Pumpkin Spice Bread with Ginger and Walnuts

I made this delicious loaf for my Mom at Christmas. It is hearty with warm flavors of spice, sweetness from crystallized ginger and a rich meaty texture from the walnuts. Did I mention it's also gluten-free? My mom has a gluten allergy and this Pumpkin Spice Bread is perfect for people that cannot digest gluten:

Pumpkin Spice Bread with Ginger and Walnuts

Yields: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
3/4 C brown sugar
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 C pureed pumpkin
1/4 milk

1 1/2 to 2 C gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground clove

1/2 C crystallized ginger, chopped; reserve 2 T for topping
1/2 C walnuts, chopped; reserve 2 T for topping.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.

Sift the dry ingredients: flour, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder) in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar until well combined and texture is fluffy. Add olive oil, pumpkin, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 1/2 C intervals and mix until well blended. Once you've mixed all of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, add in the extra 1/2 C if the batter seems too runny.

Fold in crystallized ginger and walnuts to the batter. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with remaining ginger and walnuts. Place in center rack of the oven and bake 60 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn bread out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Slice and serve warm with a touch of butter and a cuppa tea!

*We baked our loaf in a convection oven at 350 for exactly 60 minutes. This loaf will rise quite a bit.
*If you want to make this loaf Vegan: substitute eggs for an egg replacement and the milk for almond milk!

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!