Pumpkin, Poppy Seed and Lemon Loaf is a modern American recipe for a classic moist loaf made form a blend of pumpkin puree, flour, sugar, egg and milk flavoured with poppy seeds and lemon zest that makes and excellent accompaniment for Halloween or Thanksgiving. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic American version of: Pumpkin, Poppy Seed and Lemon Loaf.
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Ingredients:
225g peeled and de-seeded pumpkin flesh, cubed
4 tbsp whole milk
1 large egg, beaten
175g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice)
1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
50g unsalted butter, finely diced
2 tbsp poppy seeds
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
Method:
Bring a pan of water to a boil, add the pumpkin and cook for about 12 minutes, or until just tender. Drain the pumpkin thoroughly then set aside to cool until the steam dies away. After this time turn into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Scrape into a mixing bowl then mix in 3 tbsp of the milk and the egg. In the meantime, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and mixed spice into a bowl. Stir in the nutmeg then add the butter and rub into the flour mix with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the pumpkin purée mix and stir until just combined (add the remainder of the milk if the mixture looks a little dry).
Stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest. Grease a 800g loaf tin then line with greaseproof (waxed) paper and grease once more. Turn the batter into this and smooth over the top then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for 45 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown.
Remove the cake form the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight tin (it will keep for up to a week). Slice before serving.
