This incredibly moist pumpkin bread is one of my favorite loaf cakes. It’s easy to make, fragrant, flavorful, and pleasantly soft. It also stays moist for days.
Why is it called “bread”?
Of course, pumpkin bread is not a traditional yeast bread, but rather a quick bread or a loaf cake. “Quick bread” refers to cakes that are made by mixing the dry and wet ingredients separately and then combining them before baking the batter in a loaf pan.
Why will you love this pumpkin bread?
Even if you’ve never baked before, you can make this loaf cake. You don’t need any special equipment, just a few bowls. Although it’s simple, it’s so delicious, moist, and full of rich flavor that it doesn’t need any extras, like frosting or icing. Isn’t it amazing that you can impress your family and friends with such an easy recipe?
Pumpkin bread ingredient notes
Pumpkin puree is the star of this recipe. It makes the cake moist and soft with a sunny color. Together with a blend of spices, it creates the cake’s signature flavor. For a very moist result, use homemade pumpkin puree without straining it. Alternatively, if using canned pumpkin puree, replace a third of its weight with orange juice.
Coconut oil. I prefer oil for liquid-rich batters because it creates a softer crumb that rises higher. Cold-pressed coconut oil adds a subtle coconut flavor that complements the other flavors in this pumpkin bread. There isn’t too much of it, so the flavor isn’t overpowering, and the cake isn’t too heavy.
Brown sugar contains molasses, which intensifies the flavor and color of this cake. Because it is acidic, brown sugar reacts with baking soda, improving the cake’s texture. You can replace it with white sugar only if you add orange juice; otherwise, baking soda will not fully react, resulting in a soapy taste and denser texture.
Eggs. This pumpkin bread contains a lot of moisture, but don’t worry — it won’t sink. There are enough eggs in this recipe to balance the structure.
Baking powder and soda combination. Baking powder creates most of the vertical lift. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients like molasses and orange juice, creating tiny air bubbles that fluff up the batter and give it a soft, fluffy texture. You wouldn’t get such texture with baking powder alone.
Spice mixture. I’m mixing my spice from scratch, just because I’m a control freak and like to control the flavor completely. If you prefer, you can change the listed spices with a pumpkin spice mixture.
Orange zest adds a bright note and character to the flavor symphony. It pairs so well with pumpkin spices that you’ll want to add it to all your pumpkin recipes! This cake is also incredibly fragrant thanks to the orange zest.
Pumpkin Bread
- Beginner Friendly
This pumpkin bread is incredibly moist, easy to make, fragrant, flavorful, and pleasantly soft. It stays moist for days!
Perform time: 15 min
Bake time: 60 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Ingredients
Choose a baking pan size:
Yield: 10 servings
- 210 g / 7.4 oz wheat flour (all-purpose or plain)
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 3 medium eggs (~150 g / 5.3 oz)
- 300 g / 10.5 oz brown sugar (unrefined, Demerara)
- 300 g / 10.5 oz pumpkin puree (unstrained)*
- 6 g / ½ tsp orange zest (orange part only)
- 90 g / 3.2 oz unrefined coconut oil
* Use either 300 g / 10.5 oz of homemade unstrained pumpkin puree or 200 g / 7 oz of canned pumpkin puree + 100 g / 3.5 oz of orange juice.
Yield: 7 servings
- 140 g / 4.9 oz wheat flour (all-purpose or plain)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ⅓ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅔ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅕ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅕ tsp ground cloves
- 2 medium eggs (~100 g / 3.5 oz)
- 200 g / 7 oz brown sugar (unrefined, Demerara)
- 200 g / 7 oz pumpkin puree (unstrained)*
- 4 g / ⅓ tsp orange zest (orange part only)
- 60 g / 2.1 oz unrefined coconut oil
* Use either 200 g / 7 oz of homemade unstrained pumpkin puree or 135 g / 4.7 of canned pumpkin puree + 65 g / 2.3 oz of orange juice.
Yield: 10 servings
- 210 g / 7.4 oz wheat flour (all-purpose or plain)
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 3 medium eggs (~150 g / 5.3 oz)
- 300 g / 10.5 oz brown sugar (unrefined, Demerara)
- 300 g / 10.5 oz pumpkin puree (unstrained)*
- 6 g / ½ tsp orange zest (orange part only)
- 90 g / 3.2 oz unrefined coconut oil
* Use either 300 g / 10.5 oz of homemade unstrained pumpkin puree or 200 g / 7 oz of canned pumpkin puree + 100 g / 3.5 oz of orange juice.
Directions
1.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, then preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F (without a fan).
2.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Mix well and set aside.
3.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and orange zest. Mix until combined.
4.
Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan and add it to the batter. Mix it in.
5.
Sift in the flour and spice mixture, mix just until combined, and no dry flour is visible. Be careful not to overmix.
6.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Extra tips for success
- For this recipe, I use my homemade pumpkin puree made from sugar squash that hasn’t been strained. If you use strained pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin puree, replace a third of its weight with orange juice, as noted in the ingredient list. You can use the same orange to juice that you used to zest.
If you prefer, you can use pumpkin spice instead of all the listed spices.
After adding the flour, be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixing promotes gluten formation, resulting in a dense and gummy cake. Stop mixing once the dry flour is no longer visible.
- Don’t worry if your batter looks a bit runnier. It depends on the liquid content of the pumpkin puree you are using.
Storage directions
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.
