High Country Baking: Pumpkin Pecan Loaf

High altitudes make cookies spread in the pan, cakes fall, and few baked goods turn out as they do at sea level. This twice-monthly column presents recipes and tips that make baking in the mountains successful.

Finally! Fall has arrived, a time when our culinary cravings move from fresh and light to warm and cozy. This mildly sweet pumpkin loaf, redolent with spices and pebbled by pecans, is a perfect introduction to the new season. Serve it any time of day with a sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar or solo, and add a glaze, caramel sauce, or cinnamon ice cream, for a delightful dessert. It’s a welcome addition to any meal from early autumn through the holiday season. The flavors strengthen for several days after baking, so you can and should make it ahead.

If you lack pumpkin pie spice you can make your own. Whisk 2 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon with ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon of both ground cloves and ground allspice and 1/3+1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg. You’ll have more than you need for this recipe, store the rest in a small, sealed package.

Pumpkin-Pecan Loaf

Make in a six-cup loaf or Bundt pan

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Adjusted for altitudes of 7,000 feet and above

Active time: 25 minutes, total time: 70 minutes-plus overnight refrigeration

Loaf batter

One-third cup pecans, roasted and chopped medium/fine

One cup plus two tablespoons unbleached flour, spoon and level

One-fourth teaspoon table salt

One-fourth teaspoon baking powder

On-eighth teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

7 ½ ounces pumpkin puree (half a 15 ounce can)

One-fourth cup plus two tablespoons canola oil

One-third cup packed dark brown sugar

One-fourth cup granulated sugar, preferably superfine

Two large eggs, room temperature

One teaspoon vanilla paste or extract

Confectioners’ Sugar, optional

Maple glaze, optional

One tablespoon melted unsalted butter

One to two tablespoons dark maple syrup

One tablespoon cream or milk

One half to one cup confectioners’ sugar

Dash of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla, optional

Rum glaze, optional

One tablespoon melted unsalted butter

One to two tablespoons dark rum

One half to one cup confectioners’ sugar

Splash of vanilla, optional

Get ready: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with a rack in the center position. Generously grease your pan with a baking spray that contains flour. In a small bowl, combine the chopped pecans with one tablespoon of the flour and toss them until they are well coated with it. Set this aside.

Make the batter: Add the next five ingredients (the remaining one cup plus one tablespoon flour through pumpkin pie spice) to a small bowl, and with your mixer at its lowest speed, blend them well. Set the bowl aside. In a larger mixing bowl, use your mixer to beat the pumpkin puree, oil, brown and granulated sugars, eggs and vanilla until fully combined. With a lower speed, stir in the flour mixture in three additions.

Transfer batter to pan: Spoon about one-third of the batter into the prepared pan. Stir the chopped nuts and all their flour into the remaining two-thirds of the batter, make sure they’re evenly distributed in it, then spoon it over the nut-free batter, taking care not to blend it into the batter without nuts. This helps prevent the nuts from sinking into the pan bottom (which will be the top once the loaf is baked and inverted). Level the top of the batter and rap the pan on a hard surface several times to dislodge any air bubbles.

Bake and cool: Move the pan to the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This took 23-28 minutes when the batter was baked in a long, narrow pan. The time will vary by pan shape and size so use the toothpick test, not the time, to determine when it’s done. Cool on a lightly greased rack for 10-12 minutes, invert the pan and let the loaf fall out onto the rack and cool it completely. Cover it and give it a day in the refrigerator for flavors to blend.

Add glaze, if using: For both glazes, blend the ingredients listed above the sugar, then slowly whisk in the sugar until the mixture thickens enough to slide off a spoon. If it’s too thick, add milk or water to thin it. Give it a taste, add optional flavorings, if desired. Drizzle it decoratively over the loaf. Let the glaze set.

Store: Store the loaf, refrigerated, well covered, for three days. Freeze it, wrapped airtight, for a month.

Vera Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.