Pumpkin Cheesecake Perfection Bread

It's finally time to share my first recipe on this blog!  My daughter and I bake a little something together every Sunday.  It's just a fun tradition I started a few months ago and has been a blast.  I've always had a dream to own a bakery.  Therefore, I bake, I tweak, I devour ... it's pure awesome. Instead of just enjoying the goodies for ourselves, I've decided to frequently share the recipes here!

Here's how I plan on sharing recipes.  At the beginning of every recipe, I'll share some "before you get started" tips.  Nothing is worse than being midway through a recipe and seeing a secret egg that wasn't in the ingredients.  At that point I usually have to bat my eyelashes and ask my husband super sweetly to go back to the grocery store for a sole egg.  Trying to avoid using our eyelash trick unless it's necessary, the tips will provide for much headache free baking and that's the only way we want it!

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE PERFECTION

'BEFORE YOU GET STARTED!'

(1) put your cream cheese out to soften.  open the package and let it sit out on your counter.

(2) Melt 3/4 c. of butter in the microwave and let it sit out to cool down.  

This takes a while so do it first!

(3) Set your oven to 335 degrees.  

A trick of the trade:  ALWAYS set your oven 15 degrees less than the recipes call for.  In this case most call for 350, but I put it to 335.  

This lets things cook a little slower and not burn your baked goods!

INGREDIENTS

- 2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour-

- 1/2 teaspoon salt-
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon-
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg-

- 2/3 teaspoon baking powder-

- 2/3 teaspoon baking soda-

-1.5 cups sugar (granulated white)-

-3 large eggs-

- 3/4 cup salted butter, melted and cooled-
-1/3 cup water-
-12 oz can pure pumpkin-

-1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract-

-6 ounces of cream cheese, to room temperature-

INSTRUCTIONS

(1) Look above at the tips and do those: preheat oven to 335 degrees, take out cream cheese, melt your butter and leave out to cool

(2) Grease your bread pan (I'm a big fan of the flour spray!  Works WONDERS!)

(3) In a large bowl put together the following ingredients for your pumpkin bread mix: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg & sugar.  It should look like this:

(4) In another bowl, put the liquid items (plus sugar): the pumpkin can, eggs, sugar, melted / cooled butter, water and vanilla together.

 (5) Then slowly add the pumpkin mix to your flour mixture in the kitchen aid.  Put it in about 4 pieces ... pour some in and mix for 30 seconds on medium and repeat the process.

(6) Put one third of the mixture in the bread pan and then make a layer of cream cheese on top.  Just cut the cream cheese and smoosh with your finger to put it on top.  The inconsistency in texture and thickness of the cream cheese will taste amazing!  You're going for something like this:

(7) Pour another portion of the batter and put the cream cheese again.  Put the remaining batter on top.  Basically from bottom to top it should be: batter, cream cheese, batter, cream cheese, batter.

(8) Bake for about 55 minutes.  Just test by making sure the pumpkin mixture comes out clean when you poke it.  It won't come out totally clean b/c of the cream cheese.

Right when it comes out of the oven take a knife and slide it around the bread so it separates.  Then let the bread for cool for 10 minutes.  Invert it on to a cooling rack and let sit for another 10 minutes.  After that you can wait if you'd like .... OR ... you can EAT it! :)