Learn how to make the best maple pumpkin bread with this easy recipe. This moist pumpkin cake is sweetened with maple sugar and maple syrup, and then iced with maple butter and sprinkled with maple flakes to get the most maple flavour.
Butter and flour a 1-pound loaf pan, either a 9x5-inch (23x12.5x7.5 cm) loaf pan (like this Nordic Ware pan on Amazon) or for a taller loaf, use an 8.5x4.5-inch (21.5x11.5x7 cm) loaf pan (like this Oxo pan on Amazon). Line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, maple sugar, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.
Pour the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
Bake for about 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
Let cool for about 15 minutes or so before unmolding.
Cool completely before serving.
Optional garnishes
Once the cake has cooled and before serving, you can ice the top of the loaf cake with a thick layer of maple butter and sprinkle with maple flakes
Notes
The maple sugar that I used was similar to this brand on Amazon. If you can't find maple sugar, use light brown sugar. Granulated sugar will also work, but it's less flavourful.The maple butter topping adds a lot of flavour to this cake and it's really key to reinforcing the maple flavour of the loaf. You can make maple butter at home from maple syrup.If you'd prefer to use butter in the cake recipe, replace the oil with 115 grams (½ cup) of melted unsalted butter.