Pumpkin gingerbread
Makes one loaf pan
  • 1.5 cups flour
  • ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt, preferably fine sea salt
  • ½ tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or ground clove
  • ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 TBS unsulphured molasses
  • ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces pumpkin puree 
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush baking pans with butter with flour, tapping out the excess. Set aside.
  2. In a bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.
  3. In an electric mixer, cream the unsalted butter on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and beat in the granulated sugar in 2 additions, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Add the light brown sugar and beat for 1 minute more. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Blend in the molasses and vanilla.
  4. With the mixer set on low speed, blend in the pumpkin until combined. The mixture may look slightly curdled at this point.
  5. On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the bowl often with a rubber spatula. Mix just until combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
  6. Bake the cake for 1 hour, or until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the pan.
  7. Set the cake on a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Place a cooling rack on top, carefully invert the cake, lift away the pan. Leave to cool completely. The cake may be made a day in advance up to this point. Store in an airtight keeper.
  8. Sprinkle top with confectioners sugar and serve with sweetened whipped cream.