Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pecan Bread

 

It was a cold, rainy morning-- a great baking day and pumpkin was on the menu.  There are so many pumpkin bread recipes out there.  I chose this one because of the addition of cream cheese.  I thought the result would be like a rich, decadent bread with a dense, moist crumb.  It wasn't to be.  Part of that might have been my fault with the addition of whole wheat flour, but really I think it was just a waste of cream cheese.  

In addition to the whole wheat flour, I reduced the sugar slightly and made an adjustment to the salt to account for salted butter.  I also added a touch of coffee, which gives a little more depth to the flavor.  Here's what I used:

1¼ 1 cup granulated sugar 

4 ounces cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 of a 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1¾ 1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/16 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides of a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat sugar, cream cheese, and butter until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. On low speed, beat in pumpkin and instant coffee. Sift together 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices; add to pumpkin mixture and beat until just combined. Beat in remaining flour in two additions, just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Spoon batter into the prepared pan and bake 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Using a narrow metal spatula, loosen sides of bread from pans; remove and cool completely on wire rack.

I was pretty disappointed in this when it first came out.  It was dry, not particularly flavorful, and extremely delicate.  Not the moist pumpkin richness I was hoping for.  It's a good thing I waited to write the post until I'd had it for several days, because it definitely improved.  While it never got any body to it, it did become a lot more moist.  Warmed and slathered with salted butter, it was okay.

Conclusion:  As I mentioned, there are a lot of pumpkin bread recipes out there.  No need to try this one again.

Recipe:  Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pecan Bread via America's Favorite Pumpkin Recipes