Spicy Pumpkin Tea Bread

There’s a lot to love about this recipe — it’s easy to prepare, crowd-pleasing, stores well, and most importantly, it’s tasty as all get-out. Earthy pumpkin is elevated to next-level coziness thanks to a little sweetness and plenty of spice; Big Heart Tea’s Spicy Pumpkin tea adds an energizing kick and a pleasing bit of flavor complexity. 

The finished product is a sweet bread that works equally well for breakfast, afternoon tea, or topped with a scoop of ice cream for a decadent seasonal dessert. 

Note: It probably goes without saying, but this bread pairs beautifully with a cup of BHT’s Spicy Pumpkin tea.

About the author:

My name is Jessie Oleson Moore. I used to be a minor internet baking celebrity thanks to my former blog, CakeSpy. Now, I’m a freewheeling freelance writer, illustrator, and baking enthusiast. I’m also a new mom, and as such I’m particularly interested in recipes that are easy to make, easy to store, and that my kid will enjoy baking with me, enjoy eating, or both.

A few things to know about this recipe:

• While the active part of this recipe is only 10 minutes or so, the bake time can take over an hour — so make sure you’ve got time! 
• Regarding the tea, two quick tips. First, be sure to leave yourself time to brew the tea and let it cool before you start baking. Adding hot tea to the recipe could affect the outcome (and probably not in the way you’d like). Second, consider brewing the tea double-strong (use two tea bags). Since this recipe has a lot of flavors going on, the stronger the tea, the more of a flavor impact it will have. 
• This recipe yields two loaves, mainly to utilize the entire can of pumpkin puree — but it can be halved if desired (and if you’re good at math and if you have another use for half a can of pumpkin puree).
• Feel like mixing it up? Add a handful of chocolate chips or toasted nuts to the mix. 
• Not sure how to prep a loaf pan? Generously grease it on the bottom and sides, then dust it with flour. For added ease of removal, I like to add a strip of parchment paper that lines the bottom of the pan and comes up the sides to create little “handles” that make for easy hoisting of the bread out of the pan later. 
• If you can’t find plain pumpkin puree and can only find the pre-spiced kind, you can reduce the amount of pumpkin pie spice you add or omit it entirely, depending on your desired spice level. 
• Can’t get enough spice? I’m a thrill seeker, and have been known to add double the amount of spice to this recipe. 
• This recipe works well with BHT’s Chai tea as well. 

Prep time: 10 min

Total time: Approx 1 hour, 30 min 

Yield: 2 loaves 

Ingredients

Bread

• 3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• One 15-ounce can plain pumpkin purée
• 2/3 cup Big Heart Tea’s Spicy Pumpkin tea, brewed double-strength (2 bags) and cooled to room temperature 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  

Glaze (suitable for both loaves, can be halved for just one loaf)

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• Healthy shake of pumpkin pie spice 
• 1 tablespoon milk or cream
  

Instructions

1. Brew 1 to 2 bags of Spicy Pumpkin Tea. Set aside too cool for step 4.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  
4. In a separate large bowl, stir together the oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin, brewed tea, and vanilla. 
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pans.  
7. Bake for 55 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean (a few clinging crumbs are ok, but no goo!). Remove from the oven, put the pans on cooling racks. Let the bread cool before removing from the pans. 
8. Make the glaze! Place the confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl and add the milk, a tiny bit at a time, until the glaze has your desired texture (you may not need the full tablespoon). 
9. Drizzle the glaze on top of the bread. Serve in fat slices. 
10. This bread can be stored at room temperature (tightly wrapped in plastic) for several days, or transferred to the freezer for longer storage.