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This Healthier Pumpkin Banana Bread is generously spiced and is made using applesauce and spelt flour, and then spread with an addicting Maple Caramel Cream Cheese Icing.
This is the most moist quick bread that I have ever had. No contest. It has all the powerhouses of moistness: brown sugar, buttermilk, pumpkin and banana!
It is a healthier version of the best pumpkin bread and pumpkin coffee cake!
Aaaannnd then there is obviously the Maple Caramel Icing to completely separate this bread from Healthy. A silky, decadent maple cream cheese frosting made with my Maple Caramel Sauce.
Pure pumpkin maple bliss.
{Little sigh of pleasure}
The bread is ridiculously addictive and delicious even unadorned with frosting. It is incredibly moist and bursting with pumpkin and spices! I ate an entire mini-loaf by myself the first night. BAD.
But oh so good.
This pumpkin bread is packed full of Fall spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and, yes, mace. Don’t forget the mace! It’s my secret ingredient that I shared in my post about Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I used mostly spelt flour in place of all-purpose flour in this recipe, but if you can’t find it, using 100% all-purpose flour will be just as wonderful.
Healthier Banana Pumpkin Bread with Maple Caramel Icing
Ingredients
For the Bread:
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground mace
- 3 medium very ripe bananas
- 16 oz pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 cup applesauce no sugar added
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 2 cups dark brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 ounces cold cream cheese no whipped, no low-fat
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold but still firm
- pinch kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1/3 cup Maple Caramel Sauce Recipe Here
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Banana Bread:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° and butter and sugar (or flour) 2: 9 inch x 5 inch x 3 inch loaf pans or 6 mini pans.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, powder, salt and all the spices; set aside.
- In a separate bowl {if you are using an immersion blender like me} or in the pitcher of a blender, add the bananas and process until smooth. Next add the pumpkin, applesauce and oil; process until smooth. Add the buttermilk, and process to incorporate. Add the brown and granulated sugar and process until smooth. Last add the eggs and process until incorporated.
- If you are using a blender, pour the mixture into a mixing bowl. Add half the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and gently fold to incorporate. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture. Fold until very few lumps remain.
- Pour into your prepared baking pans. The batter should fill about 2/3 of the pan. It will rise! If you find yourself with extra batter, pour into muffin tins or into another small loaf pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40-75 minutes. The baking time varies greatly by the pan that you choose. Start peaking at 45 minutes. When the bread no longer jiggles in the center, test with a toothpick. It should come out clean or with very few crumbs clinging to it. Cool 20 minute in the pan and then turn them out to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Make the Frosting:
- Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, salt and cinnamon on medium speed until smooth and creamy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth and creamy. Slowly pour the caramel into the frosting in gradual increments until the frosting is a spreadable consistency and achieves the maple flavor you desire. My maple caramel was a bit runny so I added full amount but then added some more powdered sugar to thicken it back up. You can adjust to your liking.
- Frost cool loaves with an offset spatula. The frosting will keep best in the refrigerator but it will also keep for several days at room temperature.
Wow! This looks so yummy!!! I can’t wait to try it this year. Thank you for linking up to Party Time and we hope to see you again next week!
Thanks Jacqui! Will do!
You had me at maple caramel icing!
And I would totally not judge you if you just ate the icing…because once the bread was gone (and frozen), that is exactly what I did!!1
I am absolute sducker for this amazing pumpkin and banana combination.. The bread looks delicious and moist.. Love it!! 🙂
Me too! It was OOC!
I’m confused, how is this healthier? I understand it has spelt flour, but it also has white flour. It also calls for applesauce but it still contains oil and buttermilk. Plus, it has THREE cups of sugar, not including the frosting. Sounds like you are just trying to get Google to rank you for “healthier pumpkin bread” – which can get you a penalty later. Good luck with that. This was my first time on your blog and it will be my last if your recipes are this misleading.
Thanks for your opinion, Joan. I called it healthier because it is relatively healthier than my other pumpkin bread which uses all white flour and 100% canola oil. I make mention at the very beginning that there is a lot of sugar. You could probably take out half but I didn’t want to. The name is to differentiate it from my other recipe when I do post that one, which is basically cake disguised as quick bread. Healthier is a relative term, which I am sure you can appreciate. I think you will find that the recipes that I call healthy really do their best to eliminate or substitute for unhealthy fats, refined sugar and unnecessary calories. If you are substituting applesauce for oil you still should add some back in, like the 2 tablespoons in this recipe, or it will completely alter the texture. The texture as written is still different than one you get with 1 cup of oil.
Throwing my hands in the air for pumpkin bliss, cus it’s the best! Maple too!
Haha! Thanks, Shikha!
Did I read that correctly? It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you left out the maple frosting? Lindsey!! Seriously, though, this bread is impressive. Spelt flour pumpkin bread…two thumbs up for you on that one! Just make sure to give me extra frosting on my slice.
If one were trying to be healthy, one could theoretically leave out the maple frosting. Totally hypothetical! Definitely didn’t happen, and you can definitely have double the frosting! Many a spoon dipped into the bowl…just sayin’!
Gahhh! I think I just screamed a little bit there with excitement! This bread looks so SO soft and moist inside and wowzers that maple icing just looks spoon-worthy. Also, as you and I both know by now: Pumpkin and banana belong together. The end. Pinned! 🙂
Lol! Match made in heaven for sure, Sarah!
I think putting Maple Caramel Icing on a healthier cake is a great idea. 🙂 Way to dress it up Lindsey! Pinned!
I just couldn’t help myself. Some days just call for frosting 🙂