Cream Sherry-Pumpkin Bread

By SewingDragonfly

Use a fresh Sugar Pie pumpkin or other winter squash, such as a large Blue Hubbard for the best flavor when making your own puree, although commercially canned pumpkin is also an excellent alternative.

MY NOTES: I made this 10/19/02 and took it to work. Everybody LOVED it!

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 2/3 cups pureed fresh pumpkin or one 29 ounce can pumpkin puree
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup nut oil such as walnut, almond or sunflower seed
• 4 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cream sherry

Details

Servings 3

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease three 8 inch by 4 inch loaf pans or spray them with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the sugars, pumpkin, eggs and nut oil. Beat with a large whisk or a heavy duty electric mixer until smooth, about 1 minute.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. With a large spatula, combine the wet and dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in the cream sherry. Vigorously beat until thoroughly blended, about 1 to 2 minutes. The batter will be thick and fluffy.

Scrape the batter into the three prepared loaf pans, filling each no more than ¾ full. Bake immediately in the center of the oven for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of each loaf comes out clean. The top of the loaves will be crusty, and there will be a long crack down the center. Let stand for 5 minutes in the pans before turning the loaves out of the pans onto a rack, then turning them right side up to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let sit room temperature overnight or for up to four days before serving.

VARIATION:
Indian Pumpkin Bread-substitute 1 1/3 cups finely ground yellow, white or blue cornmeal for an equal amount of flour in step two when making the batter. Continue to mix and bake as instructed.