Caribbean Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries, Figs, and Dates

This recipe is a favorite. For the batch in the photo, I used roasted Musquee de Province Fantasy Pumpkin.
I also made my own fig butter (I have a fig tree in my backyard), but if you don’t have a fig tree you can find fig butter at Trader Joes..

Makes 2 loaves. Can be frozen.

Ingredients

1 cup white flour
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 cup oatmeal

2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar (can increase to 1 cup if you prefer a sweeter bread)
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
3/4 cup olive oil
4 cups pureed pumpkin
1 cup water

Select any 3 of of the below ingredients. It’s okay to live dangerously and add them all. 🙂
1 bag fresh cranberries, cooked until soft (I microwave them in a large microwave-safe dish with 1/4 cup of water for about 3 minutes).
1 8 oz package chopped dates
1 cup of fig butter or 1 10 oz package of dried figs, stems removed, chopped finely or 2 cups of chopped fresh / frozen figs, chopped finely
2 cups golden raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 cups coconut

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix first 10 (dry) ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, oil, pumpkin, and water. Stir until well blended.
Add your selection from the fruit/berries/nuts list of ingredients. Stir until mixed throughout. For the bread in the photo, I used cranberries, dates, and fig butter.

Pour into two greased bread pans. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove from oven, allow to rest for about 5 minutes, then run a knife along the inside walls of the bread pan to separate the bread from anywhere it might have stuck. Remove from pan and allow to finish cooling.

Do not cut until next day.

Substitutions:
I used fresh roasted pumpkin. If using fresh pumpkin, puree it after cooking. It is fine to substitute canned pumpkin puree or cooked winter squash such as butternut or acorn squash.

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