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Spiced Pumpkin Bread

Spiced pumpkin bread with a deeply spiced, dark golden loaf and a brown butter glaze. Bakes until set, then gets a sweet cinnamon glaze for a tender slice with warm spice in every bite.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Spiced pumpkin bread
  • 1.75 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 0.5 tsp cardamom
  • 0.5 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp cloves
  • 0.25 tsp allspice
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp molasses
Brown butter glaze
  • 3 tbsp browned butter
  • 1.5 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 0.25 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and bake the loaf
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Place the pan on a sheet pan for easy handling.
  2. Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, black pepper, and salt until evenly combined. The mixture should look uniformly speckled with spices.
  3. Whisk pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, and molasses until smooth. Stop when the batter no longer shows streaks and looks glossy.
  4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold just until no dry pockets remain. Scrape the sides and bottom so the batter is evenly hydrated.
  5. Pour the batter into the greased 9x5 loaf pan. Smooth the top so it bakes evenly.
  6. Bake at 350F for 60-65 minutes until the center is set and a tester comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The loaf should turn a deep golden brown.
  7. Cool the pumpkin bread completely before glazing. Let it rest until the loaf is firm enough that glaze won’t run off.
Make and drizzle the brown butter glaze
  1. Stir browned butter, powdered sugar, milk, and cinnamon to form a smooth, pourable glaze. Adjust with a tiny splash of milk only if needed for drizzling consistency.
  2. Drizzle the brown butter glaze over the fully cooled loaf. Use a steady zigzag so the glaze settles and lightly sets on top.

Notes

For clean slicing, cool the loaf until fully set (at least room temperature) before glazing and cutting. Store wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days; freeze slices up to 2 months. For a lower-sugar option, replace half the granulated sugar with an equal amount of light brown sugar and keep the molasses amount the same for flavor.