Is it ever too late or too early for pumpkin? I don't think so! My easy spiced pumpkin pecan bread is the perfect cozy pumpkin quick bread loaf with chopped pecans thrown in! Topped with a maple cream cheese drizzle, this is sure to be a family favourite in the fall and all year long!
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Why these work
- One bowl recipe - this pumpkin pecan quick bread is a one-bowl recipe! Super simple to whip up, it's the perfect recipe for using up some leftover pumpkin puree or for making a quick and cozy tea time treat.
- Super soft - pumpkin puree makes for a super soft quick bread loaf. A pleasingly pillowy texture, accented by the chopped pecans in the bread and on the top.
- Classic fall flavours - pumpkin and pecans are a match made in flavour heaven, just ask any Thanksgiving dessert table! With added spices, in the style of a classic pumpkin pie spice mix, this pumpkin pecan loaf is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
- Maple cream cheese frosting - need I say more? Two ingredients, smooth and luscious. This cream cheese glaze is easy and packed full of maple syrup.
- Freezer friendly - and the best part of all, this quick bread loaf is freezer friendly! Make it ahead, store it until you need it. A great way to pack the freezer with ready-made homemade treats!
Ingredient Notes
- Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. Salted butter can be used as a substitute here, but it will add extra saltiness to the overall recipe.
- Light brown sugar - sometimes called muscovado. Measurements are firmly packed. The brown sugar adds a molasses-like flavour to the mix. You could substitute this for granulated sugar if needed or preferred, but you would lose out on a bit of the richness. Similarly you can substitute with dark brown sugar, but this is often too strong and would overpower with molasses notes.
- Sugar - granulated or caster sugar.
- Egg - a large egg, ideally at room temperature for baking.
- Flour - either all purpose flour or plain flour work in this recipe.
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Pumpkin Pie Spice - or your own spice mix. The spices commonly used here would be cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and clove.
- Pumpkin puree - this should be pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie mix.
- Pecans - shelled and roughly chopped, plus a few extra halves for decoration.
Pumpkin Purée versus Pumpkin Pie Filling
The key ingredient in pumpkin bread is canned pumpkin purée. It is important that this is the tin of pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling!
Pumpkin pie filling is pre-mixed with additional ingredients, such as spices and sweetener. It is a fundamentally different product. The pie filling will taste different and may also react differently, producing a different texture to the end bread.
Spices for this Pumpkin Pecan Quick Bread
Spices help to accentuate the warm flavours of pumpkin. In this recipe I've chosen:
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
You can make your own spice mixture for this recipe. I would suggest using flavours similar to how you flavour your pumpkin pies as this will best compliment the pumpkin bread here.
Spices such as nutmeg, clove, allspice and cardamom go nicely with the pumpkin.
How to Make One Bowl Pumpkin Pecan Bread
This loaf can easily be made in one bowl by following these simple steps:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together your sugars and butter until well creamed.
- Then add the egg and beat to combine (image 1 below).
- Next add the flour, spices and baking soda, mixing well (image 2 below).
- Add the pumpkin purée, mixing again until just combined (image 3 below).
- Finally, fold in the chopped pecans (image 4 below).
- Once you have your batter, this mixture can then be spread evenly into a prepared baking tin.
- For an easy pecan topped pumpkin bread, add a few pecans to the top just before baking (image 5 below).
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Then remove and allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan (image 6 below) before turning out to a wire rack to cool completely.
Maple Cream Cheese Icing
The maple cream cheese glaze on the top of this bread is a two-ingredient recipe, which can be amended to taste. The ingredients are simply:
- Maple Syrup - use a good quality maple syrup, not a pancake syrup or substitute.
- Spreadable Cream Cheese: using the spreadable variety saves time in softening or beating a cream cheese block and makes this recipe easily achievable with just the two ingredients.
In a small bowl mix equal measures of these two together - 1:1 ratio by tablespoon. This is a process that can be led by taste and desired consistency.
If you would like a thicker icing, use less maple syrup or more cream cheese. If you would like a thinner glaze, add more maple syrup.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to grease and flour your baking pan. This doesn't normally need a separate lining, but lining tins can help you remove bakes more quickly and easily (and avoids needing to flip them out of the pan).
- Avoid overmixing the batter once you've added your flour and pumpkin puree. Beating too much can lead to your loaf becoming more dense and less soft.
- Gently press the pecans onto the surface of the quick bread batter for the topping. You want to ensure they are stuck onto the surface, but not submerged!
- Glazing your loaf warm may lead to the glaze running and melting, due to the cream cheese. They isn't necessarily a bad thing!
Variations for this Recipe
There are many options for varying this recipe and making it your own! Here are a few of my top tips and suggestions:
Make Pumpkin Pecan Muffins
This recipe has been made to fill a standard sized loaf tin, but it could also be made in smaller mini loaf tins or muffin tins instead.
The recipe and process will stay the same, but baking times will vary dependent on the size, shape and type of pan being used. Just keep an eye on them and test with a toothpick of skewer for doneness!
Spice Alternatives
If you are looking for a pumpkin loaf without cinnamon or ginger, this recipe can easily be adapted for your needs. While I highly recommend the spicing instructed in this recipe, these can be left out entirely or amended if that is more to your taste.
Avoid adding more than a cumulative 2 teaspoons of spicing as this will start to impact the ratios or dry ingredients and may cause trouble to the loaf.
Options for different add-ins:
This recipe offers loads of versatility. If you are not a fan of pecans, why not try one of the following options:
- Chocolate Pumpkin Bread: Replace the pecans with chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
- Pumpkin Walnut Bread: Replace the pecans with chopped walnuts.
- Pumpkin Cranberry Bread: Replace the pecans with dried cranberries (or raisins).
- A mixture of add-ins: try a cranberry pecan pumpkin bread or a chocolate pecan pumpkin bread. The options here are limitless!
If experimenting with the add-ins, substitute the ingredients using the same measurement of pecans called for in this recipe. Avoid adding more than ⅓ cup cumulative of add-in ingredients or you may impact the baking of the loaf.
Changes for the glaze:
- The simplest option, no glaze - the loaf is delicious on it's own without any topping!
- Buttercream - try my Vanilla Buttercream. A half batch will frost the entire loaf, a quarter batch will provide enough for a good drizzle.
- Cream Cheese Frosting - try my vanilla bean Cream Cheese Frosting. Like the buttercream - reduce the batch if you do not want leftovers. Half a batch should frost the whole loaf and a quarter batch is sufficient for piping a drizzle.
- Cinnamon Frosting - try using an easy Cinnamon Buttercream or a cinnamon spiced cream cheese frosting. The cinnamon can be adjusted to flavour preference as well - start with a small amount if you want to test it.
- If you need a vegan and non-dairy topping, mix sifted icing sugar with maple syrup for a quick and easy vegan glaze.
Making this recipe vegan or dairy free:
If you are wanting to make this recipe a vegan pumpkin pecan bread and/or need for it to be dairy free, you will need substitutions in the bread batter as well as the glaze.
As noted about in the options for alternative glazes, it is easy to amend the maple cream cheese glaze to a mixture of icing sugar and maple syrup. This may not be as thick and creamy, but will still provide a nice maple topping for the loaf. You could also use a vegan cream cheese such as Violife Vegan Cream Cheese for a more direct substitute.
For the loaf itself, try using a vegan substitute in place of the butter, such as vegan butter, ghee or oil. There are other options for substituting with banana, applesauce or coconut butter but each of these will bring a bit of a flavouring to the final product.
For the egg, you can use about ¼ cup of oil as an easy replacement. I have not tested all options for dietary replacements here, but encourage you to use any tried or trusted methods you may use in your other baking.
FAQs
This pecan and pumpkin quick bread can keep for about 4 days in an air tight container on a cool countertop. Refrigerating the loaf will hasten its staling. If you are making this ahead, I would recommend adding the maple and cream cheese frosting on the day of serving rather than in advance, for this to keep better.
Yes, this spiced pecan pumpkin bread loaf can be frozen, either frosted or before frosting. I would normally recommend to freeze unfrosted for best results if making in advance. This eliminates any potential issues with frostings weeping during the defrosting process.
Another handy tip for freezing - pre-slice the loaf. This allows you to defrost a slice or two at a time, if you've making this as a freezer-ready treat.
Defrost prior to eating.
Add-ins sinking to the bottom occasionally happens during the baking process. A way to avoid this happening is to dust the add-ins (such as nuts or chocolate) in flour prior to folding in. This can help them to distribute more evenly and stay in place while baking.
If you like this, you may also like:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
- Classic Banana Bread
- Zucchini Bread
- Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Pecan Trim
Pumpkin Pecan Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- ¼ cup light brown sugar also known as muscovado, firmly packed
- ½ cup superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ cup all-purpose flour or plain flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice or pumpkin spice mix
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup pecans roughly chopped, plus extra for decoration
- 2 tablespoon spreadable cream cheese
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
Instructions for Pumpkin Pecan Bread
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (165C/155C Fan) and prepare a standard sized loaf tin.
- In a large bowl, cream together the sugars and butter until smooth.
- Add the egg and beat to combine.
- Next, add the spices, baking soda and flour, beating until just incorporated.
- Add the pumpkin purée and mix whisk until just combine.
- Fold in the chopped pecans.
- Tip into the prepared baking tray, spreading evenly. Add a few additional pecan halves on top and bake in the pre-heated oven for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before flipping out to cool on a wire rack.
Instructions for Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese and maple syrup. This will be fairly thick and most easily drizzled using a piping bag. To make a thinner glaze, add more maple syrup and/or water to thin. Drizzle over the loaf once cooled.
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