Just when I thought pumpkin bread could absolutely not get any better, it did. Cream cheese filling, (or frosting for that matter) seems to enhance anything and everything.
This pumpkin bread is perfectly balanced. It’s spicy with the hints of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice (or cloves), ginger, and nutmeg. It’s sweet from the sugar and vanilla. It’s incredibly moist from the milk and pumpkin puree. And the crumb is so delicate and soft that it doesn’t have a density and gumminess that some pumpkin and banana breads get from the heaviness of the ingredients. It’s beautifully sliced, perfectly baked throughout, and made better with the silky cream cheese filling. Each slice offers a swirl of cream cheese that adds a touch of luxury when you’re lucky enough to land on it. The cream cheese isn’t packed with sugar, it’s well balanced, just like the bread.
Last weekend my friend, who is pursuing a career as a photographer, asked if we could be her models for a photo shoot. We jumped at the offer to help! If you’ve been following ABeeBakes for a while, you know my husband is French. We met in the States but I spent time living in France before we got married. Just like the tv show, we had 90 days to move to America and plan a wedding. So we had a very intimate exchange of our vows in the local county court followed by a small dinner with our friends and family who could attend on such short notice! It was everything I wanted and I wouldn’t change it for the world — EXCEPT if we could do it all over, we would have hired a photographer.
So when Lauren sent us the pictures she took last weekend…we were so impressed! We will consider these our belated (by 8 years) wedding photos. 😉 We “paid” her in pumpkin cream cheese bread. This very pumpkin cream cheese bread. She said she and her husband fought over it. If there’s ever a food to make that counts as payment, make sure it’s as good as this recipe! This loaf will get you and your family through the holidays for breakfast and afternoon tea/coffee. For a vegan option try this Vegan Pumpkin Cobbler. It’s so easy to make in a one-time-use cake pan and deliver to someone as a gift!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
A cross between breakfast and dessert this pumpkin bread is absolutely delicious. The cream cheese filling compliments the spiced pumpkin perfectly. It's so soft and moist, it slices like butter. It makes a great holiday gift, a perfect cake/bread to serve for brunch or afternoon tea, and it definitely deserves a place on any holiday table.
Pumpkin Bread
- 1 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tbsp. Ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Ground pumpkin pie spice (or ground cloves)
- 1 tsp. Ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. Ground nutmeg
- 1 cup Sugar
- 6 tbsp. Butter, melted
- 2 Eggs
- 1/3 cup Milk (any kind)
- 2 tsp. Vanilla
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz. Cream cheese (softened)
- 2 tbsp. Flour
- 1/4 cup Powdered sugar
- 1 Egg
- Pinch Salt
Preheat the oven 350F degrees. Generously grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, make the cream cheese filling by beating together the cream cheese, flour, sugar, egg, and salt until smooth. Place in the refrigerator while you make the batter.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and nutmeg.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, milk, vanilla, and pumpkin. Once smooth, gently fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula. Combine just until combined.
Spread 1/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan so the bottom is completely covered. Taking a cookie scoop, add a few blobs of cream cheese on top. Then cover the blobs with batter. Repeat the process, ending with the batter on top. It's okay if a little cream cheese is exposed on the top.
Take a soft knife and swirl the knife through the bread making two figure 8's. Don't over-swirl here though, it only takes two strokes or else the cream cheese gets lost and absorbs into the batter.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free with just a few moist crumbs. The baking time will depend on how wet your pumpkin puree is (depends on the can).
Allow bread to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool for an additional 30 minutes before slicing.
Recipe adapted from Amanda Frederickson.
A Bee Bakes 