Pumpkin Loaf with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Is my house in full pumpkin mode all through autumn? Yup, it sure is. Not only do I love decorating with them but it's a full pumpkin-fest of cooking as well. I love it both sweet and savory and there's no end to my desire for a loaf of pumpkin bread as a snack.

I've already baked my annual chocolate chip pumpkin bread and have also combined those same flavors with banana. But in no way was I done experimenting with recipes.

Most pumpkin breads are not frosted but why not? No reason I could think of. The type of frosting was an easy choice. Pumpkin goes so well with cream cheese that a cream cheese frosting made the most sense. Weirdly I find those kind of one-note, though, so I wanted to jazz it up. Salted caramel cream cheese frosting? OMG, yes!

I was slightly concerned that the combination of caramel and frosting would be too sweet but this actually struck a good balance of sweet to salty. The recipe makes a generous amount and you're going to want that generous amount because it's so good. I left the actual loaf simple, moist and plain so that the star is the frosting. So good. Really. Enjoy!

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Anita Schecter

Pumpkin Loaf with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 55 MinTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

Recipe for a fluffy, flavorful pumpkin loaf cake topped with salted caramel cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

For the Loaf Cake:

• 1 Stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup light brown sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 2 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon baking soda
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tablespoons caramel sauce
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 Cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter and line with parchment paper.
2. Add the unsalted butter, granulated sugar and light brown sugar to a bowl and cream together using a hand or stand mixer. Beat in the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla and the unsweetened pumpkin puree.
3. Combine the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger and ground nutmeg in a separate bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet but don't overmix.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the frosting, cream together the softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, caramel sauce and salt until completely smooth. Frost the cooled pumpkin loaf and serve.