Double Brown Butter Streusel Pumpkin Bread
A nutty brown butter pumpkin bread topped with crunchy streusel & a sweet maple glaze. We’re making this loaf with toasted milk powder & homemade pumpkin spice, for maximum flavour.
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This homemade streusel pumpkin bread is seriously tasty & incredibly easy to make! In fact, the batter’s mixed in just one bowl & comes together in no time at all…
To make this Autumnal loaf cake, you’ll need to prepare 3 components. First, there’s the pumpkin loaf, which we’re making with brown butter, toasted milk powder (for double the brown butter flavour!), sour cream and homemade pumpkin spice which gives it a fantastic flavour & a soft, moist texture. There’s plenty of pumpkin puree & brown sugar in the mix as well, to make this loaf even better!
Next, there’s the brown sugar streusel. We’re making this crumble style topping with brown sugar & demerara sugar for a rich, caramelised flavour & an extra crunchy texture that compliments the lightly spiced pumpkin bread perfectly.
Finally, the maple glaze. To make this, we simply mix icing sugar & maple syrup together! This gets poured over the warm pumpkin loaf then we let it set & cool before slicing. This glaze has just the right level of sweetness & brings the other components of this pumpkin bread together nicely…
I’m on a bit of loaf cake kick at minute having recently posted a sour cream pound cake recipe, a chocolate ganache loaf and a rapeseed oil lemon drizzle loaf cake. If there’s a loaf cake you’d like to see on the blog, feel free to leave a comment on this post!
Looking for more baking recipes to try? We have recipes for a whole load of bakes. From homemade bread & sourdough, to cakes, brownies & cookies.
What You’ll Need
- Pumpkin Puree – We’re using tinned pumpkin puree for this recipe, mainly for convenience. If you wanted to make your own puree, I’d recommend using butternut squash as this has a lower moisture content than fresh pumpkin.
- Butter – You’ll need unsalted butter for the streusel & for the brown butter (for the pumpkin bread).
- Sugar – We’re using 4 different sugars for this recipe. You’ll need dark brown, demerara, caster & icing sugar. The dark brown & demerara sugar are used for the streusel, the pumpkin bread uses dark brown & caster sugar and the maple glaze uses icing sugar.
- Sour Cream – Adding sour cream into our pumpkin bread batter increases the fat content, making the loaf extra soft, tender & moist. It’s best that the sour cream is at room temperature before using.
- Eggs – Our pumpkin loaf uses 2 large eggs & an extra yolk. Your large eggs should weigh around 60 grams each, without the shell (63-73g in the shell).
- Flour – You’ll need plain/all purpose flour for both the streusel & the pumpkin bread.
- Raising Agents – To make our pumpkin bread rise, we’re using both baking powder & bicarbonate of soda. Make sure to measure these accurately for the best results!
- Salt – Pumpkin bread needs a fair amount of salt so I wouldn’t recommend reducing the amount in the recipe.
- Pumpkin Spice – We’re making our own pumpkin spice for this pumpkin bread. For this you’ll need ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & cloves.
- Maple Syrup – Used for our maple glaze! A good maple syrup makes all the difference here.
How To Line A Loaf Tin
The best way to prepare the tin for our pumpkin bread, is to generously grease the inside of a 2 lb loaf tin with soft butter (or oil) then line the base & 2 longer sides with a piece of baking parchment, leaving a couple of centimetres overhanging. This also acts like a sling, making it easier to remove the loaf once baked.
How To Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread
The full, printable recipe card for this pumpkin bread can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…
- Streusel
We’re making the streusel first so that it has plenty of time to chill in the fridge before it is baked (this is key to getting a crisp, crunchy topping). To make the streusel, we rub butter into flour (flavoured with cinnamon, ginger & salt) until it resembles breadcrumbs then we stir in the sugars. We squeeze the mix together by hand, to form small clumps then chill the streusel whilst we make the pumpkin bread. - Double Brown Butter
Before making the pumpkin bread batter, we need to make some double brown butter. To do this, we cook butter over a medium heat until it turns golden brown & smells nutty then immediately stir in a spoonful of toasted milk powder. We then transfer the brown butter to a bowl & let it cool to room temperature.
For more info on brown butter, check out our how to make brown butter guide! - Pumpkin Bread Batter
To make the pumpkin bread, we add pumpkin puree into a mixing bowl along with the brown butter, sour cream, eggs, dark brown sugar & caster sugar. We give this a whisk, to combine then add in sifted plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt & spices then gently whisk again, until just incorporated. - Baking
Next, we transfer the batter into a greased & lined 2 lb loaf tin, top with the streusel then bake at 175°c/350°f for 50 minutes – 1 hour until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the cake starts to brown too much towards the end of the cook, we cover it loosely with a piece of foil. - Cooling Down
Once our pumpkin bread is cooked, we let it cool in the tin for 30 minutes then lift it out & transfer to a cooling rack. - Maple Glaze
Whilst our loaf is cooling in the tin, we make the glaze by mixing sifted icing sugar with maple syrup. This then gets poured over the top of the pumpkin bread as soon as it comes out of the tin, whilst it’s still warm.
Pumpkin Bread Tips & Tricks
- Use tinned pumpkin puree to give your loaf the best flavour & texture. Plus it’s extra convenient!
- Don’t be shy with the spices & salt, this is key for the best tasting pumpkin bread.
- Use room temperature sour cream & eggs for a smoother batter.
- Chill the streusel in the fridge before baking, for an extra crisp topping.
- Bake the pumpkin bread until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Don’t open the oven too early though as this can cause the loaf to sink.
- Line the base & sides of your loaf tin with a piece of baking parchment, to prevent the loaf from sticking. Leaving some parchment over hanging the sides makes it easier to remove the loaf from the tin as well.
- Pour the maple glaze over the pumpkin bread whilst it’s still warm. This helps the glaze coat the streusel evenly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Stored in an airtight container, streusel pumpkin bread will keep for up to 3 days. You could store the pumpkin bread in the fridge & extend the shel life by a couple of days. Make sure to serve it at room temperature though!
Tinned pumpkin puree is best for pumpkin bread, just make sure to use one that contains 100% pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling! Although you could make your own pumpkin puree, it is a lot of effort & the moisture content might be too high. The flavour will be the same either way!
Brown sugar streusel can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days before being cooked. Make sure to store the streusel in an airtight container.
To prevent any chance of your pumpkin bread sticking, it’s best to grease the tin generously with butter/oil and line the base & two longer sides with a piece of baking parchment. This also acts like a sling, making it easier to remove the loaf from the tin once baked.
Double brown butter is made by browning butter on the stove then stirring in toasted milk powder. This increases the toasted milk solids, doubling the brown butter flavour!
Toasted milk powder is made by cooking powdered milk in a pan until it turns golden brown. For more info on toasted milk powder & how to make it, check out our guide to toasted milk powder.
Once cooked, your pumpkin bread will be well risen & a deep golden brown all over. A skewer inserted in the centre of the loaf will come out clean. This will take 50 minutes – 1 hour in an oven set to 175°c/350°f. Make sure to keep an eye on your pumpkin bread towards the end of the cook (after around 45 minutes), if it starts to brown too much, cover the top loosely with foil.
Pumpkin bread goes great with salted butter!
How To Cook Pumpkin Bread In An Aga
With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe in an Aga…
Use the boiling plate to brown the butter. Bake the pumpkin bread in the baking oven, on a grid shelf placed on the floor.
Equipment Used
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More Baking Recipes To Try!
- Chocolate Loaf Cake With Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Rapeseed Oil Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
- Black Tahini Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Brown Butter Biscoff Rice Krispie Treats
- Nutty Brown Butter Flapjacks
- Lemon & Almond Battenberg
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Double Brown Butter Streusel Pumpkin Bread
Equipment
- 2lb Loaf Tin
- Mixing Bowls
- Saucepan
- Jug
- Cooling Rack
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Streusel
- 70 g Plain Flour
- ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp Ground Ginger
- A Pinch Of Table Salt
- 35 g Unsalted Butter (Chilled & Diced)
- 20 g Demerara Sugar
- 20 g Dark Brown Sugar
Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread
- 100 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Toasted Milk Powder (See Notes)
- 200 g Tinned Pumpkin Puree (See Notes)
- 120 g Sour Cream (At Room Temperature)
- 130 g Dark Brown Sugar
- 120 g Caster Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 220 g Plain Flour
- 1¼ tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda
- ¾ tsp Table Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Ground Cloves
Maple Glaze
- 70 g Icing Sugar (Sifted)
- 85 g Maple Syrup
Instructions
Brown Sugar Streusel
- Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger & salt into a mixing bowl, whisk to combine then add in the butter.
- Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs, stir in both of the sugars then squeeze the mix together, to form small clumps.If the pieces of streusel are too big, break them up with your fingertips.
- Chill the streusel in the fridge whilst you make the pumpkin bread.
Brown Butter Pumpkin Bread
- Start by browning the butter. To do this, chop the butter into evenly sized pieces then place into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat & allow to melt, stirring regularly with a spatula. Keep cooking, until the butter starts to foam, smell nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown.
- Once the butter has browned, take it off the heat & immediately stir in the toasted milk powder. Transfer the butter to a bowl & leave to cool to room temperature. The brown butter should take around 30 minutes to cool.
- Whilst the butter is cooling down, preheat an oven to 175°c/155°c fan (350°f/310°f). Also grease a 2 lb loaf tin with butter then line the bottom & two longer sides with a piece of baking parchment, leaving a couple of centimetres overhanging the tin's edges (this makes it easier to take the cake out of the tin once it is cooked!).
- Add the pumpkin puree, brown butter, sour cream, sugars & eggs into a large mixing bowl then whisk to combine.
- Next, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda & all the spices into the pumpkin, add in the salt then whisk gently until just incorporated.Be careful not to over mix the batter!
- Switch to a rubber spatula & scrape the sides of the bowl down, to ensure that everything is incorporated then transfer the batter to the lined tin, spreading it out into an even layer.
- Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the batter then bake the pumpkin bread for 50 minutes – 1 hour until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.Check the pumpkin bread after 45 minutes, if it's starting to brown too much, loosely cover the top with foil.
- Let the pumpkin bread cool in the tin for 30 minutes then lift out of the tin & transfer to a cooling rack. Make the maple glaze, whilst your pumpkin bread is cooling. We're going to be pouring it over the loaf whilst it's still warm!
Maple Glaze
- Add the sifted icing sugar & maple syrup into a jug then stir to combine. Pour this over the top of the cake as soon as it comes out of the tin, whilst it's still warm.Set the cooling rack over a tray, to catch any glaze that drips off.
- Let the pumpkin bread cool completely then cut into slices & serve!
