Vegan Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping

I grow and cook my own pumpkins. I am especially fond of Blue pumpkins- blue on the outside and deep, deep orange on the inside, which is perfect for baking. I enjoy using pumpkin in a number of ways, such as in Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones. And in pumpkin bread. But after years of making “regular” pumpkin breads, I wanted to “oomph” up my pumpkin bread recipe. So after considering and experimenting with various changes, I decided to try adding pears, since I had some. And I am so glad I did! I was surprised how wonderfully well pumpkin and pears go together. And the streusel topping adds the perfect finishing touch!

I made this as 2 loaves. However, it works equally well if made as jumbo muffins.

For additional pumpkin recipes, please see:

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping.

Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping,

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Optional Almond Streusel Topping,

Penuche Pumpkin Cookies with optional Penuche Icing,

Vegan Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey Pumpkin Cookies with Optional Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey Icing

Diabetic Friendly Pumpkin Spiced Cookies

Gluten Free Penuche Pumpkin Cookies with Optional Penuche Icing,

The Inside Scoop

This is a fairly straightforward recipe. I just have a few inside comments:

When both volumetric and weight measures are provided, the volumetric measures should be considered approximations. The standard measure for a cup of sugar is 192 grams. By volume, this measure will be less than 1 cup.

I grow my own pumpkins and cook them; that way, I can control how much water is left in the pumpkin. If you are using commercially canned pumpkin, you will probably need to drain off the excess water. Too much water in the pumpkin will make the loaves difficult to bake and possibly cause them to collapse. This is also true for pumpkin cookies and pies.

To drain the excess water from the pumpkin, fill a jelly bag with the pumpkin and place the bag and bag holder over a bowl. Let the excess water drain off until the pumpkin is no longer watery and will hold a shape but is not dry. I often speed this along by gently squeezing the bag to remove the excess water.

If you do not have a jelly bag, line a sieve with several layers of cheesecloth. Place the pumpkin on the cheesecloth and let it drain until it is no longer watery and holds a shape without being dry.

This recipe can be made as 11 jumbo muffins or as two 4″ x 8″ loaf coffeecakes. For jumbo muffins, spray the cupcake liners with a non-stick cooking spray. For loaf pans, spray with non-stick cooking spray and then line the loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving enough parchment paper on the ends to form “handles.”

If you are using streusel topping, sprinkle the streusel lightly over the top of the batter; distribute evenly over the surface. Avoid clumps of streusel; clumps of streusel will sink into the coffeecake.

Do not add the streusel topping if you will be freezing this bread/coffeecake. When thawed, previously frozen streusel topping has a decidedly unpleasant appearance.

This is a very high rising bread/coffeecake. Do not fill pans more than 3/4 full. A standard toothpick will not reach far enough into the loaf to accurately determine if it is baked all the way through. Use a metal cake tester or skewer (I use metal kabob skewers) to check for doneness.

The bread should be removed from the loaf pans after 10-15 minutes to prevent the bread from sticking to the pans, and to prevent the bottom of the bread from becoming slightly wet due to condensation. Leave the parchment paper on the bottom of the loaves when they are placed on the cooling racks to prevent the cooling racks from leaving marks on the loaves.

Print Recipe

Vegan Pumpkin Pear Bread with an Almond Streusel Topping

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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By Connie Teunis – Serves: 16

A high-rising, exceptionally moist VEGAN loaf of Pumpkin Bread enhance with pears for an amazing flavor combination.

Ingredients

• Bread Ingredients:
• 1/2c. Coconut Milk + 1 t. Cider Vinegar
• 420 g./ 3 ½ c. All-Purpose Flour, divided
• 384 g./ 2 c. Granulated Vegan Sugar
• 1 ½ t. Baking Soda
• 1 ½ t. Baking Powder
• ½ t. Salt
• 2 t. Cinnamon
• ¼ t. Cardamom
• 1 ½ c./ 325 g. (approximately 3) Fresh Pears, pared and chopped*
• 1 c. Canola Oil
• 325 g./ 1 1/3 c. Cooked, pureed pumpkin or canned pumpkin, drained of excess water
• 4 T. Pure Maple Syrup
• Streusel Topping Ingredients (opt.):
• 13 g./ 1 ½ T. + 1 t. Very cold Vegetable Shortening
• 54 g./ 4 ½ T. Granulated Vegan Sugar
• 1 ¼ t. Cinnamon
• ¼ t. Cardamom
• 11 g./ 1 ½ T. All-Purpose Flour
• 11 g./ 1 ½ T. Sliced or Slivered Almonds

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2

Spray 2- 8 ½” x 4 ½” x 2 ½” loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray. (You can also use multiple smaller pans or muffin cups.) Line the bottom and short ends of the loaf pans with parchment paper, leaving enough parchment paper on the short ends to create “handles.” If making muffins, line the muffin tin with paper cupcake liners; spray the paper liners with non-stick cooking spray. If possible, when making large loaves, double the loaf pans to prevent excess browning on the bottom.

3

If the pumpkin appears watery, line a sieve with cheesecloth, place the pumpkin in the cheesecloth and let the excess water drain. OR use a jelly bag and let the excess water drain. The pumpkin should be dry enough to maintain the hole if you press a finger into it and make a hole.

4

In a medium-small bowl, combine the coconut milk and cider vinegar; set aside for 15 minutes.

5

Place all streusel ingredients into a small food processor; pulse until ingredients are combined but still granular. Set aside.

6

Peel and core the pears. Chop. Measure out 325 grams of pear; place the chopped pears in a small bowl. Toss with 60 g./ ½ c. of the all-purpose flour; set aside.

7

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 360 g./ 3 cups all-purpose flour, granulated vegan sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon. Whisk together; set aside.

8

Add the canola oil, prepared pumpkin, pure maple syrup to the bowl with the soured coconut milk; with the stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat on low speed until well mixed. Add the dry ingredients; by hand, gently fold together until there are no visible dry ingredients.

9

Pour approximately 32 ounces of pumpkin pear batter into each prepared loaf pan. Top with the prepared streusel, thinly spreading the streusel evenly over the surface of the bread. There may be extra streusel topping.

10

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 60 minutes or until a metal cake tester or skewer, when inserted into the middle of the bread, slides in easily and comes out fairly dry. Adjust the baking time as needed for smaller loaves or muffins.

11

Remove the loaves from the oven and place onto a cooling rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan by taking the flat end of a knife and running it down the long sides to check that the loaves are not sticking. Then use the parchment “handles” to lift the bread out of the pan and place onto the cooling rack. Cool completely.

12

Enjoy!

13

Note: Do not apply streusel if you plan to freeze the bread. The streusel will have a decidedly unpleasant appearance when thawed.

14

*If using canned pears, drain the pears and pat dry. Too much pear juice will cause the bread to collapse.