Brown Butter Spice Loaf (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 Tb almond oil (or hazelnut oil, or another Tb of melted butter)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 cup candied ginger, minced (or just a few pieces, the amount doesn't have to be perfect)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pureed roasted winter squash (you can substitute pumpkin, or even bananas!)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lightly toasted sliced almonds
1 Tb Turbinado/muscovado sugar for sprinkling (coarse golden sugar)
Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat until it turns brown and yummy and toasty. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. You want the butter solids toasted, but not scorched. Stir in the almond oil, or extra Tb butter. Set aside and allow to cool while you mix up the batter.
Preheat oven to 350. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and let them toast while the oven warms up. Butter/line a loaf pan, set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking soda, spices, ginger, and salt in a large bowl. (Remove almonds from the oven when they're lightly toasted) In a smaller bowl, whisk the sugar, eggs, squash, and milk together. Whisk in the butter (make sure it isn't hot) Add the wet ingredients to the flour, and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and almonds, and bake for about 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, or with a few crumbs. Do not overbake!!
*Variations: The original recipe used a garam masala mix instead of the spices I chose. I wasn't brave enough to try it, but you could! The cardamom adds an interesting, almost savory-peppery note. You could skip that if you want. Also, you can substitute the oil for butter, skip the browning, replace squash with pumpkin or banana... All kinds of ideas!
*To make roasted squash: Roast large wedges or small cubes of skinned and seeded pumpkin, butternut squash, red kuri squash, etc. on a baking sheet, drizzled with olive oil in a 375 degree oven until tender. (30-45 minutes) Let cool a bit, then puree.