Pumpkin Molasses Bread (Vegan)
Pumpkin, molasses, candied pecans, and cozy fall spices come together beautifully in this bread. A rich and tasty vegan loaf ideal for baking in the fall.
This loaf is like a fall day for your taste buds. A perfect marriage of pumpkin and molasses with the lovely sweet crunch of candied pecans enhanced with the flavors of warm spices. The perfectly paired cream cheese frosting carries a hint of those same warm spices. As tasty as this loaf is, it is just as easy to prepare. Enjoy a slice alone or with a cup of coffee or tea.
What you will need:
Pumpkin puree, pecans and lovely warm fall spices are needed for this recipe. All other items can easily be found at your local grocery store.
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- plant based butter with salt
- plant based milk
- plant based yogurt
- muscovado sugar – see my recipe on the website if you are interested in making your own
- vanilla extract
- spices – cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves
- pumpkin puree
- pecans
- plant based cream cheese – I used Violife
- powdered sugar
How to:
Let’s start by preparing the candied pecans. Measure out the pecans, roughly chop them and set them aside. In a small pot, add the sugar, water, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves; whisk to fully combine. Place the pot over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Make sure to occasionally stir the mixture as it heats up. We want it to thicken and become syrupy. Once the desired consistency is reached, remove the pot from the heat and add the chopped pecans. Stir the pecans into the syrup until all of the pecans are coated. Pour the pecans out onto a parchment lined pan, spread them out, and allow them to cool. Once the pecans are completely cool, break up any clumps that were formed. Set the candied pecans aside for later.
Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare an 8×4 loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper. Melt the butter and set it aside. In a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves; whisk to combine and set aside. To a medium bowl, add the melted butter, pumpkin puree, and muscovado sugar; whisk for one minute to fully combine. Add the milk, yogurt, and vanilla extract to the pumpkin mixture and whisk for another minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until fully combined or until no more flour is seen. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons of the candied pecans, add the rest to the batter, and fold them in.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the loaf for 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack. Allow the loaf to completely cool before frosting.
While the loaf is cooling, the cream cheese frosting can be prepared. The cream cheese needs to be cold from the refrigerator, and the butter needs to be just slightly warmed (5 to 10 minutes out of the refrigerator). Place the cold cream cheese and the slightly warmed butter in a medium bowl and blend with a hand mixer for no more than 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves to the creamed cream cheese and blend until smooth and creamy. Place the frosting in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to firm up (it can stay in the freezer longer if necessary). This frosting can become runny easily. I suggest frosting the loaf right before serving or frosting the loaf ahead of time and storing it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. When you are ready to frost the loaf, remove the frosting from the freeze and whip it on medium speed with a hand mixer for 30 seconds to a minute. Spread the frosting over the top of the loaf and sprinkle the reserved candied pecans over the top.
Store the loaf in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will remain fresh for about 3 days.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Pumpkin Molasses Bread (Vegan)
Ingredients
Candied Pecans
- 1¼ cups pecans – roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp cane sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ginger
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp cloves
Pumpkin Molasses Bread
- ½ cup / 113 grams plant based butter with salt – melted
- 2 cups / 240 grams all purpose flour
- 6 tbsp plant based milk
- 2 tbsp plant based yogurt
- ¾ cup muscovado sugar – store bought or homemade (see recipe on the website if you are interested in making it yourself)
- 300 grams pumpkin puree – NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp cloves
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup / 120 grams powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp / 60 grams plant based cream cheese (needs to be cold)
- 1 tbsp / 14 grams plant based butter with salt (only slightly warmed)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves
Instructions
Candied Pecans
- Measure out the pecans and roughly chop them; set them asideIn a small pot, add the sugar, water, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves; whisk to fully combine. Place the pot over medium heat and bring the mixture to a boil; stirring occasionally. We want it to thicken and become syrupy. Once the desired consistency is reached, remove the pot from the heat and add the chopped pecans; stirring until all of the pecan pieces are coated. Pour the pecans out onto a parchment lined pan, spread them out and allow them to cool. Once the pecans are completely cool, break up any clumps that were formed. Set the candied pecans aside for later.
Pumpkin Molasses Bread
- Prepare an 8×4 loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves; whisk to combine and set aside.To a medium bowl add the melted butter, pumpkin puree and muscovado sugar; whisk for one minute to fully combine. Add the milk, yogurt and vanilla extract; whisk for another minute. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until fully combined or until no more flour is seen. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons of the candied pecans, add the rest to the batter and fold them in.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the loaf for 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow the loaf to completely cool before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the cold cream cheese and the slightly warmed butter to a medium bowl and blend with a hand mixer for no more than 30 seconds. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and blend until smooth and creamy. Place the frosting in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up. The frosting can stay in the freezer until you are ready to frost the loaf.This frosting can become runny easily. I suggest frosting the loaf right before serving or frosting the loaf ahead of time and storing it in the refrigerator until you are read to serve it. When you are ready to frost the loaf, remove the frosting from the freezer and whip it on medium speed with a hand mixer for 30 seconds to a minute. Spread the frosting over the top of the loaf and sprinkle the reserved candied pecans over the top. Sprinkling the reserved candied pecans over the top of the frosted loaf is a nice final look.
