Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon Cheesecake Layer

Over the last year plus of food blogging and two plus years of reading food blogs, I have saved A LOT of recipes. Sometimes, they fall by the wayside never to return again and sometimes, I just can't get them out of my head. This is one of the ones I couldn't get out of my head. I'm almost embarrassed to admit how lazy I was this past weekend. It was one of the first weekends in recent memory, I had no responsibilities with work and all the rain and the fact that I finally (briefly) had heat in my apartment made me not want to leave besides going to the gym. I wasn't a total hermit all weekend. I managed to get out and socialize for a bit on Saturday night and then returned home to the warmth in my apartment...before the pilot light went out again. Anyway, I baked up this bread before I went out and it's just like heaven in a bread pan. It takes about two minutes to whip everything together and you really don't need to use a stand mixer, but it sure makes life even easier. The bread is moist and not too dense and the cinnamon cream cheese is swoon worthy. Like the greedy pig I can be, I wanted to eat the whole thing myself, but out of the goodness of my heart, I shared it with my work friends...I can be generous like that.

Pumpkin Bread with a Cinnamon Cheesecake Layer
(Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody)



Cheesecake Layer:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
Scant 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon (approximately) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
1 large egg

Pumpkin Bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the cheesecake ingredients; beat until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

Place pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat for about 1 minute, until fully combined. Add flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture and mix just until combined.

Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter into the loaf pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of pumpkin batter layer and then pour on the remaining pumpkin batter.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature or cool.

Printable Recipe