Pumpkin Spice Bread from The Cook’s Atelier: A Cozy Recipe for Autumn

As autumn settles all over France, the light becomes moodier. Cinderella pumpkins spring up in the markets, along with wild mushrooms, and crisp heirloom apples. Kitchens are alive with soul comforting food— and no one evokes that spirit better than The Cook’s Atelier’s Marjorie Taylor who helps run a French cooking school, boutique kitchen, home store and wine shop in Burgundy. The Cook’s Atelier’s most recent book French at Heart contains 100 go-to recipes that exemplify living well, the French way.

Taken from our archives, this beautiful reflection on fall in Burgundy, reminds us that cooking is as much for nourishment as it is for comfort and connection. Her Pumpkin Spice Bread, adapted from Edna Lewis, is a simple pleasure: fragrant, nostalgic. With Halloween rapidly approaching, Pumpkin Spice Bread is exactly what we’re craving.

The last days of summer flew by in a flash for me and it seems that by the time I finally caught my breath, we were already in autumn.  The leaves are changing, there is a crispness to the air and you can smell the smoke from the neighbor’s fireplace.  The markets gave way to the last little bit of summer produce and reflect the season, with a showing of heirloom apples, sweet pears, Cinderella pumpkins, quince and wild mushrooms.

Fall, with its change in weather, is the time to change your kitchen game plan. The season calls for a change in menus that feature much more hearty and substantial fare.  I enjoy cooking the classics, roasted chicken with potato purée and sauteed greens, boeuf bourguignon with homemade buttered egg noodles, pork roast with roasted apples and sage and braised rabbit with a creamy mustard sauce.  As the weather cools down, there is nothing quite as comforting as a pot of soup simmering on the stove or the aroma of a freshly baked apple tart.

It’s been busy at The Cook’s Atelier.  In addition to my cooking classes, I’ve been traveling quite a bit, visiting little villages and learning some regional dishes in the kitchens of local cooks along the way.  

I traveled from Beaune to Dijon to Grenoble and hit every little village market along the way – sometimes more than once. One stop was the Les Halles de Lyon where I enjoyed the best fruits de mer I think I have ever tasted.  I learned to make génépi des Alpes from my son-in-law and I showed him the secret to making the best pâte sucrée.

Today was my first visit to the market since I’ve returned to Beaune.  Gone are the heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, peaches and apricots.  In their place, a beautiful assortment of squash, parsnips and hearty greens.  

Each year, to celebrate the beginning of the season, one of the first things I bake is pumpkin spice bread.  I found this recipe years ago in Food & Wine and I’ve been baking it ever since.  It’s the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea on a chilly fall afternoon.

Pumpkin Spice Bread

Adapted from Edna Lewis

Makes one 9-inch loaf

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, preferably organic

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup fresh or canned unsweetened pumpkin purée

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk