Pumpkin loaf

From the SILVIE kitchen.

We used to serve this loaf by the slice with roasted plums or apple butter. It’s adapted from my banana loaf, with roasted pumpkin purée, five spice and a grating of nutmeg. Lovely with coffee, and particularly good toasted with a decent wedge of salted butter.

Makes one 2lb loaf / 8–10 slices

Ingredients

280g pumpkin purée, cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
167ml vegetable oil
40ml oat milk
120g caster sugar
240g plain flour
A pinch of Maldon sea salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp five spice
A grating of nutmeg

First, the purée

Choose a sweet, dense-fleshed cooking pumpkin or squash. Kabocha is lovely; butternut works well too. Big carving pumpkins tend to be watery, stringy and less flavoursome, so aren’t my first choice for baking.

Remove the seeds and cut into wedges. Roast at 180°C fan for around 35–50 minutes, until completely soft. Scoop the flesh from the skin and blend until smooth. Drain in a fine sieve if watery, then cool and weigh out 280g. Freeze any extra for another loaf.

Make the loaf

Heat the oven to 170°C fan and line a 2lb loaf tin.

Mix the pumpkin purée, vanilla, oil, oat milk and sugar together. Sift in the remaining ingredients and gently mix until just combined.

Spoon into the tin and bake for around 50–65 minutes, checking from 50 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then lift onto a rack to cool.

At the table

Serve with roasted plums or apple butter and a spoonful of thick yoghurt. Or keep it simple with salted butter on a toasted slice. Warmed through with custard, stewed apple and toasted hazelnuts, it makes a very good pudding too.

Something savoury

Keep a few roasted squash wedges back before blending. Pile onto toast with whipped feta, chilli oil and toasted pumpkin seeds. Lunch while the cake is in the oven.

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