Pumpkin Cheesecake Banana Bread

Pumpkin Cheesecake Banana Bread

Fall has arrived with the first official sighting of leaves turning color and something pumpkin on the table.  I stumbled across this recipe last night when I had my heart set on baking a Flourless Chocolate Torte, only to discover I had no more chocolate left in the pantry (gasp!).  While not the chocolate I was craving, this certainly satisfied my desire for something sweet.  And it was pretty good for breakfast, too.  I have ideas for tweaking the recipe but who knows when I will get around to it, so here you go, the original version, from Trish at Mom On Timeout. 

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 6 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda

Cheesecake Filling

• 6 oz cream cheese, softened
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. I use the nonstick cooking spray with flour in it.
2. Combine bananas and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until combined. Beat in pumpkin, egg, butter, and vanilla until well combined.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir into the wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Evenly spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Set aside.

Cheesecake Filling

1. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in the flour and continue beating until no lumps remain.
2. Spread the cheesecake filling carefully over the contents in the loaf pan making sure it's as even as possible.
3. Spread the remaining half of the pumpkin-banana mixture over the top of the cheesecake filling. Make sure to smooth the top and make it nice and even.
4. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.