It’s the time of year for pumpkin everything. I love using pumpkin because you can make so many different things with it. It’s great for baking, for soup, for savory side dishes – it’s basically pure deliciousness. I wanted to steer away from my typical banana breads and try my hand at a ‘fall appropriate’ breakfast bread. This bread is rich and dense, but not too sweet. The cream cheese adds a touch of sweetness and creaminess that really does pull it all together.
I put canned pumpkin in the recipe, but sometimes when I cook with pumpkin I buy a fresh one and roast the flesh until it’s soft – it’s really up to you. Canned is so easy, but fresh pumpkin tastes so good. This bread is great for breakfast, for brunch, or with an afternoon cup of tea or coffee – it’s really good.
Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
for the topping:
- ⅔ cup flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter - melted
for the cream cheese filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese - room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1, large egg
- 1 tbsp flour
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
for the pumpkin bread:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup butter - softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 16 oz pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two 9" x 5" loaf pans.
for the topping:
- Mix the flour, sugars and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Pour in the melted butter and use your fingers to blend until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs - set aside.
for the cream cheese filling:
- In another large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy, then set aside.
for the pumpkin bread:
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and whisk together until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until creamy - about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time - mixing well after each.
- Lower the speed of the mixer, and gradually add the dry mix until just combined. Use a spoon to gently stir in the pumpkin, making sure it is mixed in well.
- Put about half of the mixture into both prepared pans, then use a spatula to gently spread half of the cream cheese on top of each, then pour in the remaining batter over the cream cheese.
- Sprinkle half of the topping onto each loaf, then bake for about 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then gently turn over to remove and allow to cool completely on wire racks.
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