Pumpkin Chai Tea Bread

It's not like me to wait this late in October to make a pumpkin recipe, but that's exactly what I've done. I was thinking back to that yummy Sweet Potato-Pecan Tea Bread I made recently, and I had the idea to make pretty much the same recipe but using canned pumpkin instead. And to spice things up, what if I flavored it with some chai?

The result, I'm happy to say, is one of my best tea bread loaves yet! Even the DH gave it an A+, so that made me happy. I again lined my glass loaf pan with parchment paper and then sprayed the parchment paper before adding the batter and baking. Another happy, whole loaf that doesn't come apart in the pan. I like this recipe so much, I may decide to do some more tweaks before I'm finished with it!

Pumpkin Chai Tea Bread

1/4 cup boiling water
2 heaping tablespoons loose chai (or equivalent in tea bags)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour boiling water into a cup and add the chai, steeping for about 5 minutes. In a medium mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. When the chai has steeped, add to liquid ingredients. Mix well using a wire whisk. In another medium bowl, add all the dry ingredients and stir. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Pour batter into prepared 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour before removing loaf from pan.