The Best Pumpkin Bread

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Author: Delphine Fortin
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Category: Loaves
Cuisine: American recipes

Here’s the BEST pumpkin bread recipe. Extremely moist and tender, it’s loaded with pumpkin spice flavors, and topped with a delicious cinnamon icing.

Ingredients

Scale

For the pumpkin bread:

2 ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
1 can (15 oz, 425g) pumpkin puree*
¾ cup (180 ml) sour cream, full-fat
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ sticks (150g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs

For the cinnamon icing (optional):

2 ½ Tablespoons milk
¾ cup (90g) confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

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Instructions

Put the oven rack in the middle position of the oven and preheat at 350°F (180°C). Line a 9×5-inch (23×13 cm) loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for easy removal after baking.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a medium bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla. Do not overmix.
In a large bowl, beat softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy (for about 3 to 5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add the flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in batches, mixing until just smooth. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan, smoothing up the top, then bake for about 50 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let the bread cool into the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, then turn the cake upside down onto the rack.
For the cinnamon icing, whisk together milk, confectioners’ sugar and cinnamon until smooth, adjusting the quantity of milk if needed. Drizzle icing over warm cake, then cool cake completely. Icing will harden slightly.

Notes

* For best results in terms of moisture, I recommend using store-bought canned pumpkin puree, as it tends to have the right amount of humidity compared to homemade pumpkin puree. If using homemade pumpkin puree anyway, place paper towel on top before using, so it dries out the excess of humidity.

Recipe by Del’s cooking twist | Photography by Athina Canevet Studio