Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Bread
I spent one summer in college working as a research tech in my developmental neuroscience lab with students from all over the country. One of the new friends I made was Crystal. Through our chatting while wrangling frogs and culturing neurons, we quickly discovered that we were both Christians. One day while we were elbow-deep cleaning out tadpole tanks, our conversation turned toward salvation and the idea that some people would not be saved. Crystal surprised me by being ambivalent. I’d never seen someone so devout equivocate on the matter. I for one had no trouble with it: I figured everyone would be, somehow, given a fair chance, and they’d either choose to follow Christ or it would be justifiable that they weren’t saved.
As we continued discussing, I could see that her heart and her love for her friends of different faiths was the source of her questioning. I took a moment to stop thinking about the particulars of the argument (in other words, this isn’t a post about the particulars of that argument) and to look inward: Why did it bother her so much more than it bothered me that some people wouldn’t be saved? Why was it such an easy answer for me? Shouldn’t I be more torn up about that?
Fast forward 10 years or so. Crystal and I have fallen out of touch. I experienced the catastrophic failure of my first job; a breakup that left me feeling like I was walking through gauze for months, unsure of who or where I was; a summer of extreme mental health crises that left me rebuilding my ability to cope from the ground up. It’s not that the crux of my faith changed, because it didn’t. If anything, that core of truth has been proven to me beyond what I can express. It’s more that as I was stripped bare, I had to strip away some of the traditional trappings and interpretations I’d wrapped around that core. I had to reevaluate the naïve, blithe way I’d felt about it — like it was a catechism to be chanted like a nursery rhyme. I lost the taste for the glib answers of my youth.
I’m much more likely to say, “I don’t know.” I’m much more likely to struggle. I’m so, so much slower to make pronouncements.
I saw a comment exchange on Facebook the other day that gave me pause. Someone asked why God would allow a terrorist attack, and a commenter (presumably Christian) swooped in to reply: “Ecclesiastes 3. That is all.” It probably felt good, that smug slam dunk. In her mind, maybe she’s just checkmating an opponent in a game of chess. The atheist moves his rook to questioning how God can allow such suffering, and she moves her bishop to THERE’S A TIME TO BE BORN AND A TIME TO DIE, BOOM SHAKALAKA.
In that facile comment, I heard myself, back in the lab with Crystal, quoting this or that. But when someone’s loved one dies in a terrorist attack, when someone goes through a dark night of the soul, when they stand in the emergency room, when they see their child die, the mystery and sovereignty of God is too holy and life-changing for you to be glib. Ecclesiastes 3 points to this truth, for sure, and it might be part of struggling to understand (“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”) But the way she wielded it — the way we so often drop our ideas of truth like a bomb or pass them out like a tract with barely a second thought — belies the real meaning there.
Our easy answers and our resistance to the compassion that would leave us struggling in prayer in the wilderness — these things push people away and cheat us out of a real experience. I don’t know the answer. Maybe it’s as simple letting things be complicated. Acknowledging there’s mystery. Acknowledging there is a reason we’re told to abide in the vine, instead of just using the New Testament as a rule book. Maybe we can’t foresee the way He will shape our understanding, and it’s okay to be open to being shaped.
* * *
You know what it IS okay to be dogmatic about? PUMPKIN. THERE IS NO MYSTERY HERE. Y’ALL KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT PUMPKIN. This is the first pumpkin recipe of the year, but I’m already planning more more more! Want to nab some other WBB pumpkin recipes? Here are a few I love:
- Pumpkin Tres Leches Cake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Pillow Popovers
- Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Bread with Butter Rum Glaze
- Pumpkin Croquemcake with White Chocolate Chai Mousse
- Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Breakfast Braid
- Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Truffles
- Easy Sopapilla Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
- Vegan Pumpkin Nut Bread
- Pumpkin Streusel-Swirled Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- One-Skillet Gooey Pumpkin Cookie Cake
- Gooey “German” Pumpkin Skillet Cake
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake Cheesecake with Salted Caramel
- Pumpkin Oat Snack Cake with Broiled Coconut Icing
- Vanilla Custard Soaked Pumpkin Poke Cake
Enjoy!
One year ago: Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Sweet Coleslaw
Two years ago: German Chocolate Cheesecake
Three years ago: Gooey Cookies & Cream Bars
Four years ago: Chili-Lime Roasted Chickpeas
Five years ago: Peach Crisp Pie
Cheesecake-Stuffed Pumpkin Bread
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking using pumpkin bread from Tasty Kitchen
Yield: 3 loaves
This bread is so moist and delicious, especially with a schmear of softened butter! I doubled the cream cheese filling in the recipe below, because I thought the bread needed more than is shown in the photos. Be sure not to overbake and don’t skip the foil trick or your bread won’t be as moist.
Bread Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 whole eggs
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
1 cup oil
1 cup water
Filling Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease 3 (9 x 4-inch) loaf pans. I also place a greased square of parchment in each to encourage the bread to come out after baking. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to make the filling and place this mixture into a zip-top bag with a big corner cut off for easy piping. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. In a separate medium bowl, beat together the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine. Pour a very thin layer of pumpkin batter into each pan and pipe thick ribbons of the cream cheese mixture over top (the cream cheese layer will rise as the bread bakes, so you want to start it out almost at the bottom of the pan). Be sure to use it all. Pour the rest of the pumpkin batter on top, distributing it evenly between the 3 pans. Bake the loaves for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Don’t overbake!
Set the bread out to cool for just 5 minutes before inverting each pan onto a long sheet of aluminum foil. Immediately fold the foil over the bread and secure very tightly to trap steam in. Let the loaves cool inside the foil. Serve just warm with a schmear of softened butter.
Joelen
September 9, 2014 at 1:25 am (10 years ago)This looks so amazing and perfect for the season! I cannot wait to make this over the weekend… I’m excited to crack open my first can of pumpkin this season to make it! 🙂
Kim Beaulieu
September 9, 2014 at 1:30 am (10 years ago)I need to make this for my best friend, she loves pumpkin. Going to whip up a batch to drop off to her. She’ll love this, I mean it’s stuffed with cheesecake, who wouldn’t. Great recipe.
FoodNerd
September 9, 2014 at 4:49 am (10 years ago)This looks utterly delicious! Would be perfect for my Virtual Bake Sale for Macmillan Cancer Support- check it out here http://www.foodnerd4life.com/virtual-bake-sale-2014/
FoodNerd x
Karen @ The Food Charlatan
September 9, 2014 at 5:11 am (10 years ago)Thanks for sharing this, Julie. It really touched me today. I too am unchanged in my faith; but recent events and relationships over the past year have led me to realize that not everything is so black and white, and we need to be sensitive. Just because you have a testimony about a certain doctrine doesn’t mean it’s okay to rub it in someone’s face if they don’t. Jesus never did that. He spoke hard truths, but never with contention, never that “checkmate” attitude. Thanks for the reminder Julie.
Vickie S.
September 9, 2014 at 8:37 am (10 years ago)Thanks for this beautiful recipe and post! I too am glad that fall is here (even though in South FL we really don’t have fall) so I can resume baking with pumpkin! My sister is ill and I think this will be the perfect treat to bake for her. I’m not a religious person but am very spiritual, and I enjoyed your post very much. Thanks again!
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files
September 9, 2014 at 8:58 am (10 years ago)Ohhhhh all that cheesecake! I would definitely pick out all the cheesecake…sorta like how I use to pick out all the marshmallows from my Lucky Charms bowl. This bread is definitely happening. Yum!
Liz
September 9, 2014 at 9:42 am (10 years ago)YUM! I made a cheesecake filled pumpkin bread over the weekend, but I love how you used a ton more filling. I’ll need to try your version once mine is gone!
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
September 9, 2014 at 9:56 am (10 years ago)Giiiiiiiiirl, you have the best pumpkin recipes. This bread looks so good!!
Amy | Club Narwhal
September 9, 2014 at 4:49 pm (10 years ago)Julie, I am always fascinated how faith and conviction evolves over time (and hopefully matures with all the slams life gives). And while there are no easy answers when it comes to exchanges like the one you saw on FB, at least pumpkin bread is always there–solid, stable, and always right. Especially when cheesecake stuffing is involved!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets
September 9, 2014 at 8:04 pm (10 years ago)This is gorgeous. A ribbon of cheesecake is the perfect addition to this sweet pumpkin bread!
Steve
September 9, 2014 at 8:14 pm (10 years ago)“I don’t know the answer. Maybe it’s as simple letting things be complicated. Acknowledging there’s mystery.”
Great wisdom! Always enjoy your recipes & posts.
Hholmstead
September 10, 2014 at 2:03 am (10 years ago)Enjoyed your comments today. I’m learning that God is much more concerned with my growth than with my comfort…if that makes any sense. Will be making this bread….looks fantastic!
Katrina
September 10, 2014 at 2:49 am (10 years ago)I’m SO going to try this out! I love all things pumpkin, especially once September rolls around. Thanks for this recipe – it looks amazing :):)
Joshua Hampton
September 10, 2014 at 6:06 am (10 years ago)Beautiful pumpkin bread recipe. I love the cheesecake filling. And I kind of know how you feel. I used to pop verses like they’re M&M’s. But after going through some serious life challenges that got me questioning my own faith, I learned not to be so glib and to be more understanding of other people’s opinions. God gave us a mind and free will, after all.
Barbi
September 10, 2014 at 11:00 pm (10 years ago)This was an interesting post at the beginning, makes one think……
then the recipe is a must, the only thinking you need to do is when do I have the time to bake this?
Thanks for everything.
Toodles, Barbi
LeAndra
September 14, 2014 at 7:22 pm (10 years ago)I echo Karen when I say thank you for sharing this. I recently wrote about how I have struggled with my belief and faith in light of the seemingly never-ending cycle violence we face in this world. Instead of an open conversation full of education and free of judgement, my questions resulted in a lecture about how I needed to have more faith, less I suffer dire consequences like not being permitted entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Like the “slam dunk” Bible verse responses you mention, it has been my experience that too often as Christians we take an air of superiority with our responses instead of offering them up with a humble yet steadfast pride. At any rate, I just wanted to tell you I appreciated this. Reading your post about the privilege afforded to you simply because of the circumstances of your birth hit home as well.
Vickie S.
September 18, 2014 at 1:13 pm (10 years ago)I’ve made this recipe twice in the past week and it came out super yummy and perfect both times! Definitely a keeper of a recipe to add to my collection!
Julie Ruble
September 18, 2014 at 1:17 pm (10 years ago)YAY! So glad to hear that, Vickie!!
Amelia
November 6, 2014 at 4:06 pm (10 years ago)I don’t much care for pumpkin, but I always come back to your blog because your words are so lovely and so spot-on. Thanks for sharing.