Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 3 votes

Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

A quintessential treat of the season. This lightly spiced pumpkin bread is topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting for the perfect brunch snack or dessert. Makes 1 standard loaf or 3 mini loaves.

Prep Time30

Total Time2

Course: Baking

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread, pumpkin bread, quick bread

Servings: standard slices

Calories: 471kcal

Author: Tara Teaspoon

Ingredients

Pumpkin Loaf

1⅓ cups (170g) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1¾ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
⅔ cup neutral oil (avocado or canola)
1¼ cups (10 ounces) pumpkin puree Tested with Libby's brand

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
2 ounces (½ stick) unsalted butter softened
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted only if there are hard lumps

Instructions

Pumpkin Loaf

Heat oven to 350º˚F. Prepare a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper hanging off 2 of the sides. Secure parchment with metal binder clips if desired. Or prepare 3 mini loaf pans (5-by-3-inches) the same way.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices.
In a second medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, and pumpkin puree.
Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients then whisk together until quite smooth. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan (or pans) and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, and/or top springs back when gently touched: Standard loaf 43 to 46 minutes, mini loaves 30 to 33 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

When bread is almost completely cool make the frosting: In a mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. With the mixer running on low speed, add the confectioners' sugar about ½ cup at a time. After each cup scrape the inside of the bowl and turn mixer to medium-high speed. Then reduce speed to low and add more sugar. This will ensure a smooth frosting.
When bread is cool spread a thick layer of frosting on top. Serve or store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Notes

Variations:

- Gluten-free: Use a good 1-1 gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour. I use Cup4Cup. You will need to increase the baking time quite a bit for gluten-free. Use my testing techniques to check for doneness.

- Spices: You can substitute my combination of fall spices for 2 ½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice. Or try a pre-made Apple Pie Spice.

Storage:

- Room temperature: Store the entire frosted loaf, or what's left after snacking, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

- Fridge: You can chill the loaf in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

- Freeze: It's easiest to freeze individual slices of the pumpkin bread, wrapped in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped slices in a ziplock bag once frozen and keep frozen up to 2 months.

- Thaw: Thaw slices of pumpkin bread in the fridge overnight.

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