Reorganizing my pantry this past weekend, I discovered that I had one last can of pumpkin puree left for the season. I tend to do this every year…buy a little too much of the seasonal products I love. Not wanting to waste it, I decided to make one last pumpkin themed recipe before moving on to my winter seasonal favorite, cranberries!
PUMPKIN BREAD!
A few weeks ago, I made this recipe for The Best Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from the food blog, The Butter Half. Being a traditionalist when it comes to cookies, my go-to pumpkin cookie recipe is for pumpkin-spice walnut cookies. But after reading The Butter Half’s recipe, I was intrigued by the pumpkin/chocolate combination. But I was especially intrigued by their take on adding sour cream for its acidity. They were absolutely delicious! I am sure the chocolate had something to do with it, but I was curious about what would happen if I added sour cream to pumpkin bread.
I starting with one of my favorite Pumpkin Bread recipes, Giulia Melucci’s “The Pumpkin Bread I Can’t Stop Eating” from Food52.com. The current recipe on the Food52 website has been updated since I first “printed it” back in 2013 (I was obviously late to the Pinterest party, which launched in 2010!). But what I love about the recipe has not changed. Pumpkin, apples, walnuts and olive oil! In addition to adding sour cream, I wanted to amp up the spice so I added ground ginger to the suite of spices in the recipe. The bread came out super moist with a nutty crunch and a wonderful pumpkin-spice flavor! If anyone makes this recipe, please drop me a note and let me know how it turns out!
RECIPE for PUMPKIN APPLE WALNUT BREAD
*Adapted from Giulia Melucci’s 2009 recipe posted on Food52.com. (The original post as printed by me in December 2013 is no longer available on the website. This link features the original recipe but in a post by a differnt author.)
Yields 1 loaf = about 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 medium apple cored, peeled and chopped. I used a Gala, but here is a link to an excellent guide on which apples are best suited for baking.
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan with cooking oil spray using a paper towel to spread and coat the pan thoroughly. Set the pan aside.
2. Using an electric stand mixer, mix sugar and olive oil until combined. Next add the eggs, pumpkin, sour cream, and apple and mix until combined.
3. In a separate large bowl, mix the flours, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder until well combined.
4. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour and spice mixture and stir until combined. Next add the walnuts and stir until mixed in well.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
6. When done baking, let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then turn the loaf out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The bread can be kept tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to a week, if it last that long!
ENJOY!
(Photos by: Me!)