Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 5”x9”
loaf pan and set aside.
In to a medium sized bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder,
salt and spices together.
Use an electric mixer in a large bowl to cream butter on high speed,
gradually adding sugar. Beat the eggs in one at a time, beating well
after adding each one. Blend in vanilla, lemon zest, and pumpkin.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk. Blend half
of this into the pumpkin mixture. Blend half of the dry mixture into
the creamed mixture, then add the last half of the liquid, then the
rest of the dry, blending after each addition until just smooth. Fold
in pecans.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing
top with a spoon. Sprinkle top generously with sugar.
Bake on center rack in preheated oven until a tester inserted deep
into the center of the loaf comes out clean, around 70 minutes. Allow
to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Run a knife
around the edges to loosen, then turn bread out onto the rack. Allow
to cool before slicing. Wrap bread as soon as it is cooled.
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