Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Bread

With Halloween around the corner, people are starting to bundle up, getting ready for trick-or-treating and going out to the pumpkin patch. Naturally, we had to do something with pumpkin and we still had one from the Farmer's Market, so we gave it some time in the Crock-Pot and turned it into a purée.

How nice it was that, thanks to a particularly thrifty purchase on social media, we had a decorative bread pan that would make the most adorable fall loaf.

Do you dare to indulge?

Fall Harvest Pumpkin Bushel Bread w/ Cream Cheese Filling

(approx. 1 1/2-2 hours)

(makes a 12 slice loaf)

Pumpkin Bread
1 2/3 cup (8 1/2 oz) of flour
1 cup of pumpkin purée
1/2 cup of Sugar
1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter (melted)
1/4 cup of sour cream
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/8 tsp of salt
2 tsp of vanilla
1 large egg
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of allspice
1/2 tsp of ground cloves
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/4 tsp of ginger

Cream Cheese Filling (enough for 2 loaves)

8 oz of cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup of sugar

1 Tbsp of flour

1 large egg

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz of cream cheese

Up to 1 cup of powdered sugar

2-3 tsp of heavy cream

Mixing the Batter

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl.

Combine the remaining bread ingredients in a separate bowl and pour over top of the flour mixture. Give it all a stir, making sure not to over-mix.

Prepping the Filling

Grab yourself another bowl and whisk together the cream cheese, flour, egg and sugar until it becomes smooth.

Filling and Baking

 We needed to minimize sticking as much as possible, so we lightly greased our pan and dusted it lightly with flour.

 Fill your pan with half of the batter and use a spatula to spread it evenly. We gave ours a few taps on the table to try to remove any air bubbles.

 Pour a layer of filling mix on top of the batter. (remember, the recipe makes enough for two; if you don't need to use it right away, pack it up in a zip-lock bag and keep it in the freezer for use later)

Pour the rest of the batter on top. It helps to get batter in the edges first and then filling in the center for full coverage.

Now, go ahead and pop that dense beast in your oven for 55-75 minutes.

 When the time is up and you've checked your bread with a toothpick, pull it out and let rest for 10 minutes until you can safely take it out of the pan.

Icing the Pumpkin Bread

 Prep your icing by whisking the cream cheese, powdered sugar and cream together. Use a brush or a spoon to cover the top and you're ready to slice it up and enjoy with some warm cider or a latte for a delectably spiced pick-me-up on a crisp, fall afternoon.