Baker Street strikes again! For the most part, I want to make everything she blogs about, but my frantic life gets in the way. One of the things that happens as you accumulate more experience in the kitchen, is a certain “feeling” for a recipe. I usually spot a winner just by reading the ingredients, and this pumpkin espresso loaf, covered with crushed hazelnuts made me dream. I knew we would love it. It is quite simple to prepare, and it smells AMAZING (all caps required) as it bakes. It is moist, not too sweet, the coffee flavor quite subtle, and the crumb topping gives that contrast of texture which is always a nice touch on this type of loaf.
PUMPKIN ESPRESSO BREAD
(from Baker Street)
for the loaf:
¾ cup (150 grams) brown sugar, packed
1 cup (245 grams) canned pumpkin puree
½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
¼ cup (59 ml) milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon espresso powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
for the topping:
½ cup hazelnut, chopped roughly
3 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
½ teaspoon espresso powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Heat oven to 350F and generously grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Prepare the topping by combining all ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, espresso powder, spices, and salt. Reserve. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Gently fold in the flour mixture and spread the batter evenly into prepared pan.
Sprinkle the espresso topping evenly over the pumpkin batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
This was SUCH a delicious bread, loaf, whatever you want to call it. With a cup of cappuccino in the morning, it starts your day on a perfectly warm note. After the loaf was in the oven, I said to myself that some cardamon could be a good addition. Phil, on the other hand, thinks that mini-chocolate chips would take this loaf to unprecedented levels of decadence. Interestingly enough, that is exactly the variation recommended over at Baker Street. Keep that in mind if you make this loaf. And I hope you do! 😉
ONE YEAR AGO: Caramelized Carrot Soup
TWO YEARS AGO: Miso-Grilled Shrimp
THREE YEARS AGO: A Special Holiday Fruitcake
Bewitching Kitchen 
Your photo looks better than the loaf I saw in my mind’s eye as I read your opening photograph. It’s the hazelnut topping. It really does make this bread look so special, perfect for a hostess gift for the morning after the party. As for the cardamom/chocolate chip controversy raging in your home, why not a little of both? 🙂
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I like the way you think! 😉 A little of both….
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It’s so true, we do develop instincts over time and know what will work for us (or not) at a glance. This bread reminds me of a warming, fragrant cup of chai latte in solid form…. and that’s a good thing! We are waking up to a winter wonderland here Sally… about 6 inches of fresh, powdered snow. The trees are hanging heavy in Christmas white… it’s glorious!
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Got some snow too the day before yesterday… it’s all beautiful outside, the contrast of bright blue sky with the white snow…
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This does sound delicious Sally! I have a can of pumpkin left in the pantry from the fall that I never got around to using. This would be a lovely breakfast. I bet it would even make for great French toast. 😉 I can just imagine how amazing this would make the house smell. Have a very Merry Christmas Sally!!!
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Have a Merry Christmas you too! and your beautiful family….
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Ohhhh, I can imagine the smell of my kitchen if I bake this bread.
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Intoxicating…. in a GOOD way, of course… 😉
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Omg! Count me in! I’m making this for sure! I feel that I have that cooking/baking eye too for seeing a recipe and knowing it will be a winner too! Its rarely failed me! I’m happy to see this posted in time for a laof to be made this weekend!
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The intuition for a good recipe is a wonderful skill to have…. unfortunately I think it’s linked to aging, but we must take the good with the bad, right? 😉
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I’m imagining the pumpkin espresso combo and it must be so good! What a great loaf!
I like to think I’ve gotten to the point where I can evaluate a recipe based on ingredients alone…but there are definitely some misses along the way.
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Indeed, some misses happen, and they are a bit painful to go through, especially if the recipe was too involved and demanded a lot of work. But, I’m glad it doesn’t happen that often… 🙂
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This one caught my eye.. what a lovely, warm loaf of comfort this would be tomorrow morning! I really like the addition of espresso flavor in the topping and I agree.. chocolate chips and cardamom both would be my choice:) Have a wonderful Christmas, Sally, wishing you all the best for the next year!!! xxx
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Oh my goodness, this looks like an amazing loaf! I am saving this recipe! 🙂
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