Honey Pumpkin Tea Bread

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus additional for buttering the pan

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 cup honey

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position rack in center of oven. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch metal loaf pan and set aside.

Sift flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg into a medium bowl. In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup butter and honey and beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Add the pumpkin; beat for 1 minute or until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating each for 1 minute. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla extract.

Add the sifted dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, beat just until incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes or until batter is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. Spread into a prepared pan.

Bake about 75 minutes or until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool the bread on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold and continue cooling on the rack for 30 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 1 loaf