Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- First, move one of your baking racks to the lower third of the oven. Preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit is essential to ensure your bread bakes evenly.
- Prepare your loaf pan by greasing it with butter to prevent sticking. A 5"x9" loaf pan works perfectly for this recipe.
- Next, let’s make the cream cheese filling. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the cream cheese, granulated sugar, flour, and the egg. Use an electric beater to mix until it’s smooth and creamy. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides to ensure everything is well combined!
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, the remaining granulated sugar, buttermilk, cooking oil, and the egg. Whisk until everything is well incorporated, and you have a smooth mixture.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift together 1 ¼ cups of flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This step ensures an even distribution of the leavening agents and spices.
- Now, slowly add the dry ingredients to the large bowl with the pumpkin mixture. Stir gently until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can make the bread dense.
- Pour one-third of the batter into your prepared loaf pan, smoothing it out evenly.
- Spread half of the cream cheese filling on top of this layer. Then, add another one-third of the batter, followed by the remaining cream cheese filling. Finally, finish with the last layer of the batter.
- Before baking, sprinkle the top with a little extra sugar (about 1 teaspoon) for a lovely crust. Now, bake the pumpkin bread for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once baked, let the bread cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Then, invert the pan to remove the loaf and let it cool completely on a cooling rack. This step is crucial for achieving the perfect texture.
Notes
If you have leftover pumpkin bread, store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. It also freezes well!