bake 20: pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling.

my sister, is a rock star.  knowing i needed some serious help to finish my bake 20 challenge, she offered to teach me a new and fantastically yummy fall recipe.  this pumpkin bread is not only delish, but so versatile   it makes a great bread, bundt cake, or even muffins.  despite the amount of ingredients & steps, it's also surprisingly simple.  one last awesome factor: it's perfect for the holidays.

pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling

for pumpkin bread:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (or learn how to make your own)
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans (optional)

cream cheese filling:
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

streusel topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/4 stick of butter

directions:
preheat over to 325.  sift dry ingredients and set aside.  beat eggs in large bowl, slowly adding oil and sugar.  cream well.  add pumpkin puree and vanilla.  slowly add dry ingredients, mixing well.  add nuts.  chill batter in the fridge while making cream cheese frosting and streusel.

for the cream cheese filling, beat egg in large bowl.  add sugar and beat until combined.  add cream cheese, vanilla and lemon juice, beating until smooth.  set aside.

for streusel, mix dry ingredients together.  cut butter into the mixture.  mixture will be crumbly and sandy looking.  set aside in a cool, dry place.

spoon pumpkin batter into the bottom of buttered pans (two 4x8 inch loaf pans, one bundt pan, or four muffin tins), a little less than halfway.  create a well in the middle of the batter and add cream cheese frosting with a spoon.  add more pumpkin mixture on top of the cream cheese filling, filling the pans 3/4 of the way.  add streusel to the top of the bread/muffins and bake for about 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.

note: when cooked, cream cheese frosting shouldn't be seen from the sides, only the center of the bread/muffins.

a huge thanks to lindsay for helping me get one step closer to my goal!

this was #9 of the bake 20 challenge.
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over the next five months i'm going to try my hand at 20 different baked goods.  there's no specific order and no plan.  just making things that look good and hopefully in the process, finding a new appreciation of baking.  feel free to join me in the Bake 20 Challenge.