London Lovett

Was your mouth watering as you read about Elsie's delicious pumpkin bread in Marigolds and Murder? You're in luck! I've got the exclusive recipe.

Ingredients:

Bread:

• 1 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp spice mixture (see spice mixture)
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup water

Cream Cheese Ribbon:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350°

2. Prepare spice mixture: combine all spice mixture ingredients in a small bowl, set aside

3. Sugar and Spice Nut Topping:

• Chop 3/4 cup pecans.
• Mix together 1 tsp of the spice mixture, 1/3 cup sugar and 2 Tbsp brown sugar in a small bowl.
• Add chopped pecans to the bowl and stir to combine.
• Set aside.

4. Combine dry bread ingredients:

• In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cup+ 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp spice mixture and 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar.
• Once the ingredients are well mixed, make a well in the center of the dry ingredient bowl. 
• Set aside.

5. Combine wet bread ingredients:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 eggs and 1/3 cup water. 

6. Prepare bread batter:

• Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the well in the dry ingredient bowl. Use a wooden spoon to mix until just combined. (Make sure not to over mix here or you'll end up with chewy pumpkin bread.)

7. Cream cheese mixture:

• In a medium bowl, add 4 ounces softened cream cheese, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, 1 Tbsp flour, 1 egg yolk and 2 tsp milk. Use an electric mixer to whip the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. 

8. Assemble the bread:

• Prepare a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray
• Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter into the pan.
• Use a rubber spatula or spoon to scoop the cream cheese mixture on top of the batter. Spread it out as evenly as possible.
• Sprinkle 1/2 of the sugar and spice nut mixture on top of the cream cheese layer. 
• Scoop the rest of the pumpkin bread batter on top of the nut layer and spread out evenly. 
• Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 of the sugar and spice nut mixture evenly on top. 

9. Baking: 60-70 minutes

• Tent the loaf pan with foil for the first 25 minutes of baking (this will prevent the sugary topping from burning).
• After 25 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 35 minutes. 
• Start checking the loaf after 1 hour of baking time. Poke the loaf with a toothpick or fork to test if it's ready. Once the bread is done the toothpick or fork will come out clean. 
• I began checking at 1 hour, and my loaf was baked to perfection at 1 hour and 10 minutes--time my vary slightly depending on your oven and bakeware. 

10. Cool down:

• Let the pumpkin bread sit and cool down in the loaf pan before removing it. 
• Slice, serve and enjoy!