Pumpkin Gingerbread

This has to be the weirdest fall ever. High seventies on the first day of November. Beautiful and sunny, though the wind has picked up a bit. The gusts come and go, stirring up leaves from the trees, so it's beginning to at least feel like autumn. Trick-or-treaters paraded through the neighborhood last night, leaving a trail of candy wrappers and smiles. Mr. Jack-o-lantern is still sitting on his perch (maybe we'll light him up again tonight!). We almost always have extra pumpkin sitting around this time of year, either puréed and in cans, or fresh. Two of my favorite sweet quick breads are pumpkin bread and gingerbread. This recipe (an experiment really) I'm delighted to report, happily combines the two—pumpkin and gingerbread. Spicy, molasses-y, pumpkin-y. Easy too. Happy fall!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes

• Cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (200 g) all purpose flour
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 cup (240 ml) pumpkin purée*
  
• 1/2 cup (1 stick, or 112 g) butter, melted
  
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup molasses
  
• 1 Tbsp finely minced candied or fresh ginger (optional)
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
  
• 3 Tbsp water
  
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

* To make pumpkin purée from pieces of leftover pumpkin, just roast or boil the pieces until tender, then remove the skin. Smash the cooked pumpkin with a fork. If using a whole pumpkin, sugar pumpkins work best. Cut in half, scoop out the strings and seeds, bake the pumpkin halves at 350°F on a foil-lined baking pan until soft, about 45 minutes to an hour. When cool, scoop out the flesh and mash with a fork.

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray or butter to keep the pumpkin gingerbread from sticking to the pan.
2 In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3 In another bowl, use a wooden spoon to mix together the pumpkin purée, melted butter, sugar, molasses, fresh or candied ginger, eggs, and water.
4 Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the raisins if using. Stir only until incorporated.
5 Place the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes, until a bamboo skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then gently run a knife around the edge of the loaf and invert the loaf to remove it from the pan. Let it cool on a rack for 30 minutes or longer.
The loaf's flavor will improve with time. If you cut into it while it is still a bit warm, it may be crumbly. In which case you may want to make your slices with a bread knife.
Yield: Makes one loaf.

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