Description
This Healthy Pumpkin Bread with Maple Glaze is a moist, flavorful loaf made with whole wheat pastry flour and naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup. It features warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, enriched by nutty browned butter, and topped with a lightly sweet maple glaze. Perfect as a wholesome breakfast or cozy snack, it’s easy to make and adaptable into muffins for quick treats.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (75g) butter
- 1 (15 ounce) (425g) can pumpkin puree
- ½ cup (156g) pure maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (198g) whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
Glaze
- ½ cup (57g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or any milk), if needed to thin glaze
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare the pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8½ x 4½ inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Browns the butter: In a saucepan over medium heat, add the butter and whisk constantly. It will crackle and foam, then begin to brown and turn golden amber. Once it emits a nutty aroma, immediately remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl to cool for 5–10 minutes until it’s cool enough to touch but still liquid.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, pure maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Then whisk in the cooled browned butter until fully incorporated.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a separate large bowl, stir together whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice until evenly combined.
- Combine wet and dry: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Bake the bread: Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 50–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the bread: Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the maple glaze: Once the bread is fully cooled, whisk together powdered sugar, pure maple syrup, and almond milk (only if needed to thin the glaze) in a small bowl until smooth.
- Glaze and serve: Pour the glaze over the cooled pumpkin bread. Slice and serve immediately.
Notes
- You can substitute 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice instead of the listed individual spices for convenience.
- To make pumpkin bread muffins, divide batter evenly into 12 greased muffin cups and bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Don’t forget the maple glaze!
- Use white whole wheat flour if you prefer a lighter texture and color.
- Make sure the bread is completely cool before glazing to prevent the glaze from melting and soaking in.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12 of loaf)
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 150mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
