My friend Claire challenged me to come up with recipes that call for kari gosse, a spicy curry powder blend devised by a Breton apothecary in Lorient, a city in southern Brittany (Le Morbihan), in the 19th century. Kari gosse can be hard to come by in my part of Brittany and the mail-order options I checked were all prohibitively expensive.  These were all really good procrastination excuses…until Claire sent me two bottles of the stuff.

Because curry flavors go so well with pumpkin (or any winter squash), I decided to give kari gosse a whirl in a savory pumpkin bread/loaf. I laced it with chestnuts for a hint of sweetness and texture. (You could use any type of chopped nut.) And once it was just right—firm, moist, easy to slice— I tested it with different types of curry powder to be sure it would work with other spice blends—not everyone has a Claire to find and send jars of kari gosse as needed!

1 cup (150 g.) all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. curry powder
2 eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml.) olive oil
3/4 cup (200 g.) pumpkin purée
½ cup chopped chestnuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350˚F/180˚C. Grease a 1-quart/1-liter loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper as well.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour ->curry powder) in a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs with the oil in a separate bowl, then add the pumpkin purée. Fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then add the chestnut pieces.

Spread the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool completely before serving.

Make It Vegan: Substitute 2 flaxseed eggs and increase the baking powder to 2½ tsp.