Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Fall baking always fills the house with the coziest smells, and this pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite ways to welcome the season. It's the kind of recipe that makes a house guest feel instantly at home, and it's also a delicious breakfast idea for Thanksgiving morning. There's something about a warm pumpkin loaf coming out of the oven while you sip your morning coffee - it just feels like a perfect fall morning. I've been making this pumpkin bread every fall for as long as I can remember and it's become the one my family ask for the moment the weather turns chilly. If you're looking for other recipes to fill your house with the delicious smells of fall baking, be sure to check out our Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter, or our Apple Butter Bread.

Quick Look: Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting

• Ready In: about an hour
• Serves: 12 people
• Calories: about 400 kcal per perving
• Add to Your Shopping List: pumpkin puree and cream cheese
• Dietary Info: contains gluten, eggs, and dairy
• Baker's Note: This loaf is dense, so it can look done before it actually is. Be sure to check for doneness in a few different spots, and especially in the middle. Don't be afraid to give it a few extra minutes in the oven if a toothpick doesn't come out clean.

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Key Ingredients

• pure pumpkin puree - You want to be sure to use canned pumpkin and not "pumpkin pie filling" for this recipe. 
• unsalted butter and vegetable oil - many pumpkin bread recipes call for either butter or oil. In this recipe, we use a little bit of each resulting in a rich, decadent loaf that hangs onto its moisture.
• cream cheese - this is the base for the delicious homemade cream cheese icing on the loaf 
• powdered sugar - used to make the creamy frosting on the top of the loaf

How To Make Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting

Be sure to see the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and detailed recipe instructions.

Combine dry ingredients and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.

Whisk together all of the liquid ingredients in a medium bowl.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Spread the batter evenly into a prepared 9 x 5 bread pan. Bake pumpkin bread at 350° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Combine the softened butter, cream cheese, sifted confectioner's sugar, vanilla and milk in the bowl of your stand mixer. Whip until light and fluffy.

Let the bread cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours, before frosting.

Hint: Be careful not to over mix your pumpkin bread batter. You want to mix until the batter just comes together and looks the same throughout. There may be a few lumps of flour or brown sugar - that's okay. Over mixing the batter will produce a tough texture and we are going for light and fluffy here.

Amanda's Top Tips

Make sure that the bread is cooked all the way through. The cook time on this recipe is 60-65 minutes. The bread is dense and it takes a while to cook through. It can also be a bit deceptive and will seem cooked though but if you check multiple spots, you will find an uncooked part. I recommend testing the bread with a toothpick or cake tester every five minutes starting at fifty five minutes.

Cover your loaf with aluminum foil as needed. If you feel that the bread is getting to dark on the top, you can cover it with a piece of aluminum foil. This allows the inside to continue cooking without the top getting too dark.

Be sure to sift your confectioners sugar. No one likes lumpy icing to be sure to sift your sugar into the mixing bowl for the icing.

Use a 9 x 5 x 3 (1 ¼ lb) bread pan. This recipe was created and tested using a 9 x 5 bread pan. To achieve a loaf that is cooked all the way through, you also want to be sure that you are using a 9 x 5 bread pan. If you use a different sized pan, you will have to adjust your baking time.

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Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

Amanda Smallwood

We've taken the quintessential fall pumpkin bread and leveled it up with a swirl of homemade cream cheese frosting on the top. It's so delicious that I may have referred to it as cake a few times as I was testing it. This moist, flavorful quick bread is made in one bowl and mixed by hand. It's full of fall spices, has plenty of pumpkin in it and is a true treat with the cream cheese icing. 

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12 slices

Calories 401 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  9x5 bread pan
• ▢
  large mixing bowl
• ▢
  medium mixing bowl
• ▢
  stand mixer or hand mixer
• ▢
  wire rack
• ▢
  measuring cups
• ▢
  measuring spoons
• ▢
  spatula

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Pumpkin Bread

• ▢ 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
• ▢ ¾ cup light brown sugar
• ▢ ¾ cup sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ¾ cups canned pumpkin one 14 ounce can
• ▢ ¼ cup melted butter
• ▢ ¼ cup canola oil
• ▢ ⅓ cup milk
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing:

• ▢ 2 oz cream cheese
• ▢ 4 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups confectioner's sugar sifted directly into the mixing bowl
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

 

For the Pumpkin Bread

• Whisk together the flour, spices, baking soda, salt and sugars in a large mixing bowl.
  2 cups (260g) all purpose flour, ¾ cup light brown sugar, ¾ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon cloves, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, canola oil, melted butter, milk, eggs and vanilla.
  1 ¾ cups canned pumpkin, ¼ cup melted butter, ¼ cup canola oil, ⅓ cup milk, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter may be a bit lumpy and that's okay.
• Spray a 9 x 5 x 4 bread pan with cooking spray. Spread the pumpkin bread batter into the prepared bread pan
• Bake pumpkin bread at 350° for 60-65 minutes - begin testing the bread for doneness at 60 minutes. Insert a toothpick or cake tester into the bread and be sure that it comes out clean. Be sure to check bread both in the middle and on the sides
• Let the bread cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 2 hours, before frosting.

For the Icing:

• Combine the softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla, sifted confectioners sugar and one tablespoon milk in the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to whip the frosting until it is light and fluffy. Add additional milk if the icing is too thick.
  2 oz cream cheese, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 ½ - 1 ¾ cups confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla, 1-2 tablespoons milk

Notes

• This loaf is dense, so it can look done before it actually is - check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into a few different spots, especially the middle. If it doesn't come out clean, keep baking. 
• If the top is browning too quickly, tent the loaf with aluminum foil so the inside can finish cooking without the top getting too dark. 
• Be sure to sift the confectioners sugar for the frosting - it keeps the icing smooth instead of lumpy. 
• If you want to make this pumpkin loaf ahead of time, bake and store unfrosted in the refrigerator. Make the frosting on the day that you plan to serve it.

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 333mgPotassium: 169mgFiber: 2gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 5918IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 3mg

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