cream cheese swirled apple cider pumpkin bread
Dropping some badass bread from an aircraft somewhere up high in the nimbus clouds.
Yo, I never fly jetBlue, but I’m pretty impressed with the fact that they have actual, living, breathing WiFi on board. Here I am babbling away as a bit of turbulence knocks us from side to side (honestly a bit nauseated, I don’t enjoy wiggling about in a plane). Obviously, when you read this I won’t be skybound anymore, but at present we’re en route to Boston for a little week away and some autumnal weather.
Only seems right, then, that I present one of the most aggressively fall recipes yet: pumpkin bread. A favorite of mine to enjoy when the seasons switch.
We finished off a loaf of this wonderful fusion of apple and pumpkin last night before bed, and I truly can’t wait to bake another eventually once we’re home. Apple cider meets a soft loaf swizzled with tangy cream cheese. What’s better? The crumb is sweet but not overly so, warmed just enough with classic pumpkin spices, and topped off with a crust of cinnamon sugar. Honestly, that might be my favorite part. Bit of crunch to contrast the smooth texture otherwise.
The great thing here? Quick breads are quite forgiving, and most of the prep time is passive, with the bread needing to bake a good while. Multitaskers rejoice!
Pumpkin King
Pull out your biggest mixing bowl, and let’s get getting.
Actually, before that, make sure you pulled out some cream cheese from your fridge. I find that even room temp cream cheese isn’t ideal for swirling into the batter, so I like to remove it from the foil wrapper, plop the glob in a bowl, and microwave for 12-15 seconds until it’s slightly melted. Makes for much easier ribboning.
Now: whisk together some melted coconut oil, brown sugar, and pumpkin puree. Not pumpkin pie filling, else your sweet tooth might actually fall out. Add in a couple eggs, some vanilla, and apple cider.
In that same bowl (yes, a one bowl delight! Hoorah!) throw in your flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir it only until just combined, not more, else your bread will become tougher than chewing a telephone pole.
Twirl like a Ballerina
Grease a loaf pan and pour in half your batter. Drop in spoonfuls of cream cheese and twirl them around with a knife to spread. Doesn’t need to be perfect, just do what you can. Pour the rest of the batter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (just a bit of white sugar and cinnamon powder. Easy shmeezy and definitely not sleazy).
Pop that sucker in the oven, on the middle rack. I like to check the loaf after 50 minutes just to make sure I didn’t place it right below a hot spot and render it done before I expect it to be, but my batches took 55-60 minutes on average. Check it every 5 minutes after said 50 with a toothpick or wooden skewer. When you’ve just a few crumbs sticking to the wood, it’s good to go.
Cool the loaf in the pan for a bit, then flip onto a wire rack. Invert again to put it back on its flat side. Some of the cinnamon sugar might spill off – this is okay, you haven’t lost all that crunchy coating.
I cooled mine for around an hour before slicing, but if you’re nibbly and want a big warm hunk, still wait around 30 minutes or else it’ll crumble apart. A bit of butter smeared on a slice is just divine. Some extra cinnamon or even cinnamon sugar doesn’t hurt either.
Mmmm. In flight cravings, ahoy!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Sweet bread of mine (oh-oh-oh):
Chocolate Chunk Buckwheat Banana Bread
Chocolate Chunk Rye Zucchini Bread
cream cheese swirled apple cider pumpkin bread
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with oil or butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, pumpkin, and brown sugar until combined. Whisk in the eggs, then the vanilla and apple cider, until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 2 tsp of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Dollop 1 tsp sized balls of cream cheese evenly overtop and swirl into the batter with a sharp butter knife. Pour the remaining batter into the pan and spread evenly with a spatula. Toss together the sugar and remaining 2 tsp of cinnamon and sprinkle overtop the loaf.
- Bake 55-65 minutes until an inserted toothpick or skewer emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool 10 minutes in the loaf pan, then flip onto a wire rack. Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with butter and cinnamon sugar, as desired.
