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Easy Pumpkin Bread with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Swirl

pumpkin bread with brown butter cream cheese swirl - featured image
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This easy pumpkin bread features a nutty brown butter base and a tangy cream cheese swirl, delivering deep flavor with minimal effort. Perfect for weeknights, it comes together in under 20 minutes of active work and tastes like you spent hours on it.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar, packed (light or dark)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ½ cup vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil or melted butter)
  • ¼ cup milk (any kind)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (for browning)
  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened (full-fat recommended)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar (for cream cheese swirl)
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (for cream cheese swirl)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the long sides.
  2. Brown the butter: Place ½ cup unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Melt completely, then continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until it foams, the foam subsides, and golden-brown specks form at the bottom (about 5-7 minutes). Remove from heat immediately when it smells nutty and pour into a heatproof bowl to cool.
  3. Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt.
  4. Mix wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth and slightly thickened (about 1 minute). Add pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, milk, vanilla extract, and cooled brown butter. Whisk until combined and smooth.
  5. Combine wet and dry: Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined (a few streaks of flour are okay). Do not overmix.
  6. Make cream cheese swirl: In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese with ¼ cup granulated sugar, egg yolk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and spreadable.
  7. Layer and swirl: Pour half the pumpkin batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread even. Dollop half the cream cheese mixture on top in small spoonfuls. Pour remaining pumpkin batter over that, then dollop remaining cream cheese on top. Use a toothpick or skewer to gently swirl through the batter (about 5-6 figure-eight motions).
  8. Bake: Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 55-65 minutes. Start checking at 50 minutes. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). If top browns too fast, tent loosely with foil around 40 minutes.
  9. Cool: Let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, then use parchment overhang to lift it out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing (about 1-2 hours).

Notes

Don’t skip browning the butter—it adds nutty depth. Use block-style cream cheese, not tub spread, for best swirl. Room temperature ingredients ensure smooth mixing. Test doneness in bread part, not cream cheese swirl. Cool completely before slicing to prevent crumbling.

Nutrition

Keywords: pumpkin bread, brown butter, cream cheese swirl, easy pumpkin bread, fall baking, quick bread

Find it online: https://eliplate.com/easy-pumpkin-bread-with-brown-butter-cream-cheese-swirl/