Butternut Squash Quick Bread
Last week the weather signaled that it was fall and this week the produce available at the farmer’s market followed suit. In a few days the calendar will finally get with the program and make it official. Instead of seeing produce stacks at the market piled high with zucchini and summer squash there were a few pumpkins and various types of winter squash.
I was planning to make a zucchini bread with the last burst of the summer crop but when I saw a butternut squash my plans changed. The bread smells and tastes like fall. As it baked the warm smell of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom filled our apartment.
This was the perfect bread to make for a lazy Sunday afternoon (or maybe that’s this bread?). I napped while the squash roasted and then put together the ingredients in just a few minutes. Somehow we managed to wait an hour before slicing into this; it was still nice and warm in the center.
I’m still working out how to best take pictures in our new apartment. Today I did had to come to terms with the fact that none of our windows get much of any direct sunlight in the afternoon. Perhaps this will prompt me to do more cooking for lunch on the weekends, but I’ll have to find a better solution for the coming winter when it gets dark early.
- 1 butternut squash
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1¾ cups AP flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Cut butternut squash in half long-ways and scoop out seeds. Place squash in a glass baking dish cut side up and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until soft.
- Once baked scoop out cooked squash then set aside.
- Grease and flour a small loaf pan
- In a large bowl, mix together the butternut squash puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the butternut squash mixture. Combine just until incorporated; do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
