Sunday 31 October 2010

Spiced pumpkin mini loaves

Happy Halloween peeps! So were you dressed up as the slutty nurse or the horny devil???  ;)
I had quite an eventful weekend with all the pub hopping and partying leaving me absolutely hung over and a wee bit bummed that my lovely cousins headed back to the US this evening. It was a really wild week and lemme just leave it at that.

With regard to the pumpkin, it was eventful as well. I had never ever tasted pumpkins and this time I decided to pick a small one and carve. Ended up with indeed a teeny tiny one and had no choice but to just stare at it and say how darn cute it looked. And then Ro got me all worked up to carve and I decided to head to the grocery store at 8 in the night. A trip that would have taken me 15 mins in total took over half an hour..talk about my absent mindedness. I was still unusually excited about the carving even after that long chakkar and so went ahead and did it anyway..well drew it all out and then got Ro to do it (that's really the trick you know). We were mighty pleased with the outcome and here's a pic...
Now I couldn't throw away the pumpkin so after googling quite a bit and when I put this question on FB, my brothers friend H who also happens to be a grad. from The Culinary Inst. of America suggested pumpkin bread and I knew that was it. So here goes:

Recipe halved from here
Pumpkin purée- 1 cup
Granulated sugar- 1 1/2 cups
Water- 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil- 1/2 cup
Eggs- 2
Plain flour- 1 1/2 cups
Baking soda- 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 1 tsp
Nutmeg- 1/4 tsp
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
Ground cloves- 1/4 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
I had no clue how to make pumpkin puree and so blindly followed DK's version from here
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spice powders
In another large bowl, using a spatula or wire whisk, mix together the pumpkin purée, sugar, water, oil and eggs till well combined.
Mix in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bit by bit and mix till well combined and lump free.
Pour into a greased loaf tin or mini loaves and bake in an oven pre-heated at 176C for 60 to 70 minutes and if it is in mini loaf tins then for about 30 to 40 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
Once done cool on wire racks and store in an air tight container for up to a week.
It was an incredibly moist cake and im in love with the flavours. Dab some cream cheese frosting on it and its a perfect Autumn tea-time snack.
Sending this to Monthly Mingle event hosted by Deeba, brainchild of Meeta, and the theme this month is Fruit in baking. 

36 comments:

GB said...

Oh yumm! that looks great! and the pumpkin itself looks fab too! :)

aipi said...

Love all things mini, so cute!
Perfect for Halloween!

US Masala

Yours Truly said...

love those mini loaf pans, and that piece of loaf looks soooooo good. i love anythig with pumpkins =)

Torviewtoronto said...

lovely little loaves

Anonymous said...

he he ..the carving bug bit me too.bread looks great..moist n cute

Unknown said...

Looks so perfect, the last click is too gud n tempting

Ms.Chitchat said...

A beautiful bake,loved ur pumpkin too.

Nitha said...

thats a lovely one.. the carved pumpkin... Its a real tough work right??

The pumpkin breads also look great.. Never tasted this though..

abraham said...

looks lovely ... best of luck for the event.

Jaisy James said...

looks perfect n yummy

Sajna Aseef said...

Hi babes,Sajna here. With a computer table all set and net connection in swing I guess I have my thumbs up for doing something other than sleeping,checking mails,FB,reading blogs, and wht not(I suppose)
I love ur blog,ur articles and recipies...I have never had the chance to compliment u ever...And I guess I got the bloody lame excused time now....Love u and keep up the good work!!

Sweetartichoke said...

It is impossible to resist these lovely pumpkin cakes...The last photo is sooo tempting!

Binys Recipes said...

Superb....great share...ur clicks always bring a smile.
keep it up.
Biny

Pushpa said...

Waking up to delicious mini pumpkin breads,looks fabulous and fantastic clicks.

Pushpa @ simplehomefood.com

Suja Manoj said...

Little cute loaves..looks superb

Sarah Naveen said...

loved the pics..especially the last one..mmm...awesome :)..
u know how much i love pub hopping in Nyc ;)..

Sreelekha Sumesh said...

Looks fabulous.Stunning pics!!!

Monet said...

My oh my! That last piece of pumpkin bread with that dab of melted butter looks too good to be true! I'm so glad that you had a fun-filled weekend with your family and friends. I hope that today doesn't leave you feeling too tired after a weekend of festivities. I know that I'm exhausted!

Sunitha said...

Looks fantastic! The last picture is great.

Unknown said...

Lovely pumpkin loaves..Stunning pics as usual..

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Those look so delicious and moist!

I hope you had a great Halloween!

Cheers,

Rosa

Priya Suresh said...

Gorgeous looking loaves, love that last click..

Cool Lassi(e) said...

Neither! My little boy was Vampire Lestat. I wanted to be The Queen of the damned but really, I needed an attire that would help me run after my Vampiric batling.Was dressed as a modern wicked witch of Eastwick. LoL. Anywayz, nice carving! And cute loaves.

Sarah, Maison Cupcake said...

I have some little tins like that that I've never got around to using and I have 3/4 tin of pumpkin puree in the fridge.

I didn't dress up but I might next year.

Suhaina said...

looks so yummy..wonderful clicks too.

Sanjeeta kk said...

Love those mini molds you baked these delicacies in. Perfect texture and a delicious cake.

M D said...

Love ur pics! They are gorgeous. Love these pumpkin treats. Looking great!

Suji said...

Pumpkin loaves looks yumm Nisha and loved all the pics...

PreeOccupied said...

Such cuties! I cant eat them. But can I admire?

Sushma Mallya said...

It looks so cute, love the clicks, just superb...

Unknown said...

your craving talent is to be appreciated, it look cute than being scary...and those bread loaves looks brilliant super moist for sure!

Unknown said...

Great click and nice spiced pumpkin loafs..

Deeba PAB said...

I am glad you FB'd for advice and got to make these beauties. Love love love the cases you baked them in...rustic beauties these loaves are! I love the pictures too, especially the last one with the cream tempting me to dive into the screen! Thank you for sending them in to the Mingle... I just wish they weren't so virtual!

Nachiketa said...

DELISH looking loaf slice.....

Cheers,
The Variable, Crazy Over Desserts - Nachiketa
Catch me on facebook @ Crazy Over Desserts

Sally - My Custard Pie said...

These mini pumpkin loaves really appeal to me - and I've read a lot of pumpkin recipes recently. The simplicity and healthiness set them apart from the crowd.

Sasa said...

Looks so moist, from the pumpkin, I presume...The little cases are adorable - I'm planning to do date loaf for Xmas pressies and they're just what I'm looking for - hope I can find something similar here in Austria.