Gluten free spiced pumpkin loaf with chai buttercream
FODMAP friendly, nut free*All cup and spoon measurements are in Australian cup and spoons. Use gram and ml for international accuracy.
Ingredients
For the pumpkin loaf:
- 130 g fine white rice flour
- 50 g tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg add 1/2 extra of each if you like it well spiced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 130 g brown sugar
- 125ml (1/2 cup)* plant based milk of choice
- 10ml (1 tablespoon)* vinegar apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 100 g pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs I always use extra large eggs
- 60ml (1/4 cup)* vegetable oil (you can also use olive)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the chocolate buttercream:
- 100 g butter at room temperature (salted or unsalted are both fine)
- 1 1/2 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 2 tablespoons plant based milk only use as much as necessary
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the spice mix
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 8 large cardamom pods husks discarded and seeds into the mortar and pestle
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon clove powder
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- Freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
To make the loaf:
- Preheat the oven to 180C/365F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the plant milk and vinegar and set aside to form a buttermilk. Don't panic if it looks curdled and awful - that is the whole idea. It will create a light and fluffy loaf. Thanks buttermilk.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients - flours, spices, sugars and baking powder/soda.
- Back to the buttermilk: add the remaining wet ingredients - pumpkin puree, eggs and oil. Whisk until a batter has formed.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and stir thoroughly to combine. The batter should be smooth, and look slightly aerated, thanks to the combination of 'buttermilk' and baking soda.
- Pour the batter into a silicon nonstick loaf pan. I like to give my silicon pans a little spray of oil first, even though you're not really supposed to. Rule breaker etc etc.
- Bake the loaf from 45 minutes to an hour. Mine needed the whole hour, and I covered them with a bit of foil towards the end, because the top looked perfect at 45. Once it's cooked, allow it to cool for 10 or so minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the buttercream:
- Use a mortar and pestle to grind the cardamom seeds and fennel seeds into a powder. I PROMISE it's worth the extra bit of work.
- Beat the butter until pale and creamy, before sifting in the icing sugar, cocoa, and spices. Add the milk, and continue to beat, starting on a low speed and building up. Continue to beat until incorporated and smooth, and adjust for your chai tastes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!