Bakery-Style Pumpkin Loaf with a Crackly Cinnamon-Sugar Top

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A tall, dark, deeply spiced pumpkin loaf that tastes like the ones stacked in a good coffee-shop pastry case — but better, because the canned pumpkin gets cooked down on the stove first to drive off water and concentrate its flavor. Brown sugar and a little sour cream keep the crumb damp for days, and a thick layer of turbinado and cinnamon bakes into a crunchy, shattering lid.

Ingredients

• 1 15-oz can pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp fine salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
• 1/4 cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 tbsp turbinado or demerara sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Scrape the entire can of pumpkin purée into a 10-inch skillet with the 2 tablespoons of butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping constantly with a silicone spatula, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the purée darkens a shade, smells nutty and toasty, and has reduced to about 1 1/4 cups (it should mound stiffly on the spatula). Scrape into a large bowl and let cool 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just warm.
2. Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling that overhangs the two long sides.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.
4. To the warm pumpkin, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk hard for 30 seconds — the residual heat helps dissolve the sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then the oil, sour cream, and vanilla until the batter is completely smooth and glossy.
5. Add the dry ingredients all at once and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain, about 15 strokes. Stop while the batter still looks slightly rough; overmixing makes the loaf tough and domed.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. In a small bowl, toss the turbinado sugar with the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and scatter it evenly over the entire surface, right to the edges. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds if using.
7. Bake at 350°F for 60 to 72 minutes, until the top is domed and cracked, the crust is deep bronze, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with only a moist crumb or two (an instant-read thermometer should register 205 to 210°F). If the top is browning fast at the 45-minute mark, tent loosely with foil.
8. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then lift out by the parchment sling and cool completely on the rack, at least 1 1/2 hours, before slicing. Cutting warm pumpkin bread compresses the crumb and drags the crust.
9. Slice thick with a serrated knife, wiping the blade between cuts to keep the sugar crust intact.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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