recipe: squash spice loaf

i’ve made this recipe in the past using butternut squash, buttercup squash as well as a small pumpkin for the purée. i imagine any sweet squash would work. i used acorn squash (corey corrected me in the comments below, she will now be forever known as the queen of squash) to make this loaf. different squashes have different moisture content and the cooking time may vary.

also, i should say i’m not sure who to give credit to for this recipe. it’s one of those that i’ve tweaked and re-copied over the years and i really don’t know where the original came from. the first part shows how i make the purée and the second explains how i use the purée to make the loaf.  here goes…

i make the purée by slicing the squash in half and scooping out the seeds with a spoon — don’t throw those seeds out! they’re arguably the best part, and i’ll share how i roast them another time.

i place the squash halves face-down on a parchment lined baking sheet, then into the oven at 425 F (about 220 C) for approximately 30 minutes.

a fork should pierce the skin easily when the squash is cooked throughout, so depending on the variety of squash used, i keep testing with a fork every few minutes. once the squash is baked through, i take it out of the oven and let it cool.  then i use a spoon to scoop the flesh away from the skin and into a bowl.

you can use a food processor to puree, but i just whisk it with a fork til i have a fairly mushy smooth consistency. i think “mushy smooth” are technical culinary terms, right?… it doesn’t really matter because you’ve almost got this:

oops, did i give away the good stuff too soon? it’s quite good. here’s how you use the purée in the recipe to make this lovely loaf of spicy warm goodness.

ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped walnuts (i roast these first to bring out their flavour, but using them at all is optional)
• 2 cups of squash purée as prepared above
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (i’ve gotten away with even less sugar, some squash are sweet enough, and i use unsweetened applesauce in place of oil so even that adds a little more sweetness to the mix)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (oh hello you! i was just talking about you.)
• 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour (alternatively, you could use 2 cups white flour, or 2 cups whole wheat flour, but you’ll need to adjust the amounts of wet ingredients, so either increase or decrease the amount of squash and/or applesauce. generally speaking, more whole wheat flour requires more wet ingredients to create a moist mixture, whereas white flour requires less.)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

directions:

• in one bowl, whisk the eggs, add sugar and applesauce and keep mixing til smooth.
• in another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the rest of the spices.
• once the flour mixture is blended, add it to the egg mixture in portions, alternating with the squash purée. so, add about 1/3 of the flour into the egg mixture, stir, add about 1/3 of the squash purée, stir, add another 1/3 of the flour, mix, add another 1/3 of the squash, stir and so on.  if you are adding walnuts, fold them into the mix at the end, and pour it into a lightly greased loaf pan.
• bake in the oven at 350 F (about 180 C) for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. let cool and enjoy.

oops. how did that icing get on there? enter part 3 of this recipe.  totally not needed, as this loaf is pretty good on its own, but if you’re making a treat for someone with a sweet tooth…

easy icing recipe:

using a mixer, beat 8oz (250g) light cream cheese with 1/4 cup unsalted butter until blended and smooth. add 1/3 cup of brown sugar and about a teaspoon or two of grated orange or lemon or lime rind for zing. another technical culinary term, i’m sure.

zing!

enjoy.

you might want to read this disclaimer before trying this recipe ;-)

also shared on…