Pumpkin Cream Cheese Gingerbread is a sweet quick bread made with brown sugar, pumpkin, molasses, cream cheese & a delightful blend of warm Fall spices! Heavenly gingerbread recipe topped with a cream cheese glaze that everyone enjoys.
Sweet breads like this one are a huge hit around our house because for whatever reason, I’ve deemed them appropriate for snack time, dessert and even breakfast. This Pumpkin Gingerbread has a swirl of sweetened cream cheese in the middle and then a cream cheese glaze on top which give it a lovely moist texture. The rich flavor is incredible too- especially the next day after the flavors have been able to meld. Enjoy.
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Gingerbread
This simple recipe is enough to make 2 loaves of bread (or 6 mini loaves). Giving you plenty of options for sharing this seasonal treat. With pumpkin gingerbread and a sweet cream cheese swirl and glaze, this simple quick bread recipe is perfect for Fall and Winter, but it’s easy enough to make that you can enjoy it any time of the year- whenever the mood strikes!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Gingerbread Ingredients
-Sugars: For this recipe we’re going to need brown sugar and granulated sugar for our desired sweetness and carmelized flavor depth.
-Oil: Canola oil, vegetable oil or even coconut oil work great. I personally use coconut oil.
-Eggs: A few eggs will work as the binder in this bread recipe so that the bread pieces stay together and don’t fall apart easily.
-Water: A little liquid to help tone down the thickness of the bread dough is very useful in preventing a thick and chewy bread.
-Pumpkin puree: You can use homemade pumpkin puree or canned. It’s about the same amount as a 15oz can, just make sure to get pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling as there is a difference.
-Molasses: Molasses is the most important ingredient in gingerbread cookies because it gives the distinct color and flavor. We want that gingerbread flavor, so it’s needed in this bread.
-Flour: The base of the bread batter is all purpose flour.
-Spices: We’re going to need ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, and cinnamon to make this bread recipe flavorful and delicious!
-Leavening Agents: We need both baking soda and baking powder to help make this dough rise and become fluffy when baking.
-Salt: A little salt helps to make the bread flavors all pop and tasting amazing!
-Cream cheese glaze: Made with cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla the cream cheese glaze will go in the bread batter and on top once baked giving us a full flavored treat to enjoy.
How to make cream cheese gingerbread
In a mixing bowl combine your cream cheese, vanilla and sugar to make the cream cheese swirl.
Remove half a cup of the cream cheese mixture and set it aside.
Preheat your oven to 325F degrees.
Spray two large loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and then set them aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine your sugars, oil, eggs, pumpkin, water, and molasses.
In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of flour with the spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Gently whisk the mix to break up any of the clumps. Add this to the wet mixture and mix to combine.
Add in the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition.
Pour the bread batter into each bread pan until the pans are just under ½ full.
Spoon the cream cheese mixture (not the reserved amount) into the bread batter and use a butter knife to swirl it around a bit before topping with more of the bread batter.
Bake in your oven at 325F degrees for 1 hour 15minutes. If you made mini loaves then it takes about 45 minutes and muffins are finished around 20minutes.
Once the bread has been baked, remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. After 10-15minutes remove the bread from the pan and let it cool longer.
Prepare the glaze by taking the reserved cream cheese mixture and adding the melted butter, powdered sugar, and milk. Whisk until smooth.
After the bread has fully cooled spoon the glaze on top. You can also top with finely chopped candied ginger or coarse sugar if desired.
PUMPKIN CREAM CHEESE GINGERBREAD
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup oil I used coconut oil
- 4 eggs
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 cups pumpkin puree one 15 oz can
- 2 TBSP molasses
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
Cream Cheese Swirl
- 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp milk
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a bowl combine the ingredients needed for the cream cheese swirl (cream cheese, sugar, vanilla) and set aside 1/2 cup in a separate bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray 2 large bread pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugars, oil, eggs, pumpkin, water and molasses. Mix to combine.
- Put 1 cup of the flour in a small bowl. Add in all of the spices as well as the baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk gently to break up any clumps of spices. Add to the wet mixture and mix to combine.
- Add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing each time.
- Pour bread batter into each bread pan until the pans are just under 1/2 full.
- Spoon in the cream cheese swirl onto the bread batter. Use a knife to swirl the cream cheese around a bit. Top with the remaining batter.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour 15 minutes. (Bake mini loaves for 45 minutes or muffins for 20 minutes.)
- Once bread is baked, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. After about 10-15 minutes, gently overturn bread and remove it from the bread pan to cool further.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- Take the 1/2 cup of cream cheese mixture you set aside and add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 2 TBSP melted butter and 1 TBSP milk. Whisk until smooth.
- After bread is fully cool, spoon glaze on top. I also topped mine with finely chopped candied ginger mixed with a bit of coarse sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I freeze pumpkin cream cheese gingerbread?
Absolutely! With this recipe making several loaves or muffins freezing some for later can be a great way to savor the flavor longer and take your time when eating! I recommend letting the bread and glaze cool and set completely before wrapping in plastic wrap and storing in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What’s the difference between pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling?
Pumpkin puree is exactly that, just the pureed “meat” of the pumpkin and nothing else. Pumpkin pie filling has added seasonings and liquids added to it so that it’s ready to turn into a pie with less work. If you grabbed the canned pie filling instead of the puree, you’ll notice that the batter ends up over flavored and too wet to turn out well.
BEST BREAD PAN?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
Check Out More Gingerbread recipes:
- Gingerbread Cookie Bites
- The Best Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
- Soft Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
- Ginger Cookie Cups with Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Gingerbread Cookies with Marshmallow Buttercream
- Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
- Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake Bars
- Gingerbread Truffles
- No Bake Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Ginger Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting
- Apple Pumpkin Bread
- Spiced Ginger Cookies
- Pumpkin Muffins
You’re going to love this easy and delicious pumpkin cream cheese gingerbread! It’s a rich and flavorful combination of all things good in life and tastes like Winter/Fall in every bite!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Gingerbread is a sweet quick bread made with brown sugar, pumpkin, molasses, cream cheese & a delightful blend of warm Fall spices! Heavenly gingerbread recipe topped with a cream cheese glaze that everyone enjoys.
Kurinji says
soft and delicious bread…<br /><a href="http://kurinjikathambam.blogspot.in/" rel="nofollow">http://kurinjikathambam.blogspot.in/</a>
Trisha Wheatley says
Pumpkin, cream cheese, gingerbread… it's a trifecta of yumminess!<br /><br />This will be a big hit in my house, I can't wait to try it!
Kara says
This looks so amazing, I can't wait to try it! It was the most viewed link at my party last week, so I featured it today. 🙂
Dawn says
You always have the BEST recipes 🙂 No wonder you are Pinner of the Week! I'm so pinning this!!
MaryLynn says
Have noticed that you don’t put the “Nutritional Info” with your recipes.
With a husband that has to watch his salt intake, myself not wanting to gain weight and with my guests asking when I serve some of these delicious recipes it would be very helpful.
Please if you have it, I would love to know the “Info” on the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Gingerbread.
Also adding the info on all your recipes would be a benefit to all.
Thanks for posting these delicious recipes and I hope to see “Nutritional Info” on all your recipes in the future…
Have a nice day 😉
roseanne says
Wish it would print.
Jessica says
I just updated the recipe with an easy print box. Enjoy!
Beverly says
Hi,
Could you please confirm if it is 8 ounces of cream cheese or 18?
Thank you!