Pumpkin-Shaped Bread with Cream Cheese Filling – A Festive Autumn Delight

Get ready to impress with this stunning pumpkin-shaped bread filled with a sweet and spiced cream cheese mixture. This bread not only looks like a pumpkin but also carries the warm, comforting flavors of the season. Made with a soft, fluffy dough enriched with pumpkin purée and aromatic spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, this bread is perfect for fall gatherings, Thanksgiving, or any cozy occasion. Each bite offers a delicious combination of lightly spiced bread with a creamy, sweet pumpkin-infused filling. Finished with a buttery cinnamon-sugar coating and topped with a cinnamon stick, this bread is as delicious as it is festive.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe: You’ll love this recipe for its showstopping appearance and irresistible flavor. The soft, buttery bread is flavored with autumnal spices and filled with a sweet cream cheese center, creating a delightful contrast of textures and tastes. The pumpkin purée not only adds flavor but also keeps the bread incredibly moist. The cinnamon-sugar coating provides a beautiful, sweet crunch that complements the rich, spiced filling. Whether you’re baking for a fall party or just want to bring the flavors of the season into your home, this pumpkin-shaped bread is the perfect festive treat.

Perfect Occasion: This pumpkin-shaped bread is perfect for fall celebrations, whether it’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, or simply a cozy weekend at home. Its festive shape makes it a great centerpiece for any holiday table, while the spiced cream cheese filling and cinnamon-sugar coating make it a delicious dessert or snack to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea. It’s also a fun baking project for kids or family, as everyone will love shaping the dough into pumpkins and decorating with cinnamon stick stems.

Decoration Tips: To enhance the pumpkin appearance of your bread, consider using kitchen twine to tie the dough into sections before baking, creating the characteristic pumpkin ridges. Once baked and cooled, add a cinnamon stick to the center of each bread loaf to mimic a pumpkin stem. You can also sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top for a soft, snowy effect, or drizzle a simple glaze for a bit of extra sweetness and shine. If you want to make it even more festive, tie a ribbon around the cinnamon stick stem for a charming touch.

Ingredients for the Pumpkin-Shaped Bread:

• 8 grams dry instant yeast
• 1 dl (1/2 cup) room-temperature milk
• 100 grams pumpkin purée
• 1 room-temperature egg
• 1 dl (1/2 cup) sugar
• 8 dl (4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2.5 teaspoons pumpkin spice (or substitute with 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cardamom, 1/4 tsp ground cloves)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 100 grams room-temperature butter

Instructions for the Bread:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and let it sit for a few minutes until it becomes foamy.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin purée, egg, sugar, spices, and salt. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and stir until combined.
3. Gradually add the flour, mixing with a wooden spoon or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, until a soft dough forms. Add the room-temperature butter in small pieces and continue kneading until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1-1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.
5. After the dough has risen, punch it down and divide it into equal portions, depending on how many pumpkin-shaped breads you want to make. Shape each portion into a ball.

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Filling:

• 150 grams cream cheese
• 1 dl (1/2 cup) brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin purée
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (or 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cardamom, 1/8 tsp ground cloves)

Instructions for the Filling:

1. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, and spices until smooth and creamy.
2. Set the filling aside while you shape the bread.

Assembly:

1. Take each dough ball and gently flatten it into a disc. Place a spoonful of the cream cheese filling in the center of the dough, then gather the edges around the filling, pinching them together to seal the dough and form a ball again.
2. To create the pumpkin shape, tie a piece of kitchen twine around each dough ball, lightly pressing it into the dough to form the pumpkin’s ridges. Be sure not to tie the string too tightly, as the dough will expand during baking.
3. Place the shaped dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let them rise for another 30-40 minutes.
4. Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) and bake the pumpkin-shaped bread for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
5. Once the bread is baked, remove the twine and insert a cinnamon stick into the top of each loaf to create the pumpkin stem.

Ingredients for the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

• 100 grams butter, melted
• 2 dl (1 cup) sugar
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Instructions for the Coating:

1. Melt the butter in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together.
2. Once the bread has cooled slightly, brush each loaf with melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until fully coated.

Enjoy your warm, spiced pumpkin-shaped bread filled with sweet cream cheese and coated in cinnamon-sugar goodness! It’s the perfect autumn treat.