Hancooking! Tartine's Pumpkin Tea Bread

I've actually been cooking a lot in the kitchen lately.  It might coincide with me being obsessed with MasterChef Australia (seriously so much better than the U.S. one), but there really isn't anything more satisfying than making tasty things with your own hands !  

This is my new favorite recipe, perfect for fall, and it really can't be easier.  You just put flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda into one bowl.  Mix (by machine, or hand - which is just as easy!).

 

Then in another bowl, you put the sugar, salt, 3/4 a can of pumpkin filling, and...one cup of oil.  Shhh.  Don't think too much about it !

Quickly just whisk all of that together so no one knows about the oil !  Then beat the eggs in !

Then fold the dry ingredients into the wet!  With quick breads, it's essential you don't overmix, to avoid making the bread too dense.  I hate reading these types of instructions in recipes.  I get so nervous I will overmix, but the mixture comes together fairly easily if you just fold with a spatula.

Then pour into your bread tin and sprinkle with sugar!  I'd recommend getting a coarser sugar to sprinkle and to sprinkle a lot more sugar than prescribed, because when it bakes, its SO delicious, and I wish my crust was a little bit thicker.

Then in about an hour, stick a toothpick in it, and if it's clean, it's done! Look at the height of this beaut !

The recipe says to tip it out of the tin after 20 minutes or so onto a wire rack and then let it cool completely.  Let me tell you.  Waiting for this bread to cool was the most painstaking experience of my life.  While the bread bakes, your home is filled with the warmest of fall spices.  And then that's all you can smell for the rest of the day.  The scent was consuming me and slowly driving me insane.

Until I got to cut into it finally !

I almost cried when I saw how moist it was.  Just kidding.  But seriously. So. Moist. (But not with my tears.)

And that's it.  It's beautiful warm, by itself, with butter, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  The spices are so deep - I ate off this loaf for four days, and it was just as wonderful each day.

I need to make another batch stat !  Hope you do too this season !

Pumpkin Tea Cake
from Tartine
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp + 2 tsps ground cinnamon
2 tsps nutmeg, freshly grated
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup + 2 tbsps pumpkin purée
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 tbsps sugar for topping
3 tbsps pepitas for topping

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×5-inch loaf pan. (You can do this recipe with a stand mixer or by hand.) Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin purée, oil, sugar, and salt together until well blended. Beat the eggs in one at a time, making sure each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the flour and mix until just combined. You don’t want to overbeat the batter as it will result in a tougher crumb. Then beat for 5 to 10 seconds until smooth. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and tap the pan on the counter to help flatten the batter out. Sprinkle the sugar and pepitas on top and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let sit for 20 minutes. Invert the pan onto a cooling rack and flip the cake out. Turn the cake back right-side up and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature. Lasts about 4 days (well-wrapped) on your counter or up to a week in the refrigerator. Serves 6-8.