Description
This Cream Cheese Swirl Pumpkin Bread is a moist and flavorful fall favorite, featuring a tender pumpkin-spiced bread with a luscious cream cheese swirl throughout. Perfect for breakfast, snacks, or dessert, this sweet loaf combines warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg with the creamy richness of a sweetened cream cheese filling, all baked to golden perfection in a loaf pan.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Swirl
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (remaining from total used)
Optional
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and prepare pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan to prevent sticking.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt until evenly combined.
- Combine wet ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, eggs, vegetable oil (or melted butter), and vanilla extract until smooth and homogeneous.
- Mix wet and dry ingredients. Gradually add the wet pumpkin mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring gently just until combined to avoid overmixing.
- Prepare cream cheese mixture. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth, then mix in the powdered sugar and remaining vanilla extract until creamy.
- Layer batter and cream cheese. Pour half of the pumpkin batter into the prepared loaf pan. Spoon dollops of the cream cheese mixture on top and swirl gently with a knife to create a marbled effect.
- Add remaining batter and swirl again. Pour the remaining pumpkin batter over the swirled layer and repeat the dolloping and swirling process with the rest of the cream cheese mixture.
- Bake the bread. Bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, indicating the bread is fully cooked.
- Cool the bread. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely, which helps it set and slice better.
- Serve. Slice and serve the pumpkin bread warm or at room temperature. Optionally, sprinkle with chopped walnuts for added texture and flavor.
Notes
- You can substitute vegetable oil with melted butter for a richer flavor.
- Make sure the cream cheese is softened to ensure easy mixing for the swirl.
- Do not overmix the batter to keep the bread tender and moist.
- Check doneness by inserting a toothpick; if it comes out with wet batter, bake a few minutes longer.
- Optionally add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts for crunch, mixing them in or sprinkling on top before baking.
