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Sliced pumpkin cream cheese bread loaf showing the marbled cream cheese swirl

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

A moist, warmly spiced pumpkin loaf with a tangy cream cheese swirl baked right through the center and a crunchy pecan streusel on top. It slices into the prettiest marbled loaf on the Thanksgiving table — and it tastes like pumpkin pie met cheesecake.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 10 slices
Calories 348 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the pumpkin bread

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (220 g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100 g)
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) (245 g)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (120 ml)
  • 1/4 cup sour cream (60 g)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cream cheese swirl

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened (225 g)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 g)
  • 1 large egg yolk room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the pecan streusel

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (40 g)
  • 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (50 g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans (30 g)

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for easy lifting.
  • Make the streusel: in a small bowl, rub the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cold butter together with your fingertips until crumbly, then stir in the chopped pecans. Set aside.
  • Make the cream cheese swirl: beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk, vanilla, and flour until completely smooth and creamy, with no lumps. Set aside.
  • Whisk the dry ingredients: in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg.
  • Mix the wet ingredients: in a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, oil, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth and glossy.
  • Combine: fold the dry ingredients into the wet just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix, or the loaf will be tough.
  • Layer the loaf: spread half the pumpkin batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over it and spread gently to the edges. Top with the remaining pumpkin batter and smooth the top.
  • Swirl: run a butter knife through the layers in a figure-eight pattern, 4 to 5 passes, to marble the cream cheese through the batter without fully mixing it in.
  • Top and bake: sprinkle the pecan streusel evenly over the top. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the pumpkin part (not the cream cheese) comes out with a few moist crumbs and the top is set and golden. Tent loosely with foil after 45 minutes if the top browns too fast.
  • Cool completely: let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out using the parchment overhang and cool completely on a wire rack, at least 1 hour, before slicing — the cream cheese center needs time to set.

Notes

  • Blot the pumpkin puree — spread it on a plate lined with paper towels and press with more towels until it feels thick; wet puree makes a gummy, underbaked center.
  • Room-temperature cream cheese is non-negotiable — cold cream cheese leaves lumps in the swirl that never smooth out.
  • Test the pumpkin part, not the swirl — a toothpick in the cream cheese layer will always look wet; test the outer pumpkin crumb instead.
  • Do not slice warm — the cream cheese center sets as it cools.
  • Make ahead — the loaf keeps 3 days wrapped at room temperature, or freeze whole or sliced for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.