Description
This incredibly moist, but not too sweet pumpkin bread gets its flavour from a blend of fragrant spices – cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Cut into the bread and you’ll discover a rich ribbon of cream cheese that compliments the texture of this bread perfectly. Serve alongside a cup of hot tea or coffee for a nice afternoon treat.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Generously coat 9 x 5-inch (2 L) metal loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or oil; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Set aside.
In another large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until combined. Add eggs, mix until combined. Add maple syrup, pumpkin purée, zucchini and vanilla; mix until blended. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until no streaks of flour remain in mixing bowl; do not overmix.
In medium bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-speed, beat cream cheese, egg and sugar until combined. Add flour, 1 tbsp at a time, mixing gently on low, until blended.
Scrape half of the batter in the prepared pan; smooth surface. Spoon cream cheese over batter; smooth surface. Spread remaining batter over top.
Bake 1 hour 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack.
Tip: To remove moisture from grated zucchini, line a medium bowl with 2 or 3 paper towels. Place grated zucchini in bowl. Wrap paper towels around zucchini and begin to squeeze out excess water. Discard water and use zucchini in recipe as directed.
Tip: When making baked goods, such as breads, it’s important not to overmix the ingredients. Overmixing can develop too much gluten in your batter causing your baked goods to become tough.
