I’m going to be real honest with y’all. I don’t love pumpkin as a flavor. {ducks for cover} This doesn’t mean that I can’t make an incredibly flavorful pumpkin spice loaf cake, because I definitely did make the softest loaf cake ever! Thankfully there are people in my house who love pumpkin and appreciate a little spice combo of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves any time of the year.
So if you love a good slice of pumpkin bread with a creamy vanilla glaze that hardens just enough on the top, this is a recipe for you. This recipe makes a single 9x5 loaf cake and doesn’t require a mixer! Since canned pumpkin is readily available, you can make this warm spiced cake any time you like.
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Ingredients
Here’s what y’all will need to make this pumpkin spice loaf cake:
- All purpose flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Pumpkin purée*
- Large eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
Ingredients for the vanilla glaze
- Melted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
Kitchen Equipment
- 9x5 inch loaf pan
- Baker’s joy or similar baking spray
- Parchment paper
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Medium and large bowls
- Wire rack
- Spatula/Whisk
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Loaf Cake
- Prepare the loaf pan. Use parchment paper to create a sling across one side of the loaf pan. Spray the pan with Baker’s Joy or cooking spray.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Measure out the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients. I like to use a large measuring cup to whisk together egg, milk, oil and the vanilla extract. Makes the next step super simple.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the wet ingredients into the center. You want to stir until there are no dry flour spots, but you don’t need to to over mix it, okay?
- Bake and Cool. This loaf cake bakes for a while. I start checking to see if the cake is done around the 60 minute mark. To check the cake, poke the center with a toothpick/wooden skewer. If the toothpick comes out clean, it’s time to take it out of the oven. The sling that we made in step one makes it easy to pull the cake out and set it on the wire rack. Let the cake cool before you glaze it. Otherwise the icing is going to run. Patience, people.
- Make the Glaze.
- Glaze and Serve.
Storing:
Store the pumpkin spice loaf in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Variations/ Substitutions
- The obvious answer here is that you can easily switch the pumpkin puree with sweet potato puree.
- The vanilla glaze was intended to create a “pumpkin spice latte” vibe, but a chocolate ganache glaze would be decadent.
Related
Looking for more cake recipes? Here are a few to save for later!
Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Loaf Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 9x5 Loaf Cake
Description
A moist pumpkin loaf cake spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and topped with a perfect vanilla glaze.
Ingredients
2 ½ cups (313 grams) cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (If you are using pumpkin pie spice, omit the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cloves
1 (15 ounces) can pumpkin purée
2 large eggs
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
½ cup (105 grams) brown sugar
1 cup (4 ounces) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Glaze
2 cups ( grams) powdered sugar
4 tablespoons (2 ounces) melted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
Pinch of salt.
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray the 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray and line the pan with parchment paper that hangs over two sides, creating “handles”. Set aside.
-
In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Set this bowl aside.
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, sugars, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stir the pumpkin mixture until smooth.
-
Fold the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture, until no dry bits remain. Be careful not to overmix the batter, which can cause the cake to be tough.
-
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan.
-
Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes before using the handles to pull the cake out of the loaf pan. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool.
-
Make the Glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and salt. If the glaze is too stiff, add a tablespoon of heavy cream until it reaches the desired thickness.
-
Glaze the cake. Once the cake is cooled, spread the glaze over the cake with a spatula. Use the back of a spoon to make decorative swoops and swirls.
-
Serve. Slice the cake and serve with coffee or tea.
Storage. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Category: Cakes
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