This recipe started life as a roasted Kabocha cake sent in a newsletter by Aran Goyoaga from Cannelle et Vanille and ran rampant from there. That cake was fabulous, but with the amount of sweet things I made for the rest of Thanksgiving (I went for maple pecan as the theme) and the amount of leftovers I still had – I couldn’t handle the sweet for days on end for breakfast.
So I tinkered.
Now, I don’t bake. I hate baking. I’m not a “rules” person and don’t have a clue what ratios are proper in baking to make things work. Super not confident there, but I decided to charge ahead anyways with my newfound beginners luck (I heavily modified the recipe the first time I made it because of fancy thickeners and the like I couldn’t find here either at all or for under a Kings ransom).
I boldly went. Aaaaaaaaaand attempt 1 was gar-baage. Too much baking soda(?) Cornstarch(?) One bite absolutely killed my palate and made all things taste like weird basic metals for like half the day. Oops.
Attempt 2 was much more successful, despite the fact that I think I overcooked mine a bit. The taste is good, but I would caution with this bread to cook until just set for a moist cake like texture. Mine ended up still moist – mostly – but also crumbly around the edges and kinda dry.
I may do a version 4 with applesauce and more oats if I ever actually figure out what I’m doing.
gluten-free
Less Sweet Pumpkin Oat Bread
1 c roasted or canned pumpkin (I used roasted butternut squash in 2 versions and canned pumpkin in 1 and think I preferred the butternut)
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c brown sugar
3 eggs
3/4 c oil (I had grape seed on hand but olive would be much more cost effective)
1 c roasted rice flour (I have no idea if other flours would work – the original recipe called for superfine rice flour and I was surprised to see rice flour is super cheap where I live – check the Indian aisle if you are lucky enough to have one in your grocery)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c rolled oats
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp cardamom
Big pinch salt
Pumpkin seeds
Preheat your oven to 200C, grease a loaf pan and cut a strip of baking paper long enough to hang over the sides of your pan lengthwise so you have a good handle to lift the cake with.
In a large bowl, mash the orange squash of your choice with the maple syrup, sugar, eggs and oil. Whisk until smooth.
Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, oats, spices and salt. Whisk together until well incorporated.
Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with a generous helping pumpkin seeds.
Cover with tinfoil and bake 40 – 50 mins or until just set.
Serves 6 – 8
Gastography 