Pumpkin Loaf Revisited

Some of you will have all ready come into contact with my overpowering obsession with pumpkin... Last year I posted a recipe for pumpkin loaf (see it here) but since then I discovered that I have a wheat intolerance, so now I've adapted it this year into a tasty wheat free loaf that's perfect for autumn.

•  350 g peeled pumpkin
• 150 g clear honey, plus 2 tsp to glaze
• 150 g rye flour
• 150 g Doves Farm self-raising white flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 150 g butter, cut into small pieces and cold
•   3 tbsp pumpkin seeds  

 Now this is crazy simple, honestly. Preheat you oven to 180C or gas mark 4. Peel and chop your pumpkin, boil it for around 15 minutes, it needs to be lovely, soft and mushy. Once the pumpkin is boiled, drain it and stick it back in the pan, use a potato masher and go to town on it, you want a gooey mush of pumpkin. Then stir in the 150 g of honey - I'm sure golden syrup would work just as well.

In a separate bowl mix together the rye flour, Doves Farm flour, cinnamon and nutmeg, then dice the butter and rub it into the flour mix - it's a pretty messy job but there's no way around it and I quite enjoy getting my hands in there. Keep rubbing the butter into the flour mix until it's all combined and looks like breadcrumbs. All you need to do now is tip all that bright orange, sticky pumpkin into the flour and give it a good old mix with a wooden spoon.

Finally, bung this whole bowl of goodness into a greased loaf tin and bake for about an hour. Like I said in my previous post, you'll know when it's done because it'll smell too good. You really want a golden crust on the top, but try to just peak through the oven door, like a sponge cake you really want to avoid opening the door until it's done. Now, don't worry if it's still a little big wobbly in the centre, it will set as it cools, I promise! So leave the loaf in the tin for 10-15 minutes then carefully turn it out on to a wire cooling tray and try your very best not to scoff it immediately, I won't lie, it's tough. While you're waiting for it to cool, smear more honey on the top of the loaf and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on the top. 

Now, this is super tasty if you eat it warm, or with ice cream - enjoy!

Obviously, if you wanted to make this but didn't want a wheat free version simply switch the rye flour for wholemeal and the Doves Farm self-raising white flour for regular self-raising flour.