Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze is a delicious fall treat. Enjoy it for breakfast, snack or dessert, paired with your favourite hot drink!
If you’re looking for more gluten-free bread ideas, try my Almond Flour Zucchini Bread!
This Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread is perfect for the fall season, with a generous amount of pumpkin spice and a hint of maple in the cream cheese glaze.
Although I don’t follow a gluten-free diet, I love to use almond flour in baked goods. It’s more satiating than traditional wheat flour recipes, due to its higher fat and protein content. We love to make a loaf of this bread for meal prep, for quick breakfasts and snacks throughout the week!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread and Maple Cream Cheese Glaze. See the recipe card for exact quantities and detailed instructions.
For the bread
- Almond flour – the super-fine almond flour made from blanched almonds. This is necessary to get the right final texture (regular ground almonds won’t work). I use the Kirkland brand from Costco, but I also like Bob’s Red Mill and Yupik brands.
- Arrowroot powder – also called arrowroot starch or arrowroot flour. This ingredient helps the bread have a lighter, less dense texture than if you were using just almond flour. If you’re new to using arrowroot, this article is a great overview of what it is and the many ways to use it!
- Pumpkin pie spice – for all the delicious flavour! The recipe calls for a tablespoon. I tested with less, but we preferred the taste with the full tablespoon.
- Baking powder – for leavening
- Baking soda – for leavening and giving the nice brown colour on top of the loaf
- Sea salt
- Pumpkin purée – be sure to get plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, or you’ll have pumpkin spice overload!
- Maple syrup – the real stuff! It pairs with pumpkin really nicely, but you could also use honey.
- Eggs – for binding the other ingredients together and giving a nice springy texture to the loaf. I like to pre-whisk the eggs to ensure they are evenly distributed.
- Vanilla extract – for flavour
For the maple cream cheese glaze
- Plain cream cheese – softened to room temperature for easier blending and whipping
- Unsalted butter – softened to room temperature for easier blending and whipping
- Maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
How to make it
Step one: combine the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
Step two: add the wet ingredients to the dry
To the dry ingredients, add the pumpkin purée, maple syrup, whisked eggs and vanilla. Continue to mix until well combined.
Step three: Bake
Transfer the batter to a 9″x5″ loaf pan that is greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 °F for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
At the end of baking time, cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire cooling rack, then remove the loaf from the pan and continue to cool for an hour.
Step four: Make the glaze
While the loaf is cooling, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the cream cheese and unsalted butter together until it’s smooth and fluffy.
Add the maple syrup, vanilla and pinch of salt and continue to beat until well combined. Mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to reach your desired glaze texture.
Step five: Drizzle the glaze
Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze on the loaf (feel free to add more than I did, I had some glaze leftover). Slice and serve!
Tips for Success
Measure ingredients carefully. Ratios are important for all baking recipes, but it’s especially important in gluten-free recipes. If you have too much arrowroot, it could turn out crumbly. If you don’t have enough arrowroot or you have too much of the wet ingredients, it can turn out too moist in the middle and the top of the loaf will sink as it cools. I tested a lot of different ratios, so trust me on this one!
Don’t overcook. Start testing for doneness at 50 minutes. You want to avoid over-browning the top. If middle isn’t yet cooked and you find the top is getting too brown, you can cover it with foil for the remaining cook time.
Use softened cream cheese and butter to make the glaze. Using room temperature ingredients allows them to mix together more easily for a nice, smooth texture.
Fully cool before eating. For the best texture and flavour, you’ll want to wait until it’s fully cooled before eating. It tastes even better the next day. I find this is true for quick breads in general!
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Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
For the bread
- 3 cups almond flour (see note 1)
- ¾ cup arrowroot powder (also called arrowroot starch/flour)
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup plain pumpkin purée
- ½ cup real maple syrup (can sub honey)
- 3 large eggs, whisked
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the maple cream cheese glaze
- 2 ounces plain cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons milk (add enough to reach your desired texture)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line the bottom of a 9"x5" loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease the sides with cooking spray or coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot starch, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the pumpkin purée, maple syrup, whisked eggs and vanilla. Continue to mix together until the batter is well combined.
- Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Use a spatula to spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Bake uncovered for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the loaf from the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. You may need to use a thin knife around the edges of the loaf to get it unstuck.
- While the loaf is cooling, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the maple syrup, vanilla and salt, and continue to beat until well combined. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk, depending on your desired texture, and continue to mix until smooth.
- Once the loaf is cool, use a spoon to drizzle glaze on the loaf (you may have some glaze leftover, depending on how much you use). Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator and eat within a week.
Notes
- Be sure to use almond flour that is a super-fine grind made from blanched almonds. I have the Kirkland brand from Costco and I also like Bob’s Red Mill and Yupik brands.
- Recipe adapted from my Almond Flour Zucchini Bread.
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