Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Bread is a moist pumpkin bread filled with a center of delicious creamy dulce de Leche making each slice heavenly. I will admit this was an experiment. After making dulce de leche last week, the ideas swirled in my head of different uses for this delicious spread beyond the usual cakes and cookies. There are many recipes out there for what to do with this South American treat. But what could I do that would be different?
Since it is fall, I thought, why not try a pumpkin bread filled with a row of it down the center. I had no idea if it would work. I lowered the sugar slightly to compensate for how sweet dulce de leche is. I also lowered the spice a bit so you could taste the caramel more, but it still needed to taste like pumpkin bread. It is a tricky balance to get right. I made a trough in the center, spooned in the dulce de leche, and covered it with a bit more batter, hoping it would sink just enough to be in the center of the loaf. The bread baked up nice and high, and it smelled fantastic, but did my idea work? Absolutely! The result turned out fantastic. The slice is nice and moist with a center of creamy dulce de leche that is very tasty.
This is one of those recipes that just needs one bowl and mixes together in just a few minutes. It is so easy. Even the dulce de leche center is just spooned in and covered. If you have some made or store-bought, this is a great recipe. (If you have an instant pot, it is a breeze to make homemade dulce de leche. See my recipe here.) The surprise of the caramel center is fabulous. This recipe only makes one loaf using a whole can of pumpkin. It is a pet peeve when I find a recipe for pumpkin bread that uses only part of a can. It’s wasteful. I used this pan from USA pans to bake this delicious bread. It is my favorite bread pan. Nothing sticks to it, and it makes fantastic pumpkin bread.
Ok, that is all for this week. If you are in the mood for pumpkin bread with a little difference, this dulce de leche pumpkin bread is just the ticket! I’m not sure I will ever make a plain pumpkin bread again. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy out there. Please think of others in your choices. We all need to get through these crazy times together. Until next time!
- 1 15- ounce can 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
- ½ cup avocado oil melted butter, or any neutral vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda or ¾ teaspoon baking soda for low altitude
- ½ teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- Two pinches of ground cloves
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dulce de leche bought or homemade
- 1 tablespoon 12 grams granulated sugar
-
Heat oven to 350°F.
-
Grease with butter an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch (6-cup) loaf pan or coat it with nonstick spray.
-
Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Sprinkle baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves over the batter and whisk until well combined.
-
Add flour and stir with a spoon just until mixed.
-
Reserve about ½ cup of the batter.
-
Spread the remaining mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
-
Make a 1-inch trench down the center of the batter.
-
Spoon in the dulce de leche along the trench, spreading it evenly.
-
Cover with the remaining ½ cup of the batter and carefully smooth it out to cover completely and make an even top.
-
Sprinkle the tablespoon granulated sugar over the top of the batter.
-
Bake the pumpkin bread for 65 to 75 minutes until a tester poked into several parts of the loaf comes out batter-free. Don’t poke into very the center, as it will have dulce de leche in it.
-
You can cool it in the pan for 10 minutes and then remove it, or cool it completely before removing it. The latter provides the advantage of letting more of the loose sugar on top adhere before being knocked off.
-
The pumpkin bread will keep for several days at room temperature, or you can freeze it.
