopped pumpkin seeds.
  1–2 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped
• Bake until loaf has risen and a wooden skewer can be poked into it and come out clean (about 70 minutes).
• Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Notes

1. Look for a pumpkin purée that is slightly thick in texture (think: mashed potatoes). Some brands can be quite “liquidy” and won’t work as well in this recipe.