Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting

This moist pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting needs to be on your fall baking list! I mean, is it even fall without pumpkin bread?! 

It's soft texture melts in your mouth and immediately reminds your tastebuds why pumpkin spice is the most beloved flavor of fall baking. It's truly perfect on its own, but utterly irresistible with the cream cheese frosting. 

For more comforting fall recipes, try Brown Butter Snickerdoodles, Apple Cider Bundt Cake, Apple Streusel Coffee Cake, and Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls. 

Ingredient Notes

Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions. 

• Flour: Use high-quality, unbleached all-purpose flour.
• Leaveners: You'll need both baking powder and baking soda to give this pumpkin bread the perfect rise.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: Use store-bought pumpkin pie spice or make your own.
• Pumpkin Purée: Libby's canned pumpkin is my favorite! Be sure to use pumpkin purée NOT pumpkin pie filling. 
• Sugars: I used dark brown sugar in this recipe for a deeper flavor of molasses, but you can use whichever brown sugar you have on hand. You'll also need granulated sugar for the batter and powdered sugar for the cream cheese frosting.
• Oil: Use a neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable. I recommend using light-tasting extra virgin olive oil.
• Eggs: Be sure to use room temperature eggs, and add them one at a time to the batter!
• Vanilla: Warm fall baked goods MUST have some good quality vanilla.
• Cream Cheese: Use cold block cream cheese for the frosting.
• Butter: You'll need just ¼ cup of room temperature butter for the frosting.
• Heavy Cream: Add about a tablespoon of heavy cream to the frosting to bring it to the perfect pipe-able consistency,

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

This easy pumpkin bread recipe is made with just a couple bowls and a whisk! It's so easy, you could make it in your sleep. Plus, it stays moist for a whole week, so you can enjoy a piece with your coffee every morning. So in a way, it's like this super easy, crazy delicious pumpkin bread recipe is your meal prep for the week! How responsible of you😉

For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Mix. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Set aside. 

STEP 2: Whisk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, sugars, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

STEP 3: Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

STEP 4: Mix. Mix with a rubber spatula until fully combined.

STEP 5: Pour. Pour the batter into a parchment lined pullman pan or 9x5 loaf pan, smooth out the top, and tap on the counter to release any air bubbles. 

STEP 6: Bake and cool. Bake the pumpkin bread for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Allow the pumpkin bread to cool completely on a wire rack. 

STEP 7: Make frosting. Beat the cold cream cheese in an electric mixer until smooth. Add the room temperature butter and salt, and mix until fully combined. Add the sifted powder sugar in 3-4 additions, and mix until smooth. Pour in the heavy cream and mix one last time.

STEP 8: Frost and serve. Top the cooled pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting, and enjoy!

Expert Baking Tips

• Be sure to use pure pumpkin purée, NOT pumpkin pie filling. 
• Use any neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable. I recommend using light-tasting extra virgin olive oil. 
• Be sure to only use block style COLD cream cheese to ensure the frosting is thick & sturdy. 
• To make your life easier, sift the powdered sugar before adding it to the frosting! It will help create a silky smooth frosting that doesn't require you to mix it for forever. 
• Make sure the pumpkin bread is completely cool before adding the frosting or it will melt! You can always stick the bread in the fridge to cool down faster. 

Storage Tips

Store this pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Without cream cheese frosting, the pumpkin bread will last for 1 week. Individual slices can also be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag to be frozen for up to 3 months. 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x