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This pumpkin bread recipe is packed with as much pumpkin as possible, making it unbelievably moist, dense, and fudgy. It’s almost like biting into a piece of fudge! The browned butter glaze on top just makes things extra amazing!
Stop right there. Don’t move an inch.
No, there is not a spider about to eat your face off.
What? Am I the only one who instantly thinks face-eating spiders when someone tells me not to move? Well.
Not to worry. There are no bugs on you that I can see. I just didn’t want you to see the glaze on this pumpkin bread, roll your eyes, and click away.
I’ve done the browned butter glaze to death, you guys. (Those browned butter rice krispies treats!!)
You know it, I know it, we all know it. But! The thing is, there is a very good reason that I keep using this glaze on everything I can.
That reason is because it’s amazing and literally (the correct use of literally here) the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. I LOVE it. So much. For something that is just two simple ingredients, it has an amazing depth of flavor. It will seriously change your life, at least as much as a glaze/frosting can change a life.
But, also, hello to this bread. It isn’t just pumpkin bread. It’s like a cross between pumpkin bread and pumpkin fudge and holy heck, guys. It’s so moist you’ll punch yourself in the face.
These pictures were taken while the bread was still warm, because I totally couldn’t wait to dig in. I really wish I had waited for it to cool more though, because the texture gets even more fudgy than it is in these photos. How is that possible? I don’t even know. Probably magic.
Now, I want to stress to you that this bread is NOT light and fluffy. It is dense and fudgy and a little bit creamy, which is a weird adjective to use for a bread, but it fits here.
Do not send me hate mail because this bread is not the texture of bread. This bread is meant to be dense, it’s meant to be creamy, it’s meant to be like biting into a piece of pumpkin fudge. But because it’s bread, you can eat it for breakfast. See? I do actually know what I’m doing here.
If you like this bread, be sure to check out this pumpkin coffee cake! It has the same fudgy texture, a cinnamon swirl, and a sweet glaze to top things off! My chocolate banana bread is also a super popular quick bread recipe, if you’re digging the breads! 🙂
Fudgy Pumpkin Bread with Browned Butter Glaze
Ingredients
- 30 ounces pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce preferably unsweetened
- 3 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups brown sugar reduce by 1/4 cup if using sweetened applesauce
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, beat together the pumpkin, oil, and applesauce until well combined with an electric mixer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, ginger, and cloves.
- Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
- Pour batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack. Cool completely.
- While the bread is cooling, add the butter to a small sauce pan over medium heat and let melt. Once melted, continue cooking, whisking often, until the butter foams. When the butter begins foaming, whisk constantly until the butter turns a deep golden shade. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.
- Drizzle over the bread.
Aimee H. says
I have made this recipe over & over, my go to first pumpkin bake of fall. I substitute 1:1 gluten free flour & make 1/2 muffins, 1/2 bread. Everyone devours it!
Karly says
Thanks for sharing, Aimee!
Paul A. Poley says
I absolutely love this recipe. I’m a big pumpkin fan and I canned 50 quarts this year. Some for pies, cakes and even some for the dog to be mixed in with his dry food. This recipe along with the donuts and the bunt bread is perfect for those cold winters here in Michigan. Thanks again.
Karly says
Hi Paul! Sounds like you’ve got quite the treasure trove of pumpkin! That’s awesome!
So glad you enjoyed the bread!
Whitley scott says
Ok so I tried this and bc I saw no separation of ingredients I put the butter and powder sugar in my bread ? the batter tasted good let see how this goes
Karly says
Oh no, I don’t think that’s going to bake properly at all. Definitely be sure to follow along with the directions so that you’re adding ingredients at the right time and in the right place.
Whitley Scott says
Ok turns out it was pretty amazing more cake like but omg it was good so I went back and made the glaze to top at least one of them so we could choose which one we liked. Enter and they bother were phenomenal!!!
dora howland says
i wanted to try recipe but i do not understand measurements can you convert to cups and teaspoons?
Karly says
Hi Dora. This recipe is already using cups and teaspoons as measurements. If you want to convert to weight, you can try one of the online calculators to do so.
Diane says
Do u have a easy recipe for Rum cake, I will try the pumpkin bread, lov all your recipes, Ty !
Karly says
Hi Diane! I don’t have a rum cake recipe, unfortunately. I’ll have to work on that! 🙂
Tammy says
Hello I bought all the ingredients for this it looks absolutely delicious I need 2-30 ounce cans of the pumpkin or just one? I’m thinking about maybe just making one loaf instead of two so I guess 1-30ounce canned would be fine!?
Karly says
Hi Tammy! This recipe actually just needs 1 30-ounce can or 2 15-ounce cans. Sorry for the confusion! I just updated the recipe to make it more clear…that was written really weird! Sorry about that!
Lucy Beliveau says
You’ve done it yet again, Karly!! You reeled me in with the spider on my face story and now I’ve got your pumpkin bread recipe on my “To Do” list!! You and your recipe are both amazing!! Breads are probably my favorite baked goods to make so it took me no time at all to be convinced to bake this gorgeous pumpkin bread recipe! Everything but the pumpkin purée sits happily in my much loved pantry so a quick trip to the store and I’ll be ready, set to go!!! Thanks again!
Karly says
Hope you love it, Lucy!! 🙂
Thanks so much for the sweet comment!
Max says
Just wondering if you can use fresh pumpkin and how much you would need to cook??I haven’t seen tins in Australia
Karly says
Hi Max! I’m sure you could use fresh pumpkin, so long as you really drain it well. Canned pumpkin is very thick. You would need enough to equal 30 ounces after draining out the liquid.
Emily A says
How much pumpkin pie spice would I use in place of the individual spices?
Karly says
I’d use 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons.