A spiced pumpkin loaf for the Halloween weekend

The week of Halloween is a busy one in our house. Costumes need finishing, the lantern needs carving, and there are always more children through the door than I expect. So a few days before, I bake a spiced pumpkin loaf. It keeps well, it slices neatly, and a piece of it with a cup of tea is exactly what everyone wants after a cold walk round the neighbourhood with a bucket of sweets.

This is a simple, moist loaf made with oil rather than butter, with pumpkin purée, brown sugar and warm spices. It needs one bowl, one jug and no mixer.

The pumpkin purée comes first. I roast pumpkin flesh at 200°C until soft, as I do for supper, then mash it or blend it smooth and let it cool completely. You need 250 g. Roast pumpkin is better than boiled, because it is drier; too much water makes the loaf heavy. A carving pumpkin works, but its flesh is watery, so I let the purée drain in a sieve for a while. A tin of pumpkin purée, if you can find one, works too.

I heat the oven to 180°C, or 160°C for a fan oven, and line a 900 g loaf tin with baking parchment.

In a large bowl I mix 200 g of self-raising flour, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, a pinch of ground nutmeg and a pinch of salt. In a jug I beat two eggs with 150 g of light brown soft sugar and 100 ml of sunflower oil until smooth, then whisk in the cooled pumpkin purée.

I pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold them together gently with a spatula, just until there is no dry flour left. Beating it hard makes the loaf tough and peaked. The batter goes into the tin, I smooth the top, and it bakes for 50 to 60 minutes.

Ovens vary, so I check at 50 minutes. The loaf should be risen, deep golden and springy, and a skewer pushed into the middle should come out clean, with no wet batter on it. If the top browns too quickly, I lay a sheet of foil loosely over it for the last part. It is important to bake it through, because the batter contains raw egg and raw flour, and nobody tastes it from the bowl.

I let it cool in the tin for ten minutes, then lift it out on its paper and leave it on a rack until completely cold. Slicing a warm loaf squashes it.

A word for anyone with allergies coming to the door. This loaf contains wheat, eggs and, if you add them, nuts, so when I offer it to other people's children I say what is in it, and if I am not sure about a child's allergies, I offer a clementine instead. I usually leave nuts out altogether for that reason.

The loaf keeps for three days wrapped in baking paper and foil, or in a tin, in a cool place. In a warm kitchen, or after that, I keep it in the fridge. It also freezes well in slices, wrapped, for a month or two, so I can take out one piece at a time.

Spiced pumpkin loaf. Makes 10 slices. About 1 hour 15 minutes. You need 250 g cooled roast pumpkin purée, 200 g self-raising flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ginger, a pinch of nutmeg and salt, 2 eggs, 150 g light brown sugar and 100 ml sunflower oil. Mix the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs, sugar and oil, whisk in the pumpkin, and fold everything together. Bake in a lined 900 g loaf tin at 180°C (160°C fan) for 50–60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

What do you bake for the Halloween weekend?