It’s officially Fall y’all! This is our first Autumn experience on the North American continent, and, although LA is still blue-skied and balmy (for the most part), a large part of the country is filled with the gorgeous golds; reds; oranges and browns of Fall. In the US, fall means Pumpkin EVERYTHING! Pumpkins are piled up outside every supermarket, ranging in size from ridiculously enormous (how do you carry those things?!), to the itty-bitty (apparently for table and home decor). In addition, as if adding pumpkins and squash to every meal and dish imaginable weren’t enough, it is most often accompanied by pumpkin spice.
Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin Spice is kind of the American version of Garam Masala, if you will. It is a blend of several warming, sweet spices. Pumpkin Spice typically includes cinnamon; ginger; nutmeg; all-spice and clove. Each supermarket sells its own version of the blend, and of course many people DIY their own Pumpkin Spice at home. As a result, this leads to many different recipes depending on what brand you use or what spice you favour.
The thing about pumpkin spice is, it only seems to appear between September and the end of November. But it can be found in EVERYTHING! Coffees; biscuits and cakes; pastries and breads; chocolate and health bars; and I even spotted a bag of pumpkin spice sweet potato crisps the other day! It is crazy!
But wait – there’s more!
Originally, I thought that the spice blend itself was added to different foods, but I have since come to discover that it is almost always added with pumpkin puree. Yes, even to coffee! That’s why your pumpkin spice latte (PSL, in the US!) has that faint, orange hue to it…
Ah – I love culture. And I love how our life as adventurers allows me to learn through engaging and observing and exploring. I couldn’t help but jump on the bandwagon. What follows is a recipe for a kind of pumpkin-spice cake. To create this Spiced-Pumpkin, Maple & Pecan loaf, I reworked and played with a couple of different recipes.
It took a few attempts to get it right. I knew I wanted a rustic, wholesome cake rather than a light, fluffy one; the kind of loaf that could be eaten for breakfast or as a mid-morning snack. At first I also wanted to try it with coffee – as a nod to the whole PSL trend. however, it was no good. Then, I tried a chocolate espresso glaze drizzled over the top. But, the pumpkin was lost. Quickly, it became apparent, that (with this recipe) less is definitely more.
The hum of spices mingled with the slight earthiness of the pumpkin and the nutty buckwheat flour is pure autumnal joy on the tongue! I would love to know what you think.
Pumpkin spice is synonymous with Autumn (fall) in the US, and this loaf has been one of the best culinary discoveries for us during our first autumn in America. I almost can’t believe how well it turned out. This loaf is dairy free and refined sugar free and is perfect to slice up and enjoy for any time of the day.
Ingredients
Scale
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1½ cups unsweetened pumpkin puree (if you want to make this at home, you can get a recipe here)
2 eggs
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbls pumpkin spice mix (either a good store-bought one, or you can find the recipe for this, here)
1tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Instructions
Set the oven to 180ºC (350F).
Place the coconut oil; maple syrup; eggs and pumpkin puree in a mixing bowl and blend. (I use my stand- mixer for this).
In another bowl, add all the other ingredients except for the pecans and pumpkin seeds. Mix with a whisk to eliminate any lumps.
Add 1/2 the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix to combine, then add the rest and mix again to combine. Do not over-mix. Blend only until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated smoothly into the mixture.
Use a spatula or large spoon to fold in the pecans.
Pour into a 21x11cm (8″x4″) loaf tin that has been prepared by oiling and lining with parchment paper.
Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden skewer inserted in the centre comes out cleanly.
Notes
* Store wrapped in parchment paper, in an airtight container, for 3 days on the counter. Or up to 5 days in the fridge.
* If you are vegan, you could sub the eggs for 2 flax-eggs or a similar egg replacement.
