What better way to celebrate fall than with a slice of moist pumpkin bread? This recipe has all the cozy spices and more! Topped with cinnamon streusel and drizzled with espresso glaze, this recipe is full of fall flavors!
Jump to:
Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping and Espresso Glaze
With fall just around the corner, it’s time to start making some pumpkin recipes! We’ve seen so many pumpkin bread recipes, but we wanted to make our own with a twist. As I’m sure you know, pumpkin spice lattes are all the rage this time of the year. With this in mind, we wanted to combine this fall drink with a classic pumpkin bread. That’s where the streusel topping and espresso glaze come in. It’s like having your breakfast and coffee all in one slice!
What makes this pumpkin bread so moist? The answer is buttermilk! That, and a ton of pumpkin purée. We use almost an entire can of pumpkin purée to get the most out of it – both flavor wise and moisture wise. Some recipes that contain pumpkin advise you to take some of the moisture out of the purée. Not in this recipe! That extra bit of moisture combined with the buttermilk is what makes this pumpkin bread so moist.
Ingredients
- All-purpose Flour: You’ll need 1 ¾ cup or 210 g of flour.
- Fall Spices: You can use your own pumpkin spice mix, but we like to make our own using cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Salt: This enhances the other flavors in the bread.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Both are used to help the bread rise. The baking soda reacts with the buttermilk to rise, while the baking powder adds extra height.
- Granulated & Brown Sugar: We like to use a combination of both for the perfect texture and flavor. Light brown sugar is used for this recipe, but you can use dark brown sugar if you want a stronger flavor.
- Canned Pumpkin Purée: Our favorite is Libby’s!
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter is used to get a softer texture in the bread. Just make sure it has cooled some so it doesn’t cook the eggs in the batter.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 large room temperature eggs. If you’re in a pinch, you can add them to a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: This helps to round out all the fall flavors in the bread.
- Buttermilk: We wanted an extra bit of moisture in the pumpkin bread, so we added a bit of buttermilk. Tip: don’t use cold buttermilk because it could shock the melted butter and harden it in the batter.
- Freshly Brewed Espresso: The main flavor of the glaze! You can also use strong coffee.
- Powdered Sugar: This is the base of the glaze.
How to Make This Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- First, make the cinnamon streusel topping by mixing brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl. It’s important to do this first to allow the streusel to dry a bit before adding it to the top of the pumpkin loaf. Once the melted butter in the mixture has cooled slightly, the streusel should be easier to crumble.
- Now we can start making the pumpkin loaf. Start by mixing the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then set aside for later. Next, combine the sugars, melted butter, and pumpkin in a large bowl.
- Then add the eggs and vanilla followed by the flour mixture and buttermilk. You want to alternate between the flour and buttermilk. This helps to create a smoother batter with less lumps.
- After the batter for the bread is done, transfer it to a 9×5″ loaf pan, and smooth out the top.
- By now your streusel topping should be crumbly enough to spread over the top of the batter. You may need to break it up a bit with a spoon.
- Lastly, bake it in the oven at 350°F (180°C). Cool it in the pan for a few minutes before moving it to a wire rack. Once the bread has cooled, make the glaze and pour it over the top.
Place the pumpkin bread in a loaf pan Cover the batter with streusel topping
FAQ
To test for doneness, place a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. You also want to make sure your bread doesn’t cave in when you press on the top. If it squishes in the center, keep it in the oven longer.
Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or in an air tight container. The bread will last up to 3 days at room temperature. If placing in the fridge, it will last up to 7 days.
Yes. Wrap it tightly with foil or plastic wrap and place in the freezer without the glaze. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw it out before adding the glaze.
A Few Tips
- Accurately measure your flour. If you’re using grams, you don’t have to worry since grams are more accurate. However, for those using cup measurements, be sure to spoon and level your flour. First, fluff up your flour with a spoon, then scoop it into the measuring cup. Level it off with a straight edge to get rid of any excess.
- Don’t over mix your batter. Mix everything together until just combined. If you over mix, the bread may be gummy or tough.
- Place a piece of foil on top. Since the pumpkin loaf needs to bake for a long time, the streusel topping is prone to browning faster. If the bread still needs time to bake, but the crumble is browning, place a tent of foil over the top of the bread. This will prevent any further browning on top while still baking the bread.
- Use a 9×5″ loaf pan. This is a very tall loaf, so if you use a smaller pan, the batter may spill out. You may also want to remove the top rack from the oven just in case it touches.
- Leave a few inches of over hanging parchment paper off the sides of the loaf pan. As shown in the photo above, we like to leave a little bit of parchment paper hanging off the sides of the pan. This creates a sling around the bread, making it easier to lift out of the pan.
More Fall Baking Recipes You’ll Love
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Bread with Espresso Glaze
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale
- 9x5-inch (23x13 cm) Loaf Pan
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Streusel Topping:
- 60 g (½ cup) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 50 g (¼ cup) light brown sugar packed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 42 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter melted and cooled
For the Pumpkin Bread:
- 210 g (1 ¾ cup) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 200 g (1 cup) light brown sugar packed
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 300 g (1 ¼ cup) canned pumpkin puree
- 57 g (¼ cup) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 125 ml (½ cup) buttermilk room temperature
For the Espresso Glaze:
- 60 g (½ cup) powdered sugar spooned and leveled
- 1-2 tbsp freshly brewed espresso
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Streusel:
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir until everything is evenly coated. It should resemble wet sand. Set aside.
For the Pumpkin Bread:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9x5-inch (23x13 cm) loaf pan and line with parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, the pumpkin puree, and melted butter. Mix until fully combined. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, whisking until smooth and glossy.
- Mix in half the buttermilk followed by half the flour. Repeat once more until everything is just combined. Use a flexible spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Be careful not to over mix.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top. Evenly sprinkle the top of the batter with cinnamon streusel.
- Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the streusel is browning quickly, place a tent of foil over the top to prevent the top from over browning.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
For the Espresso Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and espresso until smooth and drizzly.
- Pour over the cooled pumpkin bread.
Leave a Comment