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My mother made pumpkin bread the way everybody’s mother did: pumpkin, brown sugar, oil, eggs and a heavy hand with the cinnamon and nutmeg, stirred together in one bowl with a wooden spoon. Moist, dark orange, with a crackly brown top that split down the middle. What made hers different was a thick ribbon of sweetened cream cheese running through the center of the loaf, so every slice had a creamy white stripe like a layer of cheesecake. The third week of October, every year, the first loaf came out of her oven and by evening half of it was gone. My father ate the end pieces because they had the most crust, and the man next door ate whatever was left on the plate.
The stripe is easy once you know two small things. The first is a spoonful of flour and an egg yolk beaten into the cream cheese. Without them the filling is too soft, and it sinks to the bottom of the pan or leaks out the sides. With them it holds its shape and bakes into a smooth set layer. The second is patience. Cut the loaf warm and the stripe smears across the knife. Let it cool all the way, an hour and a half at least, and it slices as clean as a bakery loaf.
Why this pumpkin cream cheese bread works
- Oil, not butter, in the bread. Oil keeps the crumb soft and moist for days, and a pumpkin loaf made with oil is still tender on the third morning.
- Brown sugar and white sugar together. Brown sugar gives the deep color and a caramel note, white sugar gives the crackly top.
- Flour and a yolk in the filling. They turn soft cream cheese into a filling that sets instead of sinking.
- Batter, filling, batter. Laying the cream cheese between two layers of batter keeps it in the center, where it belongs.
- A long, moderate bake. A deep loaf needs time at 350 degrees for the middle to cook through without the edges going dry.
Ingredients
Makes one 9x5 inch loaf, about 12 thick slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the pumpkin bread
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (220g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (225g), plain pumpkin, not pie filling
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (150g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (120ml)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk (60ml)
For the cream cheese swirl
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (225g)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65g)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Use full-fat block cream cheese, soft enough to dent with a finger. Whipped or tub cream cheese is too loose and will sink.
How to make pumpkin cream cheese bread
Make the filling
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom and long sides with a strip of parchment paper so you can lift the loaf out.
- Beat the softened cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth, with no lumps. Beat in the egg yolk, flour and vanilla. Set aside.
Make the bread
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs and milk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not beat it.
Layer and bake
- Spread a little more than half of the pumpkin batter in the pan.
- Spoon the cream cheese filling down the center in a thick ribbon, keeping it about half an inch away from the sides of the pan.
- Spoon the rest of the pumpkin batter over the filling and gently spread it to cover, right to the edges.
- Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the top is domed and cracked and a toothpick in the bread part comes out clean. If the top browns too fast after 45 minutes, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift the loaf out with the parchment and let it cool completely on a rack, at least an hour and a half, before slicing.
Tips that make the difference
- Keep the filling off the sides of the pan. If it touches the metal it bakes out through the crust and leaves a hollow.
- Do not swirl it with a knife. This is a stripe, not a marble, and swirling drags the cream cheese to the top where it cracks.
- Slice with a long serrated knife, wiping it between slices, for a clean white stripe.
- The toothpick test goes in the pumpkin part near the edge of the stripe, not into the cream cheese, which always looks a little damp.
Variations
- Pecan top. Scatter a handful of chopped pecans and a spoon of coarse sugar over the batter before baking.
- Muffins. Fill 12 lined muffin cups halfway with batter, add a spoon of filling, top with more batter and bake 22 to 25 minutes.
- Two small loaves. Divide between two 8x4 inch pans and bake 50 to 55 minutes, good for giving one to a neighbor.
- Chocolate chips. Fold half a cup of mini chocolate chips into the pumpkin batter.
Storage and make-ahead
Because of the cream cheese, keep the loaf wrapped in the refrigerator. It keeps for up to 5 days and slices even cleaner cold.
Bring a slice to room temperature for 15 minutes before eating, or warm it for 10 seconds in the microwave.
To freeze, wrap the cooled loaf or single slices in plastic wrap and foil for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my cream cheese layer sink to the bottom?
The filling was too soft. Beat a tablespoon of flour and an egg yolk into it, use block cream cheese, and spread more than half of the batter in the pan before the filling goes in.
How do I know the loaf is done?
The top is domed, cracked and deep brown, and a toothpick pushed into the pumpkin part near the edge comes out clean. The cream cheese stripe will still look slightly moist.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling?
No. Pie filling already has sugar and spices in it and will make the bread too sweet and too wet. Use plain pumpkin puree.
Can I make it a day ahead?
Yes, and it is better. The spices settle overnight and the loaf slices more neatly cold from the refrigerator.
Bake it the third week of October, let it cool all the way, and give the end pieces to whoever in your house has earned them.
Pumpkin Bread with a Cream Cheese Swirl (The Stripe Down the Middle)
Moist spiced pumpkin bread with a ribbon of sweetened cream cheese baked through the middle like a cheesecake layer. One bowl, one 9x5 loaf pan, 350 degrees for about 65 to 75 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (225g), plain pumpkin, not pie filling
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees (175°C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and line the bottom and long sides with a strip of parchment paper so you can lift the loaf out.
- Beat the softened cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth, with no lumps. Beat in the egg yolk, flour and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs and milk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon just until no streaks of flour remain. Do not beat it.
- Spread a little more than half of the pumpkin batter in the pan.
- Spoon the cream cheese filling down the center in a thick ribbon, keeping it about half an inch away from the sides of the pan.
- Spoon the rest of the pumpkin batter over the filling and gently spread it to cover, right to the edges.
- Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the top is domed and cracked and a toothpick in the bread part comes out clean. If the top browns too fast after 45 minutes, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then lift the loaf out with the parchment and let it cool completely on a rack, at least an hour and a half, before slicing.
