Best Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray a 10×5-inch loaf pan with baking spray or grease with butter and sprinkle some flour. Set aside.
3. Note: you can also use a 9x5 inch loaf pan, but you will have about 1 cup of batter that you will have to discard, or you can bake a few mini muffins.

Pumpkin Bread:

1. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger, and pumpkin spice. Whisk to combine and set aside.
2. Add softened butter and both sugars to a large bowl or to the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat until combined, light and fluffy. Stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula once.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined.
4. Add half of the flour mixture and whisk on low until thoroughly combined. Refrain from over-mixing.
5. Add half of the pumpkin puree and whisk on low until thoroughly combined. Do not over-mix.
6. Add half of the remaining flour mixture and whisk to combine. Add the remaining pumpkin and whisk to combine, and finish with the remaining flour mixture. Do not overmix. Stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and whisk on low until the batter is smooth and creamy.
7. Set aside.

Cheesecake Layer:

1. Add cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and flour to a medium bowl and beat quickly until thoroughly combined.
2. Add the egg and vanilla, whisking until fully combined. Stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, then whisk on low until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Assemble:

1. Add half of the Pumpkin Bread batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the top and distribute it evenly using a spatula.
2. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the Pumpkin Bread batter, and using a spatula, smooth the top and distribute it evenly.
3. Spoon the remaining pumpkin batter evenly over the surface of the cheesecake layer and smooth it into an even layer using a spatula.
4. When adding the Pumpkin Batter on top of the cheesecake layer, make sure you don't overfill the loaf pan. You should have about 1 inch left from the edges. If you have a small amount of batter left, don't be tempted to add it; just discard it or bake a muffin.

Bake:

1. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the top is a beautiful golden color and the center of the bread is not giggly but settled.
2. When the bread is ready, its edges will be golden brown, and the top and center will be set. Start checking on it after 40 minutes. If the top and sides become too brown during baking, cover the bread with aluminum foil. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with just a few moist cooked crumbs, not raw batter.
3. Cool bread in pan on rack for about 30 minutes.
4. Remove the bread from the pan and completely cool before storing or freezing.