Bonus Post: Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Lots of heavy stuff on the blog lately!  Time to take it easy for a day. I have long dreamed of being a food blogger without having gotten any real traction. Anytime I find a recipe that works, I want to share it with the whole world.  It seems like a good part of the world is reading my cochlear implant blog these days, so I'm going to combine genres and share the recipe for the pumpkin bread that featured so prominently on Activation Day.  This is from Cooks Illustrated's September 2012 issue. Those people do not mess around.  Folks, cream cheese inside pumpkin bread=genius.  You're welcome!

Really Good Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves

The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches; if using a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness five minutes early.

Ingredients

Topping

• 5 tablespoons packed (2 1/4 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt   

 Bread 

• 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed (7 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped fine

Instructions

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Using fingers, mix all ingredients together in bowl until well combined and topping resembles wet sand; set aside.
2. FOR THE BREAD: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in bowl.
3. Combine pumpkin puree, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in large saucepan over medium heat. Cook mixture, stirring constantly, until reduced to 1½ cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove pot from heat; stir in granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and cream cheese until combined. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until no visible pieces of cream cheese remain and mixture is homogeneous.
4. Whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to pumpkin mixture and whisk to combine. Fold flour mixture into pumpkin mixture until combined (some small lumps of flour are OK). Fold walnuts into batter. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle topping evenly over top of each loaf. Bake until skewer inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let breads cool in pans on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove breads from pans and let cool for at least 1½ hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.